Lots of space needed for this beauty!

Another noteworthy specimen plant in Dan Hinkley’s garden is rhodocoma capensis plant from South Africa. This plant grows in the USDA zones 8-10. Dan said when we get an occasional snowfall the plant will go flat due to the weight of the snow, but will bounce back after snowmelt. We saw several varieties of this plant thriving in his garden.

More unique plants

One of several focal points in the Hinkley garden is a Dove tree. Dan explained that it was planted by previous gardener before he owned the property. The plant is originally from China and the the “doves” are actually white bracts.

To learn more about this rare plant collector follow these links:

Dan’s web presence
Monrovia Dan Hinkley collection

Dan Hinkley’s unique garden

My garden club has a reputation for organizing many interesting field trips every year. Being relatively new to the area (six years already) I have enjoyed this type of orientation to the local gardening world. I really didn’t know about Dan before we went on the trip, but judging from previous trips with this group, I just knew it would be fun! It did not disappoint.

A garden needs to have acreage to be able to grow several types of bamboo. That is just one of the many unique features of Dan Hinkley’s hidden garden on the waterfront. Dan told us about bamboo the pandas eat and how to cook bamboo shoots! He broke off one and handed it to us for inspection. As we wandered about, I noticed that none of the plants were labeled but every question about variety or source location brought an in depth answer. Many of the plants on the property were started as seeds collected in places like Japan, China or Tasmania.

The Butchart Gardens – Winter High Tea, Greenhouse Tours, Magic of Christmas

The Butchart Gardens – Winter High Tea, Greenhouse Tours, Magic of Christmas.

I need to do this. I always seem to go to Butchart in July to see roses 🙂

Discovery Garden – Skagit County WA

My errands today took me up to Mt. Vernon, WA to pick up several sheets of poly carb to replace the greenhouse roof. When I was looking at the map on Charley’s Greenhouse website I noticed that it is not far from a Master Gardeners display garden. I love places like this because the collective, creative gardening minds of Master Gardeners have been showcases, in my past garden tour experience. I was not disappointed!

Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, WA

Have you heard about Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island? It is across Sound from Seattle, about a 45 minute drive from our house over the Agate Pass Bridge. It was not until seeing an ad for “the premier plant sale” and a sunny break on Saturday morning did I consider checking out this garden and sale. I heard that there are no roses in the garden but lots of other great plants. It is a gem on the island.