permaculture

[Bill McDorman <bm@seedsave.org>]

By Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporter



Fans of Kitsap County's internationally acclaimed Heronswood Nursery --
which is
credited with putting the Pacific Northwest on the horticulturalist's
map by
introducing thousands of exotic plants from around the world -- are
about to
suffer transplant shock.

Horticulture giant W. Atlee Burpee & Co., which bought Heronswood in
2000, told
employees Tuesday it was shutting down the Kingston nursery and moving
the
research and retail operations to company headquarters in Pennsylvania.
The
company said it will retain the Heronswood name and catalog and will
continue to
offer a similar variety of plants.

For the founders of Heronswood as well as the thousands of gardeners
who visited
the lush nursery over the years, the news was devastating.

"This has been like dealing with a death in the family," said Daniel J.
Hinkley,
who began Heronswood with his partner Robert Jones nearly 20 years ago.
"We're
sad because we believed in Heronswood and believed it was more than
just a
nursery. We were trying to contribute to the horticultural community
and the
community as a whole."

Valerie Easton, a gardening expert and frequent contributor to The
Seattle
Times, said the gap left by the nursery's departure will not be easily
filled.

"Heronswood is a Mecca for gardeners around the world, and it's
quintessentially
Northwest," Easton said. "Without Dan Hinkley or its Northwest setting,
I don't
know what Heronswood is."

A plant explorer, Hinkley traveled the world to find unusual and exotic
specimens that would thrive in the Pacific Northwest. He brought them
home to
Heronswood, planted them, grew them and sold them through a highly
anticipated
and richly detailed catalog.

It was through Heronswood that hardy orchids and many species of
hellebores were
introduced to the U.S., according to Richard Hartlage, a landscape
architect
with AHBL Inc.

"This is a disaster," Hartlage said. "Everyone is just shocked."

When the sale was announced six years ago, many local garden lovers
feared that
Heronswood's homegrown charm and emphasis on Northwest cultivars would
be
swallowed by the profit needs of the much larger and older Pennsylvania
company.

But those fears receded as years passed and Heronswood and Burpee
seemed to
coexist peacefully. Heronswood remained a plant lovers' paradise that
counted
Martha Stewart among its fans, a world-renowned garden with 10,000
plant
species, and two dozen dedicated employees dubbed "Heronistas."

Burpee President George Ball said the decision to close the Heronswood
gardens
and move the nursery operations was a financial one.

"We tried for six years and it just wasn't profitable," said Ball, who
was in
Kingston on Tuesday to break the news to Heronswood employees.

Ball said the move, which is expected to take place over the next three
months,
will enable the company to expand its product line to include varieties
better
suited to flourish in other parts of the U.S.

"The plants we've collected from around the world will be tested under
conditions more similar to those of our customers," he said.

Burpee operates a 50-acre nursery in Willow Hill, Pa., and a similarly
sized
test-and-display garden complex at Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, Pa.

Ball offered an apology to local gardeners who were grieving the loss.

"I'm sorry for that," he said. "If I could bat a thousand, I would, but
nobody's
perfect, and I did the best I could."

Of the 26 employees at Heronswood, seven have been asked to work
through the
summer. The others were told their jobs were gone, Ball said.

The gates to Heronswood were locked shortly after the announcement and
workers
began packaging plants for transport, Hinkley said.

"The hardest thing for me to swallow right now is that this is what
people
feared would happen," he said. "It was my decision to sell to a large
corporate
nursery, and it was not a decision that was made lightly, but I made
it, so
ultimately I am the person to blame."

The closing will leave a gaping hole in the local horticultural
landscape,
several experts said, and gives rise to speculation about whether
someone will
step in to fill the void.

Hinkley said that while he has several years remaining on a noncompete
clause
with Burpee, he is not ruling out the possibility of starting anew.

Ball said the 15-acre Heronswood property, which he called the best
private
botanic garden in the U.S., will be sold to someone who will honor it.
"We're
not going to just sell it to a developer who will tear it apart," Ball
said.

Hinkley said he hopes that's true.

"One thing I want to tell the people at Burpees is that the garden is
filled
with some extraordinarily rare things, and I hope that whoever acquires
it
values it."

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com


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            _'\<,_
___________(_)/ (_)_______________
Bill W.  McDorman
Seeds Trust, High Altitude Gardens
PO Box 596
Cornville, AZ 86325
928.649.3315
bm@seedsave.org
http://www.seedstrust.com