Heronswood, Botanical garden in Kingston, Washington, US.
Heronswood is a botanical garden in Kingston, Washington, founded in 1987 by Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones on a 10-acre site later expanded to 15 acres. Its display gardens hold plants collected worldwide, with notable collections of hydrangea, barberry, aralia and buttercup families, plus conifers, hardy ferns, woodland lilies and hardy begonias. It is an affiliate garden of the Hardy Fern Foundation.
The garden was founded in 1987 by Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones and later acquired by the W. Atlee Burpee Company in 2000 before the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe purchased it in 2012. This ownership change shifted the focus toward traditional plants and their cultural importance.
The garden's name comes from the Heronswood estate, and its plant collections were assembled by Dan Hinkley on collecting trips. Since the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe bought the garden in 2012, tribal chairman Jeromy Sullivan has called it a local treasure the tribe is committed to maintaining. The tribe plans to use the nursery company for economic development and vocational education.
The garden sits near Kingston in Washington State, and the site covers 15 acres, expanded from the original 10 acres. The display garden opened to the public on periodic Open House occasions under Burpee, so check current visiting arrangements before travelling. As of 2023 the only plants produced on site are for local distribution.
The garden includes a working nursery area where visitors can observe how plants are propagated and maintained, a detail often overlooked. This practical element reveals the daily care that supports the displayed gardens.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,773 contributors worldwide.