HERON'S WATCH

(This is a 2016 garden description. Gardens for this year’s tour can be found here.)

Plants gifted from a cherished sister-in-law were the inspiration for the gradual transformation of a yard of grass and concrete to lush garden spaces and patios, where herons and eagles and sunsets are enjoyed with a close-up view of the Sound.

A happy-hour patio in front is surprisingly private, surrounded by yew, pots of grasses and contorted filbert. The featured tree, dead center of the walkway, surrounded by thyme, is a Blue Spanish Fir. The path to the back is lined with hydrangeas, including ‘Limelight’ and oak leaf. Three large, galvanized horse troughs contain black bamboo, and Blue Atlas Cedar grows near the corner of the house.

Arborvitae provide privacy for the canopied patio in back, surrounded by hebes, hellebores, and more hydrangeas. Ornamental trees include another contorted filbert and a coral bark Japanese maple. The path to the north is edged with a repeated pattern of yew and sarcococca.

The north garden is a scene of contrasting foliage that changes with the seasons. The dark green of the Hinoki cypress sets off the coral bark maple in winter, heather and gardenias in spring, and hostas all summer.

The lime green Japanese maple thrives in this garden after a decade as a potted plant in a roof garden atop a 5-story building in Pioneer Square. It was lowered by pulleys on the outside of the building into a pickup—and survived!

The enormous anchor “that washed up on the beach” adds a charming touch to this lovely Puget Sound scene.

Not wheelchair/stroller accessible.