Heronswood, The Sequel

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 I was given a catalog when I checked in at the Garden Conservancy table at Heronswood on Sunday afternoon. An attractive catalog, with nice photos, 8-1/2 by 11, 55 pages. Actually had some cool stuff in it too. But can I ever put the 'real' Heronswood  catalogs behind me ? Not likely. They reside on my bookcase with Margery Fish, Jamaica Kincaid and Nancy Ondra , sturdy paperbacks, heavy on text, with cover art from local PNW artists. And what text !

  Map in hand, I went up the path. No tags.Spotty maintenance.Overgrown. And plant after fabulous plant---trees, shrubs, conifers,oddball perenials -you name it. Things I've never seen. I could only guess what they were--no tags. Damn.

 I felt sad. Ok, so Burpee/Ball owns this place. They have to know what this is-don't they ? They made the investment far afield from their home base and have dubbed it a research facility. Parts of the garden are maintained, and it's not weedy-thank goodness for that .But...


Pots atop these iconic Little and Lewis columns are crumbling, colors are faded , plants are unrefreshed.(forgive the blur-deep shade)




Closer to the residence, this bed had a great color-vibe, but poorly pruned  shrubs..note dead stuff on the conifers. Am I too picky ? But this is Heronswood for chrissakes !




Thanks goodness this clever hornbeam (?) hedge has been kept up.







  And there were moments when I knew I was at Heronswood. Even more moments when I wished I was Warren Buffet , could buy the whole damn place, set up foundation, hire crew and save it forever.


Comments

  1. Claudia FabianaJune 28, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    Gorgeous garden and pictures!

    ciao from Newport Beach

    ReplyDelete
  2. DarlaJune 29, 2011 at 3:49 AM

    No garden is perfect...I think everything here is beautiful and the imperfections add character.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hoover BooJune 29, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    Shameful, but only gardeners know it is shameful. Where are you, Bill Gates?

    That last photo is heavenly. What a water feature. Want!

    ReplyDelete
  4. DustinJune 29, 2011 at 10:51 PM

    The garden has really held up considering the small (tiny) amount of resources they put into it. Used to be a hive of activity.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DeniseJune 30, 2011 at 7:15 AM

    You made it! Well, at least it's open to the public. Dreaming of deep pockets -- imagine if there was a George Soros counterpart for horticulture!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ksJuly 4, 2011 at 11:55 AM

    Thanks Fabiana !

    Hoover, Little and Lewis hardscape in that water feature, surrounded by a pond, and in the deep woods of the garden--very effective.

    Dustin I feared the worst when I entered but things got better the closer you got to the residence. Still...

    Only a few hours from Portland Denise..only open by appointment which might be preferable to seeing it with the GC hordes. Next time you need to bail out of a PNW family function...?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hoover BooJuly 20, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    That it has held up as well as it has shows it was well and wisely planted, no?

    ReplyDelete

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