The 150 acre Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island is considered one of the top botanical gardens in the country. Two miles of well maintained trails take visitors through 23 distinct landscapes including a meadow, woodlands, marshland, glen, moss garden, Japanese garden and a reflecting pool.
The residence, an18th century French inspired design, was built in 1929 as a summer home for a prominent Seattle family. It was purchased by Prentice and Virginia Bloedel in 1951. Born in Bellingham in 1900, Mr. Bloedel attended Yale and went into teaching, but gave it up to join the family timber business.
He was a pioneer in the industry for his recycling innovations including reforestation. In 1938, his firm became the first lumber company to plant seedlings. By 1948 they were responsible for 70% of all reforestation efforts in the private sector in British Columbia.
The reserve has been shaped by a number of noted landscape architects and designers, including Thomas Church, a pioneer in Modernism in landscape design, Richard Haag, who later started the Landscape Architecture Department at the University of Washington and Fujitaro Kubota, who developed Seattle's Kubota Garden.
The property was donated to the University of Washington in 1970. A foundation was later created to purchase and maintain the reserve. Prentice passed away in June of 1996 at the age of 95. His wife, Virginia, passed away in 1989.
The Bloedel Reserve is far from their only legacy to the Seattle area. The Japanese Gardens at the Washington Park Arboretum was made possible by their giving. Their daughter, Virginia, and her husband were top art collectors for decades and have been instrumental in the growth of the Seattle Art Museum.
No comments:
Post a Comment