Monday, March 10, 2025

The Berk/Kessler Garden, a Puget Sound Fling stop

My visit to the Berk/Kessler Garden in Seattle was on the "bonus" Monday of the Garden Fling weekend last July. I'd been wanting to tour this garden since I first saw it from across the street, while visiting the Bednarksi garden, during the 2022 NPA Study Weekend event. 

In the intervening years I learned the garden belonged to Bonnie Berk, whom I know as the president of the Hardy Fern Foundation, I was thrilled to finally visit Bonnie's garden...

From our Fling brochure: "Welcome to Casa Nirvana, a tapestry garden that brings together art, color, history, plants, and many passions. 

History and site: designed in 1916 by noted Seattle Architect Arthur Loveless, our house sits high above the street, in the historic Mt. Baker neighborhood. Layered terraces frame the stairway; these were carved into the hillside in 2000 to manage the steep slope, as part of a complete hardscape renovation project...The unusual, large side garden is defined by a towering, 20-foot hedge, original to the house, although much taller. 

Plants! This is a plant collector's garden, with an uncounted number of unusual specimens acquired from specialty nurseries on both coasts. The collection is broad and eclectic, from rare shrubs and ferns to aeoniums in profusion. The garden's development has been informed by visiting gardens in the US and Europe, by workshops in England and Great Dixter, and especially our region's great plant explorers. The underlying theme is foliage—bold, variegated, black, unusual."
Let's head up those steps and see what there is to see...

Oh hey, there's Bonnie, come to greet us.
It looks like Bonnie loves gardening with containers too, and she's got a succulent table! (the sunny answer to the popular fern table)

Glancing to the side of the staircase, that's some seriously dense planting...(dare I call it cramscaping?)

Hydrangea macrophylla Eclipse®

Succulent perfection!

Time to make my way up and see what's at house level, of course I had to stop and admire things along the way.




Wowsa, that's a green wall back drop!


Some of those "aeoniums in profusion" mentioned in the garden description.



Sinopanax formosanus

The meeting of the saxifrage.

Pyrrosia lingua ‘Hiryu’, I believe.

Blechnum spicant, aka Struthiopteris spicant

One of the painted ferns, Athyrium niponicum, I never can tell them apart.

Adiantum aleuticum var. subpumilim

A few of my fellow Flingers, taking it all in.

Bonnie is definitely not afraid of bold color, and I love the pot full of gardening tools.

Strobilanthes gossypinus

Leucadendron 'Ebony'
More of the plants up against the tall green wall hedge.



Hey, is that Red Fred? (Begonia 'Red Fred'), I need to ask Bonnie where she overwinters all of the not hardy plants, cause she has a lot of them.

Pyrrosia lingua 'Cristata'

Walking up to the deck/patio area at the front side of the home.


Marcia Donahue pottery mulch?


Our time here has drawn to a close...

Thanks for letting us wander around your beautiful garden Bonnie!

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All material © 2009-2025 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

22 comments:

  1. What a beautiful garden, the entry is fantastic. So many rich colors & textures, I need to go back to the top and look again.

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    1. I loved how the garden came down to the street level. All of that hardscape could have been very foreboding but it's not.

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  2. That's a truly spectacular garden! It looks impeccable too. I deeply regret my failure to sign up for the Monday addition to the Fling, although as I tested positive for Covid the day after arriving home, I suppose skipping it saved my fellow Flingers from the risk of exposure to that nasty virus. Thanks for sharing what I missed.

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    1. Ah yes, I forgot about the COVID cases, the downside of being with so many gardening friends for several days. I'm sorry you were one of the sufferers.

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  3. So much to see. I love it.

    Aeoniums? Leucadendron 'Ebony'? They must spend winters indoors.

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    1. I asked Bonnie and she overwinters them in her garage.

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  4. You got some great pictures. That was a beautiful garden crammed with out-of-the-ordinary plants. Really enjoyed that one! --HB (could not sign in--blogger being weird again).

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  5. What a garden! The other comments say it all! She must have about 6 gardeners to care for all of the gardens so beautifully!

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    1. I didn't think to ask if she has regular help, but of course prepping for a group active on social media probably meant pulling in a few extra hands.

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  6. Amazing garden! Shayne Chandler did a great job with that upper garden’s stunning border!

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    1. Ah... so there's a familiar name, good to know he had a hand in things.

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  7. Wow, what a great garden with so much to love. I find myself wishing I had a more manageable/smaller garden. Really appreciate your garden blogs as I no longer have the time and energy to get out and about AND manage my own garden! Mary

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    1. I'm glad you enjoy my posts, it's good to know they're being seen by appreciating eyes.

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  8. Alexandra HalseyMarch 11, 2025

    What an amazing garden! Do you have a recommendation on how best to get in touch with Bonnie about visiting? I live in Seattle and would absolutely love to see this place. Thanks so much, and also for another engaging post!

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    1. I know that Bonnie opens her garden thru various organizations that have events, like the Northwest Perennial Alliance and Northwest Horticulture Society, so keeping an eye on those organizations would probably be your best bet.

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    2. Alexandra HalseyMarch 13, 2025

      Good advice; thank you!

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    3. Alexandra HalseyMarch 13, 2025

      P.S. One more question: I tried to find out more about the "Spring Fling" last July (2024) you mentioned, but googling "spring fling" brings up about as many wide-ranging entries as "spring break" does. Was this a PNW- or Seattle-focused garden tour? Was it hosted by a horticultural group or by a nursery? Etc. Thank you so much again!

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    4. The Fling is an annual event for garden Bloggers, Instagramers, YouTuber's, to come together and tour gardens in a host city. Check it out here: https://www.gardenfling.org/

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  9. This garden is a favorite from last summer's Fling. I feel a greater connections to smaller gardens tended to by the home owner(s), than to large estates tended to by a team. It's wonderful to see Bonnie's emphasis on foliage; she is so creative and her personal touch is in every nook and cranny.
    Chavli

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    1. I remember tours I've been on where an actual home size garden creeps into the mix and it's always such a relief to spend time there!

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  10. Bonnie has such a wonderful foliage garden. And it's impressive how she's made the most out of the steep hill.

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