The annual Garden Conservancy’s Open Days fundraiser invites the curious into the secret gardens of private homes. On June 28, you will gain access to four Bainbridge gardens and two across the Bridge for just $7 each. Short on cash? Weed out the ones you’re less interested in and focus on your favorites.
Here they are:
Johnson/Vigil Garden
The Johnson/Vigil Garden (5456 Diamond Place NE). Cultivated since 2003, this beauty boasts secluded private areas with a range of native plants. The garden backs up to the Gazzam Reserve, with towering pines serving as a dramatic backdrop. A heart-shaped vegetable plot is complemented by fruit trees, vines, and berries, and natural light filters through the space.
Skyler Garden
Skyler Garden (9734 Manitou Place). This third of an acre plot is surrounded by waves of cedar pickets at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Nestled among tall firs, vine maples, rhododendrons, azaleas, viburnum, and magnolias, the gardens have been in progress for more than 30 years. Pathways lead to different garden rooms, where endless groupings of hosta, hellebores, hebes, barberries, spirea, farfugeum, and euphorbias are featured along with hardscape, water features, and more than 100 varieties of ferns for year-round interest.
Cheadle Garden
Cheadle Garden (5369 Taylor Avenue NE). This garden sits atop two acres at the south end of the Island. The bungalow garden has developed over the past 38 years, juxtaposing the structure of clipped boxwoods and yew hedges with an organic flow of flagstone, brick, and stepping stones. The garden features a parklike lawn setting, mature firs, arbors, statues, a pond, and a weeping Katsura.
Folse Garden
Folse Garden (4895 Rose Avenue). Eight acres include several distinct gardens with a combination of enclosed spaces and others integrated into surrounding field and forest. Sculptures and artwork are scattered among uncommon plants and exotic trees, demonstrating the range of cultivars possible in the northwest climate.
Windcliff Garden
Windcliff (10345 NE Shore Drive, Indianola). The home and 6.5-acre garden of Robert Jones and naturalist and plantsman Dan Hinkley sits atop a south-facing high bluff overlooking Puget Sound. The garden is plant driven, showcasing two decades of Hinkley’s collection work. South of the house, which was designed by Jones, is a naturalistic two-acre site of grasses, perennials, shrubs, and small trees. The garden includes an experimental meadow, greenhouse, and potager. Plants will be for sale from the small adjoining nursery.
Simmons Garden
Jeanne Simmons Garden (7211 NE Beach Avenue, Poulsbo). A one-acre garden beside Miller Bay surrounds a century-old house barged to the location from West Seattle. The formal entry garden welcomes with boxwood-lined brick paths and arbors. Winding paths traverse mixed borders of small trees, shrubs, evergreens, perennials, and bulbs. The garden features two small fish ponds, seating areas, and classic plantings of iris, peonies, hemerocallis, and lilies as well as established varieties of hydrangea, viburnum, rhododendron, barberries, and Japanese maples. A sunny bay-side garden includes grasses, heathers, roses, espaliered apple trees, raspberries, and blueberries.
The Open Days Program was created in 1995 to introduce the public to gardening and outstanding examples of design and horticultural practice. It is the only national private garden-visiting program.
The event happens rain or shine. No reservations are required. Call 1-888-842-2442 or click here for more information. All gardens will be open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Folse Garden will stay open until 5 p.m.
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Featured photo shows Cheadle Garden. Courtesy of Garden Conservancy.
