Far Reaches Farm Newsletter

These are Heidi's friends.

http://farreachesfarm.squarespace.com/welcome/

~Kathy

"Happy Spring Everyone!

"It’s a beautiful day and we are ready for spring to happen. This is an update on our Flower Show schedule. For you folks down south hoping to see us at the Portland Yard, Garden and Patio Show, sorry but we won’t be there due to scheduling conflicts with the Seattle Show. For everyone else, we will be at the NW Flower and Garden Show in Seattle Feb 20-24. Look for us in the Plant Market – we will be in Booth 2110 which is the first aisle so take the first left after crossing the skybridge and we are halfway down the row.

"We will have a few goodies again this year at the show – many of which are in short supply and won’t be available at the nursery. Lathyrus vernus – Narrow Leaf Form, Kniphofia ‘Lola’, rooperi, ichopensis, acreae, pauciflorum, thompsonii – triploid form, Nomocharis aperta, Dryopteris affinis ‘Cristata the King’, Dryopteris x australe, Agapanthus ‘Elaine’, extra big Trillium kamtschaticum and T. smallii, Paeonia veitchii, P. mlokosewitschii, Disporum ‘Night Heron and ‘Green Giant’, Polygonatum prattii, Lysimachia pardiformis v. stenophylla, Lilium nepalense, sargentiae, pardalinum ssp. vollmeri, duchartrei pink and white forms, canadense, plus Lilium regale, Thalictrum uchiyamae and a neat one from Tibet, Thalictrum sp. DW48, Iris barbatula, Carlina acaulis ssp. simplex ‘Bronze Form, Arisaema peninsulae, kishidae ‘Jack Frost’, concinnum, sikokianum – silver pattern, Paris polyphylla, Tropaeolum tuberosum plus ‘Ken Aslet’, Leontodon rigens (Microseris ringens), Reineckia sp. aff. carnea (our collection from China), Crocosmia ‘Culzean Pink’, Iris unguicularis, Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’, Impatiens omeiana, Rhodohypoxis, Epimedium ‘Court Jester’ and there’s more but that is some idea.

"Hope to see you at the Show. We will be working hard after the show to get the nursery in order so we can open sometime in March. We have more projects than manpower. We are always looking for skilled, experienced and enthusiastic nursery help just in case you know of someone.

Thanks-

Sue & Kelly
Canela & Callie"

katie, I have bought from Far Reaches Farm several years now. I go to the combined nurseries sale in Chimacum, in the spring and fall. Naylor Creek, Bamboo Yu, Far Reaches. and 1 or 2 more. very nice people

These are great people and I bought a huge truck losd of plants Their prices are good and have some fun things. I see the naylor creek guys at Bainbridge and bloom and he brings me huge arisaemas for 10 bucks. I think thier nusery is alot like mine except more organized I bet there was at least 5 dogs running around but theirs were a little bit better behaved. Fun place. If you go to the nwfs Kelly is in the Kilt. I don't know but people remember

I'm looking forward to trying to find a time to visit them this summer, too!

Maybe hit the sale Jim goes to and you'll get more than 1 nursery. Port Townsend is a cool little town to shop as well.

Well, gosh, Heidi. What a good idea. Jim, do you know when the spring sales are?

I too want to go to a nursery that gets it's clients to white wash the fence for them. LOL Seriously what a novel idea. To enjoy plants and share a common cause. I remember when I hired out to pot plants with Dan Hinkley at our local nursery. The smell of the soil was wonderful. Dan and I potted in the lower part of a barn and learned a lot about roots, how to repot, and how to start seedlings.

It's the Tom Sawyer nursery. LOL. There's something about these gardener types and the habit of pitching in. They can't seem to help themselves.

So how old were you when you first went to work at the nursery? And what nursery was it?

Yeah Dan and I were probably 8 or so. It was called 'Shore nursery'. It was a facinating place because they grew their own flowers in a large glass and steel greenhouse. This was before flowers were available to any far away town like Evart. Dan and I planned our first trip there in the barn basement. We took off that summer to camp at a lake about 10 miles from our homes for the summer. It was a perfectly crystal clear lake with bubbling springs at the bottom which we dove down to to try to spear the bass. It was quite cold though and we spent a lot of time on the beach talking about the next adventure. The next year we peddled our bikes about a hundred miles to a town on Lake Michigan called Frankfort and spent a week there and pedaled home. Life sure was different then than now.

So wait. This wasn't PNW, then. You guys were both in the midwest then?

Life was good then. I did a lot of heading out on my bike, though the requirement usually was that I come home each night. LOL

No Dan has made it clear that he no longer wants to battle zone 4. I tease him and tell him anybody can be a successfull gardener in zone 8-9. Yes this was in Michigan. We spent our entire childhood together all through highschool. We crashed in Mackinac City when he worked there for some fudge factory. Then we went our opposite ways and during the next few years ran into him in Norway while he was doing his early education. We hiked the Hardanga (spp) fiord, and went to Bergen Norway and had a few beers. Then I ran into him in Wenachee after he finally moved to Washington after his sister, and both brothers moved out there. Then while he worked at the arboretum listing the plants that they had while he lived in the Stone Gatehouse in the Arboretum he had a Jack Russell that lived for I think over 20yrs named Emmerson. Then I saw him when ever I could at Herronswood. It was just their home when I first saw it and I remember him planting vegetables in the garden he had just rototilled to start what became Herronswood. It was a proud time for me to see it succeed at such a wonderful way. I see his brother whenever I go to Juneau because he lives 5 minutes from where I work there. Our families have always been very close.

Wow - you guys were sorta destined to travel through life bumping into one another. And the fact that you're birds of a feather makes that happen a lot, I presume.

So is Michigan zone 4 too? Clearly, you have found a way to make it work, but I suppose someone who wants to push the edge really needs the tempering effect of the ocean to help out.

So what was the year that you saw Dan first rototilling Heronswood. Do you remember? 20 years ago? 25? 30?

I can't really remember. He was teaching at Edmonds Community College. Probably sometime in the early 80's. I remember around 81 seeing his first catalog. A client/friend of mine showed it to me. She was quite impressed with Dan and I didn't know why. Then I went out and saw the nursery growing like a weed. I too was impressed how much he had done in such a short time. There home was a special place to have a dinner and visit. Both he and Robert were great cooks! We ate and talked many times at that wonderful home of theirs. The world was so alive at that age and the possibilities was unlimited. I was kind of a work-a-holic and didn't have a lot of time to see Dan then we were both too busy. I remember when I went to the Seattle Garden show to see his lecture I was with his mom waiting in line and he came up to us and talked. After he left I felt like a celebrity when they, in shock, asked how I knew Dan. The lecture was spectacular and his humor was great. I was so proud of him.

Boy, time and hard work and circumstances really change things, don't they? And I'm guessing that truly he's still the same 8-year-old boy who used to take off for camping trips into the unknown. Hard to believe that it's been 25 years since then. Whew!!

Crazy that his mom was waiting in line. Seems like she should have gotten in right away.

She wanted to see everyone talk about her son, and spend time with me. She has been a 2nd mom for years.

That's very sweet. Two sons to be proud of!!

You are too kind. Dan is slowing down but not his heart. I was out to see Robert during thanksgiving and Dan had just called from China. He was sleeping on a mattress and eating cold food before he was going up to collect plants. Robert was laughing because Dan had planned a big thanksgiving for a bunch of friends (Martha Stewart and her Astronaught boyfriend) and several others. Well Dan had to go to China suddenly to collect some specimen and Robert had to do all the entertaining and cooking himself. Needless to say he wasn't too sad for Dan's challenging Thanksgiving.

Martha Stewart at Dan and Robert's. Now that's interesting.

Love those "emergency" plant collecting trips. Robert's one patient guy. Helps, I'm sure, that he shares Dan's passion.

He does share the business. But his passion is in his work as an architect. He has done quite a bit now that he doesn't have to oversee Herronswood. His style is quite beautiful. Of course, one of his best is their new house. Martha comes out to visit Dan and Robert often. Of course she was one of the biggest reasons for their success. She had Dan on her show and in her garden mag. often. One time she flew a helicopter out to their house and landed in a muddy field. This was at a neighbors of Dans and the chopper had to be dug out and hauled away piece by piece. Quite the neighborhood story. Dan Did buy that piece to land to expand his nursery. You see it now as a wetland to the west of the house in Herronswood.

What a great behind the scenes story and with a little local history. I've only went to Herronswood once sorry to say. But I still have my beautiful Iris that blooms by my pond.

I was unaware of the Martha/Dan connection. (Where HAVE I been?) . . . but it just seems so unlikely in some ways. Not in others, I guess. Martha Stewart has a reputation for appreciating things done the right way and Dan and Robert definitely sound like they do things the right way (or set the standard for things that don't have one). Love these stores, Sofer.

Dan just had his nursery starting when he went on Martha show many times. His success was not just Martha but that is what drove a lot of the catalog distribution. Dan and his skills are the cause for their success. Though Robert did a fantastic job getting the nursery computer friendly. He oversaw the business end and it grew like a beautiful flower on a sunny day.

Hi Soferdig someone posted a great picture of the enterance of windcliff on one of the threads here and my DH built the gate at the end of their driveway. In the process we got to know them both and for being pretty famous they both are funny and normal. A nice change from some other hoyty toty people who let you know exactly who they are and how famous and important they are. Ther is another thread on one of these people. Dan and Robert are nice guys and I wish the nursery was still running,.. I'm sure they are happy to move on.

I posted the gate photos. I was out there in November. It is a beautiful gate tell your husband well done.

He enjoyed building it for them. Robert is brilliant and they both think alike. Dan and I on the other hand aren't quite as pateint and thorough. They are lucky Dave and Robert build it not Dan and I. we both would leave why they were talking and walk around the garden.