Book Review: Windcliff by Dan Hinkley
Advance your gardening knowledge
A recent webinar hosted by the Garden Conservancy featured Dan Hinkley describing his latest book, “Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens.” In this column, we’ll review his book for consideration as a seasonal gift to a gardening friend … or to yourself.
Hinkley has a strong reputation as a plant hunter and gardener. He has devoted decades to the development of Heronswood, his first major garden, located on the edge of Washington state’s Puget Sound. His new book focuses on the creation of his second major garden, Windcliff, which is about 7 miles from Heronswood.
In addition to being an exceptional plant hunter and gardener, Hinkley is a fine writer of three earlier books, all available from Amazon:
“The Explorer’s Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials” (2009). “The Explorer’s Garden: Shrubs and Vines from the Four Corners of the World.” “Winter Ornamentals: For the Maritime Northwest Gardener” (1993).
He is also a frequent contributor of articles in garden magazines, and a popular speaker at garden associations. In March 2000, he spoke at the UCSC Arboretum and Botanical Garden, invited for the Ray Collett Rare and Extraordinary Plants Lecture Series.
With this background, Hinkley is an effective communicator about plants and gardening. His new book builds on that experience. The writing is informal, graceful, often humorous, and consistently based on his deep experience with a wide range of plants.
The book’s imagery is also satisfying both as aesthetic works and as accurate depictions of plants and landscapes. Most of the excellent photography is by Claire Takacs, with additional “plant portraits” provided by Hinkley.
The book’s organization is roughly chronological, following the 20-year development of the gardens at Windcliff and its several components: the bluff overlooking Puget Sound, house and terrace, potager, nursery, and meadow. Hinkley also devotes a brief closing section to his “Guardians of Memory,” which include significant plants, statuary, and Buddhist prayer flags about which he says, “celebrate those mentors, parents, and siblings who have gone before us.”
While the book has logical discrete sections, it resonates with spontaneity. The reader is often turned around with a fresh emphasis on a favored plant, a design concept, tales of world travel, or companions in plant-hunting explorations.
Hinkley presents a stunning array of plants, many of which will be unfamiliar to even experienced gardeners. He never hesitates to mention disappointing experiences with some plants, but his unmistakable message is about his fascination with, and love of biodiversity.
He expresses particular enjoyment of selected genera. For example, I was struck by his enthusiasm for the South African native, Agapanthus,which is rather common. It turns out, however, that A. africanus and A. orientalis that California gardeners encounter most often, are evergreen species that do not grow well in Hinkley’s gardening region. He likes deciduous species, e.g., A. campanulatus and A. inapertus, which succeed in his garden and offer desirable traits.
Another of his favorites are the Wandflowers (Dierama spp.) which move with breezes. He writes, “Siting within a field of moving pendulous bells was nothing short of magic.”
Even after reading of his appreciation for particular plants, his affection for a great many cultivars is evident. His book includes an index listing an astonishing array of plants included in his garden at Windcliff.
This fine book is an inspiring read about the creation of a unique garden, and also a casual stroll through both familiar and uncommon members of the
plant kingdom. Few gardeners are challenged with the development of a 6.5acre garden like Windcliff, but all gardeners can benefit from the insightful commentaries of skilled creator of gardens, and his affectionate notes about the many plants in his world.
Windcliff ranks very high among the best garden books of 2020.
Enrich your gardening days
The Cactus & Succulent Society recently hosted a webinar on the Huntington Botanical Garden’s great 12-acre Desert Garden, which is one of 16 themed gardens within the 120-acres in southern California that are open to visitors.
The Desert Garden’s extraordinary collection of cactus and succulent plants is one of the world’s most significant assemblage of these fascinating plants. For an overview of this garden, visit https:// www.huntington.org/desert-garden.
This webinar included three sections. The first presenter was James Folsom, the long-time director of the Huntington Botanical Gardens, who was about to retire. He provided a brief history of the development of the Desert Garden, beginning in 1907 on a rocky area that was well-suited to the cultivation of these plants. Following Folsom’s talk, the CSSA presented him with a service award in recognition of his 33 years of leadership for the Gardens.
The second presenter was Seth Baker, the Gardens’ Principal Designer, who outlined current goals and plans to (a) improve the entrance to the Desert Garden, ( b) expand accessibility, following universal design principles,
(c) improve the immersive and cohesive experience of visitors, and their learning opportunities, (d) improve the Desert Garden’s horticultural conditions, and (e) rehabilitate the existing conservatory. He presented numerous photos to illustrate the work now in progress.
The final presenter was Curator of the Desert Collections, John Trager, who provided a series of photos of noteworthy plants in the Desert Garden. “What’s in Bloom” presentations are popular features of public gardens, but Trager’s virtual tour of the amazing Desert Garden raised this concept to new heights, enhanced by his deep knowledge of the plants.
This webinar was welldesigned and expertly supported by leaders of this exceptional botanical resource. It exemplified the rising quality of the emerging practice of virtual gardening, and inspired plans to visit the Huntington Botanical Gardens as soon as travel becomes again to be a good idea.
Meanwhile, I have asked if this webinar could be available online viewing by interested persons. It might be accessible on the Huntington’s website (https://www.huntington. org/features), which already includes numerous video programs related to the Huntington. This column will include a link, if and when the Desert Garden webinar becomes available.
Care for your garden
For next week, this column will return to the list of seasonal gardening priorities.
Keep your emotions positive and your viruses negative and enjoy your garden.
Tom Karwin is past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and Monterey Bay Iris Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 19992009). He is now a board member and garden coach for the Santa Cruz Hostel Society. To view daily photos from his garden, https://www.facebook. com/ongardeningcom - 566511763375123/. To search an archive of previous On Gardening columns, visit http:// ongardening.com.