The Profusely Abundant, Plant-Filled Garden of Jill and Michael Betts

Jill Betts and her husband, Michael, have created a profusely planted, abundant garden on their 2.5-acre property off the Seabeck Highway. In April 2020 (at the beginning of the gardening season), she began a five-year labor of love and perhaps “obsession.”

Michael Betts, who’s retired from the Navy, is a consummate builder of anything his wife dreams she needs — and any other wonderful outdoor things he thinks she should have for her passion of gardening. He has built her a “she” shed, made stone walkways wending throughout the garden, constructed several patio areas and stone walls, and added lanterns and lampposts to light these borders. In a year or so, the couple will have to remove some hazard trees, and that will be a daylight space for what Jill Betts knows will become a greenhouse.

“The only real pests we have in our garden are rabbits,” Betts says. Friends have gifted her with every imaginable figurine of bunnies, which are nestled into the garden in a myriad of locations. Small signs and artwork also are tucked throughout. Several patios have resting and entertaining areas. One hosts family barbecues and celebrations. Another is a work area where Betts decoupages and paints containers to gift to friends and family members.

Containerized Plants

When garden beds are filled to the brim, Betts gardens in containers. When her now 15-year-old grandson was 6 years old, he counted her containers and at that time, she had 104. She estimates she still has at least that many today.

“The great thing about container gardening is you can move the pots to where the plants receive the best light throughout the growing season,” she says.

Greetings from the Very Start

As visitors arrive at the Betts home, there are several plantings to greet them. A massive evergreen Clematis vitalba spans the trellis framing their three-car garage. Betts hand-prunes this amazing, early blooming, fragrant plant to keep it in perfect condition.

To the left of the driveway as one approaches the walkway to the front door is a small seasonal garden. Plants in this diminutive space are changed out several times a year. Betts digs them, plants them in pots and then shares these plants with members of the Central Valley Garden Club. The front entry and porch are framed with plants.

“I’ve promised Michael that I’ll leave enough space for the delivery drivers to approach the front door,” Betts says.

Inspiration

When asked how she chooses her plants and which are her favorites, she responds, “My garden is not a garden of planning. It’s a garden of favorites. I think of my garden as a friend and treat her with kindness, and she gives me back so much happiness and rewards me with flowers.”

Each section of the garden features clusters or collections of the plants she’s chosen for that shaded area. Other areas showcase hostas. A primrose area is featured near the potting bench. Her bedroom window looks out on a huge wisteria, which she says she “religiously prunes” so it will never get out of control. Looking out on the gardens from above also provides her with inspiration.

Since her garden is filled to abundance, it could be difficult to know the names of all the plants. Betts keeps the plant tags tucked deep into the soil by many of her plants so she can share their names and varieties with visitors to her garden.

A fountain area and bird baths tucked throughout provide water and pollinator plants for birds and other creatures.

Betts and her gardener friends like to visit local nurseries, but she also likes to go on tours to nurseries in other locations each summer. This year, she and friends plan to visit several nurseries on Vashon Island.

She loves plants so much that she has an area set aside that she calls “the plant hospital.” “The plants come here to recuperate,” Betts says.

Hydrangeas in Profuse Abundance

Several areas feature clusters and whole beds of hydrangeas. One section has 6-foot-tall mophead hydrangeas. Betts prunes all her hydrangeas back every other year in late fall. She has selected varieties that require this type of pruning because blooms grow on old wood.

More than 48 different varieties decorate her gardens in shapes of mophead, cone, snowball and lace cap. Members of her garden club call her the hydrangea lady. The club members toured her garden last year.

Future Plans

One new area is nearing completion. It’s a bed where native plants, especially salal, were running rampant. Betts appreciates and preserves all natives, but to create more room for planting other shade lovers, she trimmed the natives back and then laid down cardboard, which she covered with soil and mulch. Soon, this area became a new planting bed for more shade-loving perennials and shrubs.

Another area near the back of their property will become a rhododendron garden. This is near where an arborist recommended removing some hazard trees. Some of the dead branches and debris from the tree removal will be chipped and become mulch for this future gardening area.

Some of the Plants in Betts’ Gardens

• Black Lace sambucus
• Primroses — every shape and size imaginable
• Hostas (including Komodo Dragon, which is a humongous one)
• Delphinium
• Lupine
• Columbine
• Melittis ‘Royal Velvet Distinction’
• Astilbe
• Rhodies
• Azaleas
• Agapanthus ‘Twister’
• Jasmine
• Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’
• Dactylorhiza maculata (also known as marsh orchid)
• Ferns
• Fuchsias (both annuals and hardy)
• Hydrangeas (just a few from the 48 varieties):
  • ‘Zorro’ (has square, black stems and pink blooms)
  • ‘Buttons and Bows’
  • ‘Pistachio’ (blooms in shades of pink and light green)
  • Climbing variety from Dan Hinkley’s collection (sadly, the tag is missing, but this variety can be seen at Heronswood)
  • ‘Star Gazer’
  • ‘Strawberry Sundae’
  • ‘Stronghearts’ (it’s red)
  • ‘Firelight Tidbit’
  • ‘Rosy Splendor’
  • ‘Wedding Gown’
  • ‘Angel Lace’
  • ‘Incrediball’
  • ‘Preziosa Red Ball’
  • ‘L.A. Dreamin’

Garden Arts and Crafts

When a garden has several acres of space and several patio and resting areas, there also needs to be a crafting area. In this section of the garden, Betts, friends and family gather to make decorative and charming items. The garden is currently festooned with handmade steppingstones, painted containers and even a new item called “kokedama balls,” which is a ball-shaped hanging planter made of a small plant in a moss ball and hung with natural twine.

Final Words of Wisdom

Betts will be the president of the Central Valley Garden Club this year. She loves sharing her gardening passion with others.

“My garden is not a garden of planning; it’s a garden of love,” she says.

When asked for a tip for others, she says, “Anyone who can read a plant label can be a gardener.” She ends a personal tour of the garden with, “One of my favorite things to do is sit in the garden and enjoy a nice cup of tea.”