Windcliff, the final stop of the Puget Sound Fling

As I explained in the introduction to my post on the Brindley garden, it and the Windcliff garden next door were bundled together.  The only downside to that was that my attention was divided as I went back and forth between the two gardens.  I've never been good with spatial relations to start with so it was very frustrating when I tried to to determine which of my jumbled photos were taken where at Windcliff some two-plus months after I took them.  So I consulted the book written by Dan Hinkley about Windcliff, the home and garden he and his partner Robert Jones created in Indianola, Washington.

Luckily, I had a copy of the book on hand.  You can find the book here

This hand-drawn map is part of of the book's frontpiece

I organized my photos by referencing that map in preparing a rundown of my visit to Windcliff.  My photos don't do the garden justice but the book itself is a wonderful read should you wish to explore it further.  There are also posts by other Flingers you can consult.  I've provided links at the bottom of this post.

I'll start with the front drive coming up upon the house.

We walked in off the driveway though a bamboo tunnel

The official canine greeters met us as we approached the house

These totems signified our arrival

The plant with red and yellow flowers at the front of the house is a species of Cautleya, a plant in the ginger family

The look-alike containers are a great focal point at the front of the house, although with apologies to all those who love Pseudopanax ferox, that's one plant I've never warmed up to

I moved on next to an area northeast of the house that encompassed the greenhouse, potager, and nursery.

I just peeked into the greenhouse

The potager included flowers like sweet peas as well as vegetables

What I assume is a morning glory vine growing up a ladder

Just one section of many containing nursery plants

Lots of delicious dark-flowered Agapanthus were growing in pots.  I understand that Hinkley has been actively breeding deciduous varieties that can survive colder temperatures.

Moving to the back of the house brought me to the deck, pond and terrace areas.

Two unique containers created using harvested wood stood next to the house itself

Hinkley lost a large number of plants in this area of the bluffs during a particularly brutal winter this year.  He's solarizing the soil in preparation for replanting.

This area off the deck features sculptures designed by Dustin Gimbel

View of the house with Agapanthus and Salvia in the foreground

Humongous planters made a statement on the terrace

A pond meanders through the area between the terrace and the bluffs

A large Arctostaphylos (manzanita), bordered by a palm and Yucca rostrata, sit at the pond's edge

I'm guessing that this shrub is an Indigofera tinctoria

Carnivorous plants in a bog setting

A handsome set of circular stairs linking the terrace to a more heavily planted area

As I recall, I moved from the stairs toward the bluff.

A firepit (aka The Council Ring) overlooks the bluff with the Salish Sea in the distance

I smiled at seeing this beautiful mass of Lobelia laxiflora.  I have a much smaller clump that a neighbor once insisted I should treat as a noxious week.

These are just a handful of the lovely plants I spotted throughout the area south of the house.  Clockwise from the upper left, I'm guessing they are: Ammi majus, Grevillea 'Canterbury Gold', noID Dyckia, Salvia patens 'Deep Blue', and Nolana reichei. 

I couldn't remember where I saw the plants shown above but they were too attractive to ignore: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', noID lily, and Roscoea 'Family Jewels'.

This post ends my Puget Sound Fling coverage.  It was a wonderful experience and I'm glad I was able to attend.  For anyone interested in more cogent coverage of Windcliff garden, here are the additional links I promised in my introduction:

Succulents and More (Gerhard Bock) - https://www.succulentsandmore.com/2024/08/windcliff-too.html

Digging (Pam Penick) - https://www.penick.net/digging/?p=95491

Digging (Pam Penick) - https://www.penick.net/digging/?p=95541

Paintbox Garden (Janet Davis) - https://www.thepaintboxgarden.com/the-wonders-of-windcliff/

Hello Garden (Kate David) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z52SspAjXjA

 Best wishes for an enjoyable weekend!

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

The Brindley garden, one of the final stops on the Puget Sound Fling

After leaving the Heckler garden on the afternoon of the last day of the Puget Sound Fling in July, my bus headed for Windcliff.  Even our small bus faced some difficulties winding our way through narrow streets as we approached and we were initially dropped off next door before walking to Windcliff.  The boundaries between Windcliff and the Brindley garden next door were somewhat porous and, as the official Fling photo was set up at the latter location, I ended up going back and forth between the two properties, on one occasion looking for the bottled water kept on the bus.  My photos became jumbled in the process and although I think I've sorted them out, I can't be certain of this.  Rather than jump into coverage of Windcliff, I'm covering the Brindley garden first.

Both properties sit on the Salish Sea in Indianola, Washington with views of the Puget Sound, as well as downtown Seattle in the distance.  The Brindley garden was designed and planted by Shayne Chandler in 2010 on a referral from Dan Hinkley.  From the drive leading to the house to the view overlooking the Salish Sea, it's a beautiful space.

I'll start with the driveway area.

I think this photo was part of the Brindley property but it could be part of the drive headed into Windcliff

A lovely display of Japanese anemones (Eriocapitella hupehensis)

Artichokes fronted by Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum)

A path approaching the house

A wonderful seating area surrounded by colorful flowers

I loved this composition of peach dahlias and gladiolas, with some burgundy hollyhocks thrown in

I'm now unsure which garden this Hydrangea and noID Lomatia belong to

Ditto with this mass of what I think is Lobelia tupa

But this is most certainly the front of the Brindley home

More peach-colored flowers, in this case bordered by Persicaria 'Painter's Palette', a plant I wish I could grow

Clockwise from upper left: a noID Cordyline paired with Persicaria 'Painter's Palette', noID peach lilies, and a noID Persicaria ground cover I saw in a few Puget Sound gardens

Monarda didyma underneath a pretty tree (probably Cercis canadensis 'Flame Thrower')

Shed fronted by what may be another Cercis and backed by what I remember thinking must be Sedum in full flower

As I recall, moving beyond the shed led me into the back garden.

Back garden with a raised patio

A good view of the back of the house through what I'm guessing is Stipa gigantea

An impressive mass of red Crocosmia close to the house

As Loree Bohl of danger garden says, there's always an agave

A very colorful sculpture offered a focal point

Top row: Echinops
Middle: Eryngium and what I think might be a Hebe
Bottom: some kind of buckwheat (Eriogonum)

noID Yucca with particularly pretty flowers

Flinger viewing the sea behind a curtain of red-flowered Phygelius

Another view through a mass of Crocosmia

I enjoyed reviewing my photos of this garden and wish I could make another round in person.  As with virtually every site we visited on our Fling tours, I didn't feel I thoroughly covered the Brindley garden.  I didn't manage many wide shots, which might have helped the reader with the overall orientation of the garden.  If you're interested in another perspective, check out Pam Penick's post at Digging here.

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