Bloedel Reserve
Encyclopedia
Bainbridge Island, Washington
Bainbridge Island is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, and the name of the island in Puget Sound on which the city is situated...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, made by the vice-chairman of a lumber company
MacMillan Bloedel Limited
MacMillan Bloedel Limited, sometimes referred to as "MacBlo", was a Canadian forestry company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was formed through the merger of three smaller forestry companies in 1951 and 1959. Those were the Powell River Company, the Bloedel Stewart Welch Company,...
, under the influence of the conservation movement and Asian philosophy. Prentice and Virginia Bloedel wished to 'capture the essence of the Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
- the qualities of naturalness, subtlety, reverence, tranquility - and construct a Western expression of it'. Although the Reserve includes a traditional Japanese garden, the Bloedels' approach for the rest of the property stands in contrast to that of 'Japanese gardens' which achieve their effects through the use of ornament. The Bloedel Reserve has both natural and highly-landscaped lakes, immaculate lawns, woods, a rock and sand Zen garden (formerly the swimming pool where poet Theodore Roethke
Theodore Roethke
Theodore Roethke was an American poet, who published several volumes of poetry characterized by its rhythm, rhyming, and natural imagery. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book, The Waking.-Biography:...
drowned in 1963), a moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
garden, a rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
glen, and a Reflection Garden designed with the assistance of landscape architects Richard Haag
Richard Haag
Richard Haag is a United States landscape architect. He is famous for his work on Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington and on the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. He is also noted for founding the Landscape Architecture Program at the University of Washington and for holding multiple design...
and Thomas Church
Thomas Church
Thomas Church may refer to:* Thomas Dolliver Church, American landscape architect* Thomas Haden Church, American actor* Thomas Langton Church , Canadian politician...
. The Bloedels' French Chateau-style home including many original furnishings, is preserved as a Visitor Center.