Good News About Heronswood

Back in July the future of Heronswood, a world-class botanical garden in Kingston, Washington, was looking bleak. Bought by the Burpee seed company from founders Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones several years ago, the grounds had been unceremoniously closed and the nursery stock moved to Burpee headquarters in Pennsylvania.

Since then, negotiations between Burpee and the Pacific NW Horticultural Conservancy (PNHC), which was formed specifically to buy the property and establish an educational and research facility there, had been on and then off.

But now, after a gala tour of the gardens held by the Garden Conservancy at the end of July and attended by a large number of Heronswood fans and curious newcomers, it looks like negotiations with Burpee may be back on. We can only hope that this extraordinary treasure will be preserved for gardeners and the public in the future, and that the Burpee company will come to understand the tremendous benefit that its conservation would bring.

You can find out more about PNHC and its mission at their website, and you can e-mail messages of support for their efforts.