Visit private gardens on Bainbridge to benefit Garden Conservancy

By Kitsap News Group staff • June 20, 2019 11:30 am
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Werskey | Folse Garden, one of five Bainbridge gardens open to the public Saturday, June 22 as part the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program.
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Werskey | Folse Garden, one of five Bainbridge gardens open to the public Saturday, June 22 as part the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program.

The public is invited to visit five private gardens on Bainbridge Island as part the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program on Saturday, June 22.

All sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The visitation is set to go on rain or shine, and no reservations are required.

Admission is $10 per garden; children 12 and under are free. Call 1-888-842-2442 or visit www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days for more information.

The Garden Conservancy is a national nonprofit dedicated to saving and sharing outstanding American gardens. Since 1995, the Garden Conservancy’s award-winning Open Days has welcomed more than a million visitors into thousands of inspired private landscapes — from urban rooftops to organic farms, historic estates to innovative suburban lots — in 41 states.

Visitors may begin the tour at any of the event’s five gardens.

1. Cedar Ponds (16140 Agate Pass Road NE)

Primarily landscaped by the original owners, the garden features a series of seven ponds which flow into each other, circling the house. Each subsequent owner has contributed unusual plants, hardscaping, and sculpture (in this case a totem to commemorate a wedding). Visitors to the garden comment on its quiet serenity and variety of views; particularly lovely is the view over the meadow lawn to the largest pond.

2. Folse Garden (4895 Rose Ave.)

This is a large, eight-acre property that includes multiple gardens, both enclosed and integrated into the surrounding field and forest, with a wide array of flowers, unusual plants, and exotic trees, as well as sculptures and other artwork throughout.

3. Garden of Sherri and Stephen Wilson (9786 NE Yaquina Ave.)

This two-acre garden has been developed throughout the past 25 years. It has quiet green areas, exuberant mixed borders stuffed with unusual plants, a boxwood parterre with a pebble mosaic floor, and an old orchard. The greenhouse was constructed of vintage windows and wood, surrounded by succulents that spend the summer outside. There are outbuildings filled with collectibles, including a “tiki hut.” The raised vegetable beds have been converted to a cutting garden in a color wheel, with a fountain in the center constructed from old grain augers.

4. The Cole Garden (10202 Rodal Court NE)

A Victorian “shabby chic” perennial garden full of flowers, vignettes, pathways, a rose garden, birdbaths, arbors, and a charming porch for entertaining. Many containers are filled with sweet peas, annuals, fuchsias, and hydrangeas. Many beautiful trees are home to birds galore and busy squirrels. There is an amazing collection of garden accoutrements and established bamboo. This garden has a lot of shade for hot afternoons and just the right amount of sun for flowers to bloom vigorously and keep the sweet peas performing from April to September.

5. The Skyler Garden (9734 Manitou Place)

Surrounded by waves of cedar pickets and an iron gate made by the owner, this private third-of-an-acre site sits at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Nestled among tall firs, vine maples, rhododendrons, azaleas, Viburnum, and magnolias, these gardens have been a work in progress for more than 30 years. Stroll the pathways, each leading to a different garden room, and you will discover seemingly endless groupings of Hosta, Helleborus, Hebes, barberries, Spirea, Farfugium, Euphorbia, and more than 100 varieties of ferns — the gardener’s passion. These gardens have interest throughout the year with hardscape and water features.

All Open Days gardens are featured in “The 2019 Open Days Directory,” a soft-cover book that includes detailed driving directions and vivid garden descriptions written by their owners, plus a complementary ticket for admission to one private garden.

The directory includes garden listings in 14 states and costs $25, including shipping. Visit www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days or call the Garden Conservancy at 1-888-842-2442 to order with a VISA, MasterCard or American Express, or send a check or money order to: The Garden Conservancy, PO Box 608, Garrison, NY 10524.

Discount admission tickets are available as well through advanced mail order.