GREENBANK — Step into the garden and soak up the elixir of natural flora.
What better place to chill out than at this fantasy island refuge.
Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens has 10 acres of display gardens enveloped by 43 acres of forest preserve with 4 miles of hiking trails and a killer view of the bay.
“It’s a really good taste of what nature is here on the island,” said Joan Bell, Meerkerk operations manager.
It’s a private garden, open to the public.
Go for a mellow escape from the heat and the rat race.
“There is a peace and tranquility to it,” Bell said. “The main thing is a natural setting.”
At the same time, the colors will knock your socks off.
The garden was founded by Ann and Max Meerkerk in the early 1960s. Enchanted by Whidbey Island, the couple envisioned a Pacific Northwest-style garden and forest preserve. They began hybridizing rhododendrons and collecting unique specimens of flowering trees and conifers. And they got carried away, in a good way.
Ann, who died in 1979, bequeathed the 53-acre spread to Seattle Rhododendron Society to care for as a “peaceful woodland garden with an emphasis on rhododendrons and companion plants.”
“They ran it for 20 years,” Bell said. Due to difficulty managing from it afar, locals took it over as a nonprofit. There are several mostly part-time positions but it’s mainly a labor of love. Dedicated volunteers do everything from weeding to webbing.
“The beauty and the peacefulness is what Ann was looking for,” Bell said. “There are tunnels through some of the areas and a secret garden. Children like it.”
The foliage creates a wonderland for kids to play hide-and-seek and adults to put away their cellphones.
The monkey puzzle tree is a hit with all ages. It’s OK to pull out your smartphone to take a photo.
A gazebo overlooks the bay. “We have a lot of weddings,” Bell said.
Though it offers much more, the garden is known for its namesake rhodies.
“Some are 100 years old and as big as a house,” Bell said. “Some have leaves that are a quarter-inch long and in the big leaf valley are three feet long.”
The garden annually draws about 7,000 visitors, many from word of mouth or island tourism materials.
The rhodies peak in April and May, but there’s stuff blooming year-round.
The table of glue guns comes out for the crafty Fairy House Festival on July 11. Bark, sticks, nutshells, wood and dried flowers are provided to make fanciful digs to take home or leave for the resident critters.
In August, there’s a bluegrass festival with open mic. Your chance to sing with the birds in the forest.
“There is a spectacular display of color in the autumn,” Bell said. “In the winter there’s a natural beauty. It’s a little muddier.”
It takes a village to care for the garden. Memberships, plant sales, admissions and contributions help fund the upkeep.
Meerkerk needs elbow grease to keep it up.
Seen those tie-dyed designer “Meerkerk Grateful Deadheader” shirts?
Those aren’t for sale. You have to earn it.
The “deadheaders” meet from 9 a.m. to noon Thursdays. Bring your pruners to deadhead the rhodies, weed beds and clear trails. Stay for a free lunch.
“Come three times, you get a Grateful Deadheaders T-shirt,” Bell said.
You don’t have to return a fourth time, but you’ll want to.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
If you go
The garden is at 3531 Meerkerk Lane, Greenbank. For more information, email meerkerek@whidbey.net or go to www.meerkerkgardens.org.
Cost is $5 for adults. Younger than 16 are free. Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or until dusk daily year-round.
Trails, a combination of crushed gravel, mulch and grass, are partially ADA accessible. Special drop-off and pick-up arrangements can be made.
Pets are permitted on leashes. Bring your own bags to pick up after your pooch and pack it out. Umbrellas are available in the gatehouse.
Tours: Guided horticultural tours for groups of 10 or more last 90 minutes. Cost is $10 per person. Three weeks advance registration is required. Register with advance payment by calling 360-678-1912 or email meerkerk@whidbey.net.
Upcoming events
- Fairy House Festival, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. July 11. Cost is $5. Children 12 and younger free.
- Rhododendron care class, 10 a.m. to noon, July 18. Cost $10. Reservations requested.
- Bluegrass in the Gardens, with three bands, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 22. Bring a blanket or chairs, wine and cheese. Spend the day roaming the gardens and listening to well-known Northwest Bluegrass bands. Food and drinks available.
- Labor Day Nursery Sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 5 and 6. Inventory reduction sale. Free admission on sale days.
- Meerkerk Fall Garden Fest, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 3 and 4. Garden art and plants in this end of season sale. Joined by specialty nurseries selling exotic plants and decorative wire, metal, glass and wood creations made by local artists. Free admission on sale days.
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