Making the most of limited space: The Heckler Garden

The last day of the Puget Sound Garden Fling was notable for its inclusion of big, well-known gardens.  It included stops at Heronswood and Windcliff, both famous gardens designed by Dan Hinkley.  But between tours of those two venues, we visited the Heckler Garden, which despite its relatively small size held its own.  In fact, it was one of my favorites stops during the three-day Fling.  My only disappointment was that I didn't get enough photos - I could have used another few hours there to see everything and capture all the gems with my camera.

Our bus pulled up at Nancy Heckler's home, a 1934 restored cabin according to our pamphlet's summary.  The house was surrounded by tall trees and mature shrubbery and I never managed to get a wide shot to place it and the garden in perspective - other Flingers, some of whom I've noted at the end of this post, did better than I did on that score.

I entered via a gravel-covered driveway following others in our group.

Virtually every shot I took as I rambled through the garden captured artful vignettes like this one

As was the case in other Puget Sound gardens, colorful Hydrangeas were everywhere.  Heckler noted that she's planted more than 100.

Side door with its own unique touches

We entered the garden proper through a narrow passage adjacent to the garage that was nearly invisible from a distance

Around the corner, another fabulous Hydrangea.  (I love green flowers.)

The narrow passageway meant you had to slow your pace and watch your footing.  That in turn gave you the opportunity to appreciate the plant combinations at ground level. 

The narrow pathway opened up into a sunnier lawn area surrounded by dense borders.

Heckler previously had a 2-acre garden with both sun and shade areas. In contrast, this smaller garden is heavy on shade, with just a few hours of sun in certain areas.

She uses flowers on a limited basis in the brighter areas

My phone's plant ID app says this is a Japanese snowbell tree (Styrax japonicus) but I remain uncertain

More Hydrangeas, gracefully combined with trees and large shrubs

That looks like peony foliage below a massive Hydrangea

The trees soared above the garden, providing a feeling of safety and comfort within the natural enclosure

There were many narrow paths stemming off the back area, all embroidered with interesting mixes of plants, most of which emphasized foliage and textural contrasts.  As I weaved my way through those paths, I felt like part of the garden rather than a dispassionate observer with a camera.

I'm not even going to try to identify most of the plants but I think the variegated specimen in the middle of this shot is Brunnera macrophylla.  (I tried to grow it once in my former shady garden.)

A delicate vine weaved itself through a variety of foliage plants.  I believe the red-flowered vine is Tropaeolum speciosum.

A lot of plants were growing in pots or, as in the case on the right, artfully growing around one

The purple smoketree (Cotinus) contrasts beautifully with the chartreuse shrub below it

Heckler cleverly used parasols in various spots to highlight plants and possibly to shade some from sun scorch (or perhaps I'm just projecting what I'd do with them in my garden!)

More parasols alongside raised planters originally intended for vegetables but currently used as a holding area for new plants

Seeing Senecio 'Angel Wings' used as an accent among other foliage plants left me thinking about trying it again.  (I've only killed it twice.)

While there was a pronounced emphasis on foliage in the Heckler garden, there were flowers here and there in the sunnier areas.  They stood out brilliantly against all the greens.

Lots of Hydrangeas as already demonstrated

Lilies too

And plants that flaunt attractive foliage yet also flower like Epimediums, Podyphyllums, and Rhododendrons

There's a very inviting porch attached to the house.

Regrettably, I didn't manage a wider shot of the porch, which included a table for use in enjoying outdoor meals.  Note the "see through" chairs that provided a comfortable space to sit and enjoy the space without the furniture dominating it.

I didn't get a good shot of the back door either

But I did capture views of the potted plants neatly organized in different spots

Just before I headed back to the bus, I passed a workshop filled with other Flingers checking out another of Nancy Heckler's artistic endeavors.

Nancy Heckler designs made to order lamps using a wide variety of bases (which I'm guessing she's collected over time) and fabrics for the shades.  They were unique and wonderful.  Her workshop may also be the neatest, best-organized work space I've seen in a long time.

Once again, there are other social media posts featuring this garden in more detail than I have, which you might consider viewing:

• Kate David of Hello Garden - YouTube video coverage at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW4V8lUX7zI (combined with coverage of Heronswood)
• Pam Penick of Digging - blog post at https://www.penick.net/digging/?p=95120
• Loree Bohl of danger garden - blog post at http://www.thedangergarden.com/2024/09/nancy-hecklers-garden-during-puget.html

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party