Real gardeners rarely get away for vacations, always needing to weed this or prune that. The fear of missing out on the brief bloom of our favorite flower keeps us rooted at home. At Colette’s Bed and Breakfast, nestled between Sequim and Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, however, you can finally take a step back from the relentless pace of busy, and truly relax. There is no frenzied need to jump up and weed; you can simply sit on the bluff and watch the eagles soar overhead, listening to the rolling ocean waves off the Strait of Juan de Fuca kiss the shore below.
When owners Cristy and Kelly Kimball purchased Colette’s B&B in 2017, they immediately felt the serenity of the place. Dramatic snow-capped Hurricane Ridge dominates to the left as you drive through bucolic farmland and rolling lavender fields. A manually operated gate, built to keep the deer out, helps you pause and decompress before drawing up to the main house.
Cristy’s genuine hospitality is apparent within moments of meeting her. Her vision to create a quiet welcoming space has touched everything at Colette’s B&B. Smart decisions included enticing chef Laurette Feit to become innkeeper and giving free reign to ornamental horticulturist Andrew May to restore the gardens. The three of them each support each other; cut flowers from the garden are elegantly arranged on the mantle and breakfast tables by Laurette. Cristy encourages a quiet color palette, and low shrubs so you can enjoy the views from each serene room; no fussy falafel-ball shearing, just the natural elegance of the maples and viburnum. Andrew’s creativity shines throughout the gardens.
An Artist’s Canvas
Local garden designer Sharon Nyenhuis, who installed and maintained the main gardens for 25 years, created a glorious, magazine-worthy, four-season, perennial garden under mature Rhododendrons and tall conifers. But gardens age, as do we all, and renovations were required.
Cristy welcomes guests throughout the year, so the front garden was redesigned for maximum year-round color. The blue spire of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Blue Surprise’ and the silvery, weeping pear, Pyrus salicifolia ‘pendula,’ break up the solid greens of the Rhododendrons that anchor the perimeter. In late spring the bright magenta mounds of clipped heather, Erica x darleyensis, mark transitions along the paths and buzz with happy bees.
The garden becomes more performance art than painting in the winter with Andrew May’s innovative ideas. He arranges off-cuts from pruning jobs into three-dimensional container-toppers and weaves them into the ground to create instant colorful ‘dwarf’ conifers which last through until late spring. The bright red stems from a pruned Coral Bark Maple, Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’ mimic the upright shoots of red-twig dogwood. An ever-changing rotation of colorful bulbs in pots adds a vibrancy to the front garden that is palpably electric. Because the pots are simply planted themselves, it’s easy to swap them out for Dutch Iris, then Alliums, and a succession of Asian, then Oriental Lilies as the summer progresses. Unlike our typical gardens no combination is the same from year to year.
A Skillful Renovation
Colette’s B&B is fortunate to have an established Rhododendron collection, but it was becoming more thicket than garden feature. It took the pruning genius of Andrew to thin tangled branches and create a glorious canopy through which you approach your rooms for the evening. It took vision and bravery to create these sinuous forms, making our state flower breathtaking, even when not in bloom. In time, a meditative garden walk through these majestic shrubs will encircle the property and lead you to the bluff.
On the bluff side of the garden, the shrubs and plants are kept deliberately low, so as not to upstage the dramatic view across to the San Juan Islands and Victoria B.C. The perimeter is somewhat wild with opulent rugosa roses, perfect for a cottage garden, and sweeps of broad-leaved Hostas and Gunnera are offset by lacy Astilbe, rounded Allium ‘Globemaster,’ and spires of Dutch Iris varieties. This year, over 20 new rosebushes have been planted for innkeeper Laurette, whose confident simplicity with cut flowers graces the tables and five guest rooms.
Around the World and Back to Your Roots
After one successful career as restaurant owner of Sweet Laurette’s Café in Port Townsend, head chef Laurette Feit set her sails for the high seas and enjoyed several years cooking on a yacht in the Mediterranean. Lured back to the area and hired as Innkeeper by Cristy, Laurette’s quiet kindness greets you when you arrive. Coffee is always available, and light-as-air cranberry-almond mini-muffins, and simple walnut-bread are some of the treats you’ll find on the breakfast table. With her knowledge of local ingredients, you’ll get a true farm-to-table experience applied to classic French recipes.
Discover Small Town Charm
After breakfast, it’s time to visit local gardens. First, drop by the Clallam County Master Gardeners’ demonstration garden. From soil to harvest, you’ll see excellent examples of everything you need to get growing. An impressive compost bin ends with a sturdy soil sieve station that sifts compost directly into your wheelbarrow. A greenhouse for starting seeds is flanked by potting benches and a variety of raised beds. Thursdays, you’ll find joyful camaraderie as the work party weeds and starts new projects. Everything is neatly labeled and demonstrates a variety of growing techniques to try at home.
Next head to one of the local lavender farms that thrive in the area. Lavender, a Mediterranean climate plant, appreciates the mere 16” of annual rain Sequim receives instead of the whopping 38” we usually endure in the Seattle area. Kristy and Zion Hilliker of B&B Family Lavender Farm are raising the third generation of flower farmers while they take care of harvesting, distilling or drying, and shipping their lavender products worldwide. You’ll find rows of over a dozen varieties with the vivid purple Lavandula angustifolia ‘Folgate’ and pale L. angustifolia ‘Melissa’ blooming in June, while Lavandula x intermedia varieties such as Grosso and Hidcote Giant bloom later in July and August. Don’t miss daily farm tours where you can see the drying barn, jitter-bud for cleaning the flowers, and the distilling equipment. Pack a picnic and enjoy a refreshing lavender lemonade and pick your own bouquet for the ride home.
Finally, head ‘uphill’ to Hurricane Ridge where you’ll enjoy a succession of wildflowers from the early blooming Glacier Lilies (Erythronium) and the varied colors of Paintbrush (Castilleja sp.) that line the paths from the visitor’s center to the blue Lupines and golden Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum) that fill the meadows. Grab a copy of Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest by local authors Mark Turner and Phyllis Gustafson to help you identify each one, or simply enjoy the explosion of color that progresses throughout the summer.
Wherever your adventures take you, you’ll return to Colette’s with your heart full of nature’s beauty. Enjoy the wonderfully delicious small plates and fine wines served for Colette’s signature Happy Hour. Then sink into the chairs around the fire pit and simply enjoy a quiet evening, punctuated by occasional eagle calls, as the sunset paints the sky across the gardens and the Salish Sea beyond.
