A Wealth of Gardens

Dear Esteemed Readers,

I’m writing this note a few days before the upcoming Summer Solstice on June 21, when daylight hours here in the Northern Hemisphere reach their fullest expansion. After weeks of unrelenting rain earlier this year, the (super-hydrated) shrubs, trees, and flowers here in Central Washington have been bursting with one of the most glorious displays of spring growth we have experienced in many years. And as the days have grown longer, behind the scenes I’ve been expanding my personal, “Contemplations of Gardens” education by carefully researching information about the care required to successfully grow both conventional and native plantings.

The 2025 Yakima Arboretum Garden Tour

Every year in early June, the Yakima Arboretum sponsors its annual Spring Garden Tour, which welcomes visitors to a curated selection of some of the most unique and beautiful private gardens in the Yakima area. As a long time gardening fanatic myself, I was among the hundreds of visitors who attended this year’s Garden Tour to explore these gardens and visit with their owners, who always enjoy sharing their enthusiasm and expertise with others. 

So grab your (virtual) hat and walking shoes to join me over two days of garden inspiration featured in the following Art Nun vignettes.

The Heritage Garden Program

Although many gardeners are accustomed to planting more well-known examples of flowers, shrubs and trees available at local nurseries, a growing segment of dry climate gardeners in Central and Eastern Washington have started including native plantings in their overall designs, to attract an even greater abundance of beneficial pollinators, and help conserve valuable water resources.

The Heritage Garden program is a free educational resource administered through the North Yakima Conservation District, which encourages residents and businesses to incorporate water-wise and sustainable gardening practices into their outdoor surroundings. Free services provided by the Heritage program include preliminary site visits, the preparation of customized native plant lists and garden designs, and specific instructions for ongoing plant care that will ensure each garden’s ongoing health and vitality in the future. 

Once the gardens have been installed and certified by the Heritage Garden staff, garden owners receive a well-designed yard sign that identifies their plantings as part of the Heritage program.

The Tapteal Native Plant Nursery

Tapteal Nursery in West Richland, Washington, is our region’s closet provider of beautiful and drought tolerant native plants recommended by the Heritage Garden program. The word tapteal (pronounced “tapteel”) is a Native American word for the Yakima River, which runs close to the nursery itself. Since November of 2024, I’ve been studying the Tapteal website to learn more about native plants, and I’m now an evangelist for their benefits. Here is Tapteal’s description of how and why the nursery was established:

A Neighborhood of Heritage Gardens

Not far from Yakima proper, the Selah Vista Green Home development in Selah, Washington, was designed from its beginning to incorporate certified, drought tolerant, Heritage Garden native plantings into every home’s outdoor environment. During my first day of garden explorations on the Arboretum’s Garden tour, I visited the home of Shelley and Dan Carpenter in the Selah Vista community and spoke at length with them about their Heritage Garden native pollinator plantings, originally installed in 2022. Below you’ll find a few photos of their compact but beautiful garden, taken on my visit:

Heatherwood Garden in Selah

My second stop in Selah was Heatherwood, a four-acre garden wonderland that was once an expansive horse pasture. After moving to the property in 2016, Karl and Mary Graf began working closely with garden designer Guillermo Rivero to develop six, beautifully designed theme gardens that transformed the Grafs’ dreams into spectacular reality. The gardens include plantings of over 300 varieties of trees and shrubs, 150 examples of perennials and grasses, a rock waterfall flowing into a pond, and a lively stream.

As a special treat on the afternoon I visited Heatherwood, garden designer Guillermo Rivero guided me on a personally narrated, encyclopedic tour through nearly all of the Grafs’ stunning plantings.

In this linked profile, Guillermo shares the details of his gardening background and philosophy:

The Stevens’ Garden Retreat

Back in Yakima on day two of the the Garden Tour, I first enjoyed the stately presence of the spectacular giant oak tree that welcomes visitors to Lucy and Jeff Stevens’ property. Near the home’s entrance, I stopped to watch the bees at work in the small, certified Heritage Garden, then followed a side pathway to the Stevens’ quiet backyard retreat.

Lucy Stevens waved from the pergola and invited me to join her to learn more about the many striking plantings that surround the center patio: tall, shaded rhododendrons, fragrant lavender, a variety of additional colorful perennials, raised beds with fruiting raspberries and vegetables, and a large potted fig tree—one of my special garden favorites. Once again, garden designer Guillermo Rivero reimagined the Stevens’ original garden with a new and more abundant look, anchored by the pergola and elegant hardscape paving.

The Davisons’ Hidden Oasis

Almost hidden at the end of a private driveway screened from the street by an evergreen hedge and mature rhododendrons, Mike and Cheryl Davison’s two-acre garden includes a wealth of spectacular garden plantings that combine their love of color and texture with a deep scientific knowledge of their rare plant collections’ unique characteristics. These plantings feature over 100 roses and dwarf conifers that the Davisons discovered and propagated by hand. The onsite greenhouse next to the house provides a convenient working environment for the care of their gardening treasures, and also serves as a growing room for the many Christmas Cactus plants that bring color and life to their indoor environment during the dark winter months.

Kathy and Dennis Byam’s Zen-influenced Hideaway

My last stop on the 2025 Arboretum Garden Tour on Saturday was a visit to the Byams' large pond, surrounded by willow trees and teeming with local wildlife, especially in the evening. Visitors include turtles, frogs, fish, muskrats, and an occasional fox. In 2019, interior designer Kathy Byam was introduced to the beauty, philosophy, and quiet discipline of a traditional Japanese tree training practice known as “Bonsai”, in which small trees are carefully shaped by annual pruning and wiring. Mastering Bonsai techniques requires patience, mindfulness, and dedication, and Kathy Byam’s collection of artfully designed specimens have become inspirations for Bonsai enthusiasts throughout the Yakima area.

Next Year In Yakima

Thanks for joining me on the Arboretum’s 2025 garden tour! Its not too early for local and out of town garden enthusiasts to think about visiting Yakima next Spring for the Arboretum’s 2026 Garden Tour event. You can always combine your visit with a local wine tasting or a fine cortado here in the informal art colony of Tieton, where I live. For future planning, check out the local lodging and culinary offerings in the “Resources” section at the bottom of this postcard. 

I hope to connect with you again next year.

With all best wishes,

Sandra Dean, Visual Artist
Tieton, Washington USA