Nature can do without man, but man cannot do without nature.

Prentice Bloedel

After ten days of sometimes hectic traffic, winds strong enough to blow your house away, and all the other challenges a cross-country trip entails, it was a special gift for our family to take us to the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island.

The Bloedel Reserve is a 150-acre forest garden created by Virginia and Prentice Bloedel. Bloedel was the vice-chairman of the lumber company Macmillan Bloedel Ltd, and he and his wife were strongly influenced by the conservation movement and Asian philosophy. They wished to capture the essence of the Japanese garden—the qualities of naturalness, subtlety, reverence, tranquility—and construct a Western expression of it.

The Bloedels lived in the Manor House for approximately 30 years before opening the Reserve to the public in 1988 as a family run foundation.

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 stone garden, a moss garden, a rhododendron glen, and a reflection garden. The Bloedels’ French Chateau-style home, including many original furnishings, is preserved as a visitor center.

We spent about two hours wandering along the many paths throughout the Reserve. It was a beautiful day to see the gardens, and for us it was a great gift of tranquility and peace, especially to enjoy it with family.