Heronswood is closing/moving

Yes, they were still filling orders until recently. I guess we won't really know what is lost until they sell the property. Mr. Ball's vision of condos surrounded by the gardens gives me nightmares.

Me too! Let's see now...where should we put the golf course? :)

Horrors! Do we need yet another one of those????

And tennis courts and a pool. And a climbing wall. I mean, really, what good is a condo with a garden if you can't have friends over for a friendly game of golf/tennis/water polo?

LOL!
Here is a copy of an email I just received. I don't think I will be joining George at the Hydrangea opening, especially since I had planned to attend this even at Heronswood. The real one, I mean.



Dear Heronswood Customer:

to announce Heronswood's relocation from western Washington State to new headquarters at Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In addition to 60 acres of space for research gardens here in southeastern PA, we have 50 acres of research and production in central PA in the eastern Appalachian Mountains, as well as another 30 acres on the southern tip of Delaware, a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean and the Maryland and Virginia borders. This excellent spread of growing and testing facilities over 3 hardiness zones (5,6 and 7) will enable us to upgrade our current offers, to breed new plants, and to select from the many that we collect around the world those best suited to your garden.

in size and diversity of locations, we shall be operating closer to our customers in the Northeastern and Mid-western US.These broad mid-Atlantic production sites are situated perfectly to serve our customers in the Southeast as well. Finally, we shall continue to serve with no change—except the display gardens and Open Days in Kingston—our many valued customers in the Pacific Northwest, as well as our friends on the west coast and in the mountain states.

herbaceous perennials more than we have done previously. Under the direction of Grace Romero, who has over 25 years experience breeding and collecting plants, the Heronswood team will vigorously develop new lines of hellebore as well as many other perennial classes. Plant exploration will be done by a constellation of collectors located in the US, Central America and the UK. Indeed, we are expanding and invigorating all phases of Heronswood's horticultural and botanical operations.

we shall both produce a new edition of the Heronswood Catalog this fall (2006), featuring over 300 fully illustrated and unique cultivars, and launch an enhanced website that will have over 500—all in excellent supply and top condition. In addition, we shall improve the shipping of our plants by increasing their size, as well as improving the containers in which we will enclose them for the upcoming 2007 season.

we shall be open to the public at Heronswood's new location at Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on a seasonal bi-monthly basis, or about 5 Open House weekends per year, beginning fall of 2006. In due time, we shall be open by appointment as well. Already, we have tested Heronswood plants here for 5 years. Grace Romero created a large, beautiful full sun experimental perennial garden, dubbed 'The Happiness Garden'. The season for our Open House tours of the six acres of gardens will be slightly different from Washington State due to the changes in the climate. We shall offer garden tours and plant sales, as well as lectures and seminars. Check back here later this summer for upcoming dates.

for visiting our website today. We look forward to serving you.

Happy Gardening.

George Ball

P.S. on Friday and Saturday, July 14 and 15, 10:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. and 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. respectively, for our debut Hydrangea Open at Fordhook Farm. We'll have garden tours, rare plants, a special hydrangea display and sale, and free gifts and refreshments. (Please see details below.) Come see us!

The wealth of gardening lets all of us reap rewards far beyond any equities that Mr Ball has generated. We need to remember the pleasure of our walking into Herronswood for the first time and the joy of discovery we experienced. This is never lost and we all carry it to where ever joy, peace, serenity, pleasure, surprise and love go into our eternity. Mr Ball has only limited the number of people who can treasure this experience. Those of us who saw this are blessed.

This message was edited Jul 5, 2006 9:50 PM

Very much so!

"Finally, we shall continue to serve with no change—except the display gardens and Open Days in Kingston—our many valued customers in the Pacific Northwest...,", You CANT "continue to serve" when you are CLOSED, HELLLLOOOO!!! DUHHHHH!!

Well, I think he means that they will still gladly accept our money.

PIXY;
You can send them YOUR MONEY if you want........

Best;
blue

You must learn to love those who do these things in life. It is due to a deep pain in their past and they need to supplant issues that are uncomfortable. We as gardeners need to get out in the garden and focus on the Gailardia, rose, Magnolia, or weed that is more important than the deeds of Mr Ball. Pull weeds! LOL

I agree with the weed pulling sofer, but I'm thinking the actions less about a deep pain in someone's past than they are about moral indifference.
But it's not my place to psychoanalyze the actions of corporate America as represented here by Mr. Ball. so I digress horribly. On to the weed pulling!

My friends,

Weeds are merely misunderstood garden gems. I'm convinced that they are the souls of the many plants I've killed over the years coming back to wreak vengance for my neglect :)

I agree that since there is nothing we can really do to change what has happened, we should mourn our loss and move on. Where would we be on the Kubler-Ross scale? (shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, acceptance) We'll move on but for now, this forum allows us to share our grief with others who understand our loss.

As for loving those who do these things, you couldn't be more correct. There must be more than one side to this issue and for Mr. Ball to have acted so abruptly, there must have been some bad stuff happening on both sides.
As a parent loves a child, however, we should not always protect those we love from the natural consequences of their decisions. For it is in experiencing those consequences that we learn and grow.

I have a lot of weeds. Need more time, more energy and more plants.

jb

This thread got pretty deep - and a bit on the high brow side!! Nice, nice poems and good thoughts.

Love the idea of weeds being the souls of plants that I didn't take care of - I sure must have annoyed a lot of plants!!

jb, Yup. lots of weeds. And need more time and energy. I do NOT need more plants, but will undoubtedly give in to temptation.

More plants = less weeds. Give in.

This has always been my philosophy. Overplant. It looks good faster, and there is less weeding!! Give in , I say! Was there ever anyone who said that plants were an actual 'need'? Reference Maslow's heirarchy - it's not there!!!

I wondered why I didn't have any weeds in my garden cause all the plants I put in are so happy to leave the nurseries and move to my garden. Or maybe I have done what Pixydish has too many competiters of the weed = over-planting. Now what are you talking about with Maslow? I know he is a person who coined many philosophies but what is that one? I had to go to vet school and didn't have any psycology electives.
OK for the poetry:
Herronswood ...... is a glimpse of accessing the .......... inspired
To feel the emotion of expression ........ beyond ................. need
Partaking of the purpose .............. of gifted planning
Only to be diminished by ..... a need ..... too confused by pain
Of such emotion.... delivered .... specificly to the ..................... heart.


This message was edited Jul 6, 2006 11:38 PM

This message was edited Jul 7, 2006 12:33 AM

Soferdig,

Thanks for the poem. It's beautiful.

Nice work, Sofer.

Here are the basics to Maslow's Heirarchy of needs: it's actually a pyramid, similar to the proverbial 'food' pyramid, where the stuff at the bottom has to be satisfied before moving on.


1. Physiological (Biological needs)
2. Safety
3. Love/Belonging
4. Status (Esteem)
5. Actualization

Maybe, just maybe, a 'need' for plants exists under #5.

Thank you for giving me knowledge today. The problem with 5 is Mr ? #4. The pyramid is without a point in that life.

This message was edited Jul 7, 2006 9:25 AM

Well, you said it, Sofer, I didn't. Please reference my previous comment regarding moral indifference. Don't even get me started.

I took a class a number of years ago on teaching children responsibility and self-discipline. Part of it was to teach them that a person chooses behaviors/actions in order to meet human needs. There were 4 basic psychological needs listed in that class (the teacher did acknowledge that physical needs come first). They were not ranked according to priority or what comes first, as in the pyramid design. Some are the same as Maslow's. These were in a 4 square. 1. Belonging 2. Power (being capable and having abilities) 3. Freedom (being able to make one's own decisions) 4. Fun. Where does the need for plants fit in? Fun? It is certainly fun watchting our plants grow and bloom. Freedom? We get to choose the design of our gardens. Power? We learn more about gardening and how to take care of every new plant we obtain. Belonging?....We become part of the companionship of gardeners the moment we put our hands in the dirt. Ahhhhh.....see.....plants fulfill all our needs, that's why we want them so much!

OOOH, NOW I get it!!! I knew I was responding to a 'need', I just wasn't sure which one! LOL!!

PIXY,
According to LILLY, McLENDONS HAS earwig bait.

Best;
bluelytes

I'm not surprised to hear it! That was where I was going to check. they carry everything!

PIXY,
Well, according to the manf website they carry it. They have it here, but is like 15.00/box

Best;
blue

Hmm, might be worth it anyway, if you don't have to use much and it can be contained. I don't like to risk killing the ground beetles.

PIXY,
It says it "kills by contact or eating..." I am ALL FOR ANYTHING that can kill on contact, lol.

Best;
bluelytes

Well, that's why I'm looking for the bait. I'm hoping it won't be attractive to the insects that are not destructive. If it catches my ground beetle, I'm not going to be happy. However, if the weevils like it, I'll be thrilled!

I think I got confused about what the topic of this thread is. To get it back on track, here is a copy of the latest article in the Kitsap Sun. Since it's okay to print or email this story, I thought it was okay to copy it here:



PRINT THIS STORY | E-MAIL THIS STORY

How It's Going for the Heronistas

Six Heronswood workers have stayed on while 16 have accepted severance packages.
By Julie McCormick, jmccormick@kitsapsun.com
July 9, 2006

Kingston

A month ago, Sally Stubberfield was determined to be positive about the sudden loss of a job that was as much a lifestyle as a source of income.




The former field manager at Heronswood Nursery — shut down abruptly and without notice by its corporate owner W. Atlee Burpee & Co. the day after Memorial Day — stayed on to help the company move the thousands of rare plants in Heronswood’s shade houses and propagation center back to Burpee’s Pennsylvania headquarters.

She also stayed to support the five other Heronswood staff needed to make the move work.

And she was hopeful a public-minded buyer could be found for the 3.5 acres of exquisite gardens created over 19 years by founders Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones.

But it’s been harder than she anticipated, Stubberfield said, working with new bosses from the East.

So hard that the remaining Heronistas, as Hinkley called them and they call themselves, wanted to walk out in frustration a week ago. "Thank God we all crashed at different times," said Stubberfield. "It’s like trying to watch somebody die really slowly."

"I think they (those who stayed on to help) are much worse off than we are," Connie Lammers said about herself and the 16 other Heronistas who took the severance packages offered by Burpee and left Heronswood for the last time that dark day.

Most people who worked at Heronswood did so more out of love than money, and consider themselves more like a family than a group of colleagues, Stubberfield said.

It’s been wrenching to pack up the rare plants grown from seed gathered from around the globe by Hinkley, a world-class plantsman, then nurtured according to their variable, rare-plant needs.

The first refrigerated truckload arrived undamaged in Pennsylvania a few days ago.

Lammers, Heronswood’s former office manager and customer service specialist, said most employees have not yet found other work. Many are holding out for the right position.

She is working one day a week to manage a busy travel schedule for Hinkley, who’s in China right now for the filming of a public broadcasting "Nova" segment entitled "The First Flower."

Lammers is in no hurry to find another job. "I’m 57 and I’ve worked since I was 15 so I would like to find something that I really want to do and I had that at Heronswood," she said.

Heronistas get together weekly to offer each other support, Stubberfield has another job waiting for her, tending a large private garden in Kitsap when the move is completed in September. And she and others are thinking of starting up a specialty Heronista landscaping business.

Jones, who managed Heronswood operations, has gone back to architecture and said he’s got a few projects lined up.

The gardening blogosphere is loaded with bitter and critical chatter about Burpee’s decision to close down what it contends was a money-losing operation and transfer stock and potential to Pennsylvania.

But company president George Ball said he is not getting much negative feedback from customers on Heronswood’s mailing list.

The company intends to market the 15-acre property with its botanically unique 8,000 plantings as a package, Ball said, and has been flooded with inquiries.

"We’re going to take our time finding the right buyer, a buyer who will agree to preserve the garden," he said.

Ball said he abandoned the notion of selling for high-density residential development after learning county zoning prohibits it.

The property is zoned rural residential and that’s not likely to change under state growth management regulations, said Eric Baker, Kitsap’s planner in charge of updating the comprehensive land use plan.

Ball confirmed reports that Burpee paid Hinkley and Jones $4.5 million for Heronswood in 2000, and a few years later, the two declined an offer to buy it back at half the purchase price.

He said he does not yet have an estimate of the market value of the property.

Looks like the East Coast Heronswood Open was a success.

http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=16945983&BRD=1685&PAG=461&dept_id=45363&rfi=8

Kicking up loose grass clippings and hay, a steady stream of automobiles made its way through a labyrinth of woodland a short distance from bustling New Britain Road in Doylestown Township Friday morning.

Drivers were directed to an expansive makeshift parking lot set up on the grounds of the County Seat's historic Fordhook Farm, former home of gardening legend W. Atlee Burpee and the site of the inaugural Heronswood Open at Fordhook Farm.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Friday, a little more than a half-hour after opening, the Farm was saturated with people, many with rare and exotic plantings tucked beneath their arms, despite the unforgiving sun.
The Pacific Northwest's highly acclaimed Heronswood Nursery's first open house outside the State of Washington Friday and Saturday was an immediate draw, bringing well over 2,000 hardcore gardeners from five states to Fordhook Farm. Residents and non-residents alike took in the nursery's top-notch collection of hydrangeas, which were on display and for sale, along with more than 200 varieties of rare and unusual perennials, shrubs and trees. In all, Fordhook Farm boasted a collection of exquisite flora of varying shapes, sizes and colors worth approximately $1 million.
The decision to hold the Heronswood Open at Fordhook Farm culminated in more than five years of rigorous testing to assemble a well-adapted line of plants that will flourish throughout most regions of the Eastern United States. Heronswood was acquired in 2000 by W. Atlee Burpee & Co., and Fordhook Farm is the 60-acre homestead where Burpee originated and has continued to serve as the Bucks County company's main research and display gardens.
The two-day event featured a formal lecture each day by one of the world's leading experts on hydrangeas, Dr. Michael Dirr, professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia and author of the book "Hydrangeas for American Gardens." The seminars sold out well in advance.
"The Heronswood Open at Fordhook Farm represents an important milestone that will enable home gardeners to view many exotic and rare plants exclusive to Heronswood Nursery," George Ball, chairman, president and CEO of Burpee, said prior to the successful event. "For the first time, Heronswood will have a permanent garden outside Washington's Kitsap Peninsula, providing access to the many home gardeners who are Heronswood aficionados throughout the Northeast."
On Monday, less than 48 hours after the Heronswood Open wrapped up, Ball still seemed a bit stunned that so many people would venture out into the excessive heat to purchase a rare find.
"I'm absolutely thrilled by the turnout," Ball said from the comforts of his Warminster office. "The gardeners were very enthusiastic and we received very positive feedback."
For those unable to take in last week's Heronswood Open, Fordhook Farm will host similar open houses in future months, with a goal to host four or five yearly. The next open house is scheduled for late September/early October. Visit www.heronswood.com for information.
In addition to more than 30 species of hydrangeas, ranging from the precious Japanese Doubles to handsome evergreen climbing varieties and sporting catchy names such as "Cloud Nine" and "Chantilly Lace," the Open featured a large assortment of gathered-in-the-wild plants for which Heronswood is famous.
Heronswood plant collectors regularly visit such faraway places as Western China, Vietnam, Nepal, Tibet and Northern Japan in search of unknown varieties that can be introduced to home gardeners in the United States.
Art lovers were able to enjoy a selection of nature-oriented sculptures that complement the gardens by world-famous artist Steven Tobin, noted recently for his 9/11 memorial installation at Trinity Church in New York City. Also on display were related works by Daisuke Shintani, Densaburo Oku and Eric Finnerty.

Yes, and why not? It's known around the world. It's so strange to see the reference to Heronswood's "plant collectors". Until very recently, there was only one plant collector. They've replaced him with 5, I believe.

Marketing and confusion of the real issue is how to recover from such a debacle.

If I lived on the other coast, I'd be overjoyed and would have been one of those participants. However, there is sort of a feeling of violation that "those" east coasters have stolen "our" treasure. I keep trying to tell myself that it's just a business but it had always meant more than that to us. Sigh...

We are of like minds and emotions, Herpst. I certainly understand their joy at having such a treasure. But it doesn't make me feel any better about our own loss. And the way the west coast market has been treated as an afterthought. After all, it was a west coast nursery.

Was Heronswood really one collector? I was paging through the 2004 catalog and they listed collection trips back to 1994. While several were Dan, there were many that were not Dan, so it looks like he piggybacked off others explorations sometimes.

Dan traveled with many collector friends and they shared their accomplishments. Then the one who recieved the others collection had to credit the other with the find. Dan often hiked with other botanists to get to the difficult areas he collected. Its not easy to get where few men have been before. Dan was that type of person who could do without the average needs of you and I and travel to places that no one else wanted to.