San Juan Island Garden Club Update

Garden Club at Fort Worden – Contributed Photo

The San Juan Island Garden Club shares with notice us…

Members and Friends of the San Juan Island Garden Club recently enjoyed a two-day excursion to the Olympic Peninsula and experienced natural beauty and gardening information that matched and exceeded all expectations.

Eleven very joyful gardeners (from San Juan Island and Lopez Island) enjoyed visits to Heronswood Garden, where we experienced the extreme woodland beauty and the incorporated monumental art of this estate. There were also free lectures by noted speakers, Kelly Dodson and Heronswood Garden Director, Dan Hinkley. Heronswood has a history of development-to-total beauty; then decline; and now restoration to it’s original beauty and beyond.

The day turned rainy, but the group prevailed and proceeded to beautiful Happy Valley of Sequim to visit the Peony Farm Gardens.  Tucked off of the mainstream of traffic, there exists this beautiful “oasis” of blooms of peonies.  It was enjoyed by all, but especially those who chose to exit the bus without an umbrella and to purchase the beautiful plants.

The second day, our excursion took us to the Centennial Rhododendron Garden at Fort Worden. This is one of those gems that shines brightly in late Winter and early Spring. The blooms were still vibrant with exclusive colors that many of us have not experienced in our own “rhodies.”  The grounds at Fort Worden are so open and offer the idea of a “blanket on the ground” picnic in the future.  Very inviting!

The last chronicled visit on this excursion was to Far Reaches Farm, which is plant obsessed with over 5,000 plants in their collection.  Kelly Dodson and Sue Milliken opened their nursery on a Sunday morning just for these “crazy” gardeners from San Juan Island, who have a passion for plants.  They explore the climes and the meadows of the world and gather these exotic plants and seeds (in conjunction with Dan Hinkley, I believe) and propagate them to ensure their continued existence. We made it worth their while and brought home many plants and the joys of sharing extreme gardening experiences.

We met the ferry that brought us home at 7 pm and brought home many exotic plants and experiences to tuck under our gardening hats. Great experience!

Please look forward to future San Juan Island Garden Club Excursions and join us! We welcome everyone!

Visit our website San Juan Island Garden Club for more information about upcoming meetings and excursions or call Yvonne Harold 378-6250 or Dot Vandaveer 378-8306 or Marguerite Bennett 378-8524 for more information.

You can support the San Juan Update by doing business with our loyal advertisers, and by making a one-time contribution or a recurring donation.