Working as a landscaper in his own business, Dick Bosch dreamed of one day landscaping his own public botanical garden. Finding a suitable location in Bellingham along Anderson Creek in 1971, Glen Echo Garden has since become a project more than 40 years in the making. For Dick, Glen Echo Garden is a dream-come-to-life.
Lay of the land
Glen Echo Garden boasts 7 acres of scenic, multi-themed garden areas. Throughout the landscape, about 12,000 to 15,000 flowers, shrubs and more are planted each spring from small plugs that are nurtured in the greenhouses. Most of the garden areas are very curved and organic with the exception of the English Garden, which features a long, straight path lined with trimmed boxwood hedges.
Within the gardens are several grafted plants that Dick appreciates for their slow growth, perfect for a garden setting. Weeping birch, katsura, atlas cedar, redwood and maple trees provide beautiful shapes at various focal points. Some of their non-grafted counterparts can also be seen on the property for contrasting comparison.
Throughout the garden, Dick has incorporated inspiration from other botanical gardens he has visited over the years, but it’s the unique and original features that he has integrated throughout the landscape that sets Glen Echo apart. From the upside down tree in the Sunken Fern and Moss Garden to the reinforced steel heart that features red New Guinea Impatiens, these thoughtful details inspire awe among garden visitors (and make for great photo ops, too).
There are also a few humorous features incorporated throughout the garden, including a sleeping gardener that Dick says pokes fun at himself and the “necking nook” — a bench along a secluded little trail above the English Garden where weddings take place.
Not all of the gardens, however, are tediously landscaped. The Native Plant Garden that runs along the creek gives a natural view of plants native to the beautiful Pacific Northwest area where we live. Here, glimpses of wildlife can be seen from a heron gliding through the trees, to the occasional salmon swimming upstream. A gorgeous and peaceful shaded path is also found here, which can be enjoyed throughout the year.
A little bit of history
What appealed to Dick most about the property before he purchased it is the unique history that comes with the land. Old Mount Baker highway, once the only way to get to Mount Baker, runs along the north end of the property. Alternately, the south end of the property features the site of an old coal mine that closed in 1933. Originally owned by the Glen Echo Coal Company, this is where Glen Echo Garden gets its name.
“Earlier years we’ve also had the Gooding Lumber and Shingle Mill operating and they were up at the top where our house and our greenhouses are,” Dick explains. The Gooding Shingle Company has perhaps left a more lasting impression as 15 incredibly large cedar stumps create a dramatic garden feature in what Dick calls the Stump Garden. Dick often asks his guests to give an estimate to the age of the trees, from when the old cedar was germinated to the tip of the new tree, about 3 feet in diameter, growing out of it. “You see, we don’t know anything about trees like that. We have a lot of people stumped,” he teases, pun intended.
Visiting Glen Echo Garden
Because the garden is situated on a slope, it’s best to come prepared with a comfortable pair of walking shoes. Start at the top of the hill at the Japanese Garden before slowly winding through the Sunken Fern and Moss Garden area. Adventurous walkers can make the steep decline through the trees, shade and water by foot, but there’s also a passenger-friendly John Deere utility vehicle available for those who aren’t up for the downward trek.
As you meander through the garden, don’t be surprised if you hear the ethereal sound of a flute in the distance. “I play a very unknown, old instrument — a Romanian pan flute,” Dick says, “and I have become the pan flute playing gardener that has kind of become part of the garden tour.”
Providing the perfect setting for picnics, weddings and other social gatherings, Glen Echo Gardens offers Whatcom County area residents a nearby change of scenery, just 6 miles from Bellingham. Glen Echo Garden, located at 4390 “Y” Road in Bellingham, is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission is $9.50 for adults, $8.50 for seniors (60+), $7.50 for youth (13–18), $4.00 for children (6–12), and free for kids 5 and younger. For more information, call 360-592-5380 or visit Glen Echo Garden online.
