Heronswood is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

located in Kingston,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, in the

Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. ...

. It is also the name for the mail order specialty

plant nursery A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

business, that originated at the gardens.

History

Heronswood (gardens and nursery) was established by Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones in 1987, on a site. The display gardens exhibit plant varieties that were collected from around the world, then tested and propagated for introduction into the North American nursery trade. The display gardens have been featured internationally as an example of creative, environmentally sensitive, and botanically impressive

plantsman A plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener (amateur or professional), nurseryman or nurserywoman. "Plantsman" can refer to a male or female person, though the terms plantswoman, or even plantsperson, are sometimes used. The word is ...

ship and

garden design Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. ...

. ;Burpee Company The botanical garden real estate and nursery business associated with it were bought by the W. Atlee Burpee Company in 2000. The gardens were added to more than of land scattered throughout various locations in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. and England. Plant research and production then encompassed four USDA

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

s, including zones 5–9. The display garden was opened to the public on periodic Open House occasions. In 2006 the business conducted under the Heronswood brand was closed by W. Atlee Burpee. The company CEO cited a lack of demand for rare plants as a major factor in the failure of the business. The closure coincided with difficult financial circumstances for Burpee's following a rapid expansion prior to the purchase. ;Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe The Heronswood botanical garden and Heronswood Nursery Company was sold to the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (PGST) in the summer of 2012. The tribal council has stated it is committed to maintaining the garden as an asset to the community. S’Klallam tribe chairman Jeromy Sullivan said, “We understand how passionate people are about Heronswood and, as a neighbor, we are committed to maintaining this local treasure.” "Currently, Heronswood Garden is under very positive restoration efforts which are being led by various members of the Heronswood Staff, the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, the Heronswood Garden steering committee, and dozens of very skilled and dedicated volunteers. The Garden Conservancy: "A new future for Heronswood Gardens"
. accessed 18.08.2012

Heronswood Nursery

Heronswood is also a catalog resource for rare and unusual plants, originally established by Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones in 1987. Heronswood as a nursery brand became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Burpee Seed Company in 2000. After the 2012 sale of the Heronswood Nursery Company, Burpee retained rights to sell Heronswood

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

. The primary Burpee display and trial gardens are presently located on the Fordhook Farm in Doylestown,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Fordhook Farm is the original home and gardens of seed pioneer

Washington Atlee Burpee Washington Atlee Burpee (5 April 1858 – 26 November 1915) was the founder of the W. Atlee Burpee & Company, now more commonly known as Burpee Seeds. Biography Atlee was born in 1858 in Sheffield, New Brunswick, Canada but he moved to Phi ...

.Fordhook Voice – Gardening Blog: "A Tale Of Two Gardens"
. accessed 08.06.2013 The "Heronswood Nursery Company" is being considered in the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe's plans as potential part of tribal economic development and employment, and vocational education opportunities.

References

External links

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe website: Heronswood GardensHeronswood Voice
— ''Burpee blog by George Ball''.

— ''Rainy Side Gardeners''. {{coord, 47, 49, 15, N, 122, 32, 56, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-WA Botanical gardens in Washington (state) Parks in Kitsap County, Washington