Upcoming Events: Saturday, September 7th

I feel silly promoting two events, both of which are happening at the same time, but both are awesome and well worth attending. If you can make it to both, then you're simply insane and I'll LOVE IT! Hahaha


So, the famed Heronswood Nursery will be opening its gates for you all to see the wonderful progress being made to restore the grounds to its former splendor. This garden open will also showcase the wonderful specialty nurseries in our region that will come together and offer a wonderful assortment of exciting and rare plants that will be fully grown and ready to get established in your garden!

One of the vendors in attendance is someone I've been wanting to introduce you all to and is looking for some support for an upcoming PLANT COLLECTING EXPEDITION in China!  Arlen Hill of Keeping it Green Nursery has been a regular participant in all the major plant sales and garden events the past few years! Specializing in native and rare exotics, he grows a wonderful assortment of specialty plants for not only collectors, but for avid enthusiasts who like to putter around the yard, but are seeking something unique and different. Arlen is a fellow "Next Generation Gardener" in his 30's and is an avid hiker and this will be his first foray into the wilds of China botanizing and collecting plants!

Visit his tables and check out his great plants and ask about how you can contribute towards this venture or if you can't make it, visit their website and you can make a contribution online!!!!!!!

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Ok! And here's another event you'll also want to attend!! HAHAHAHA....

I'm giving at talk at the famous Christianson's Nursery up in Mt. Vernon!!    I ran into them at the Flower and Garden Show and seemed so stoked to have me come and give a talk!!!

I'll be presenting a talk about my travels, experiences and what I see is the future of gardening and horticulture and those who have inspired and mentored me and also those who are joining me as the next generation of gardeners!

I had a chance to visit this remarkable nursery this summer and was quite impressed at their gardens, their plant selection and the wonderful country feel walking through the grounds and greenhouses packed of wonderful goodies. I'm so looking forward to this talk and I hope enough people have signed up!!

I hate to have to choose, myself, but I kind of have to choose MYSELF to attend MY OWN talk! HAHAHA

Either way, you'll have a wonderful time, a great opportunity to learn and shop, but you might come home with a cool new plant if you attend my talk! HAHAHAH!!!


Cheers,


Riz

A garden lives on for the next generation: Heronswood Open

This weekend marks the 2nd open house for the world-renowned Heronswood garden in Kingston, WA.

Once a famous nursery introducing some of the newest, most unusual garden plants from around the world, it is now in the hands of the native S'Klallam Tribe who are preserving the garden and its botanical treasures.

Created and planted by plantsman extraordinaire, Dan Hinkley, with his partner, Robert Jones in the 1980's, it brought it thousands of gardening enthusiasts world wide, the gardens are being restored with their guidance and input and we are fortunate to have an opportunity to visit a landscape that ignited many people's, including my own, passion for plants and gardens.

So, I got together a team of young friends and avid plant lovers who have never been to Heronswood and made a day of it.

We arrived to hoards of crowds ready to shop from top specialty vendors including Dan Hinkley's selections from his garden Windcliff.

Entering the woodland was absolutely a memorable experience as you noticed one exotic plant after another, left and right.

Fellow garden professional, Meghan Fuller, was simply taken away by the incredible plant palette.

From shade to sun, it has got it all. The former residence had wonderful entry gardens and the rarest of the rare.

With various microclimates that exist, even these luscious tree ferns absolutely thrive!

The formal layout of clipped box makes this edible garden absolutely gorgeous.

Young friends learn about the details of a fern.

Being that it was only May, the gardens, especially these stunning mixed borders, were just starting to put on a show!

The famous Hornbeam hedges and archways were absolutely stunning and leafed out to perfection.

Admiring the fine details of the rare Tetracentron sinensis.

The garden is still chock full of lessons in design; composition, use of color and focal points, etc.

It's all still a work in progress to get it back to its full glory, but there's still glimpses of brilliance and ingenuity.

So there's another open coming up this Saturday, July 6, 2013 and you can learn more about it on their website: www.heronswood.com

Bring your wallet for the most remarkable line-up of plant vendors and I'm sure the garden has gotten even more spectacular since this past trip!

Not only did I get to see Heronswood again, it meant so much to be joined by friends who are avid gardeners and share in the same line of work and are simply passionate about what they do. I'm glad I'm not alone in this endeavor!

Justin Galicic, Terry Huang, me, Meghan Fuller, & Dustin Schulte

Thanks for the group pic, Mary!  =)


R

A Pacific Northwest Treasure Aims for a Comeback

It was a delight to hear that the former Heronswood Garden in Kingston, WA is finally under new ownership and will one day be restored back to an incredible garden that inspired many gardeners around the world with it's remarkable botanical tapestry of rare and unusual plants from around the world. Read about sale of the property here.

Here are some photos of the gardens from previous visits.

"Every great garden has great bones!"

The meticulously maintained European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata')  is an iconic feature of this garden.

What always amazed me about Heronswood was the audience it drew. Obviously it was more middle-aged women who were most interested in these garden opens and the husbands and children dragged along, but once they begin to settle into the landscape, they relax and marvel at the extensive collection of plants and really appreciate the surroundings.

The Greek ruins made up of colored concrete columns and leaf casts create for a magical scene in Heronswood.

Striking columns with massive pots sitting atop them with bold and lush foliage all around. Its unbelievable what we're able to grow in the Pacific Northwest.

It isn't all about rare and exotic plants and naturalistic landscapes. An extensive and beautifully designed edible garden can be found and there are places to sit and relax and soak up the grand views all around.

What we won't see anymore is this, sadly. A world-renowned nursery with some of the most exciting plant introductions for the keen and avid gardener!

What will remain are the gardens and, already, a team of supporters aiming to restore and refresh the grounds to its former splendor. The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, who purchased the property, are supportive of the efforts as are the former owners of the garden.

A most exciting opportunity was recently just posted:

On December 9, Heronswood will open its gates to same-sex couples who plan on legally getting married as Referendum 74 passed just a few weeks ago!

What a tremendous opportunity! Let's hope the weather cooperates to celebrate a momentous occasion not only for the beloved garden, but to our greater community.

Read about it here!

"Like" Heronswood on Facebook!

Riz