Enumclaw Tutors

About Enumclaw

If you were to travel to the quaint town of Enumclaw, Washington, you would undoubtedly hear about the Anderson Garden. In the 1940’s and 1950’s Bob and Betty Anderson were in Springfield, New Jersey, where they built their first home and started their first garden. Bob was very intrigued by the Pacific Northwest, however, due to the more favorable climate, along with the rich, black volcanic ash deposited by Mt Rainier several thousand years ago.

After some searching around the state, Bob settled on Enumclaw as their perfect place, and they bought a five-acre hay farm. The first years of their move were spent building their house, with Betty working as a school teacher, and no doubt providing private tutoring lessons to help save up money. Garden plans were carefully designed, and found influence from northeastern, southeastern, and northwestern patterns. There is something for everyone as they integrated both British and Japanese elements into their garden. This wasn’t done without technical skill however, as Bob was professionally trained in landscape architecture, where I’m sure a combination of classes and tutors helped him to master the subject.

The garden was laid out as if it were a water color painting. Bob was also classically trained by the Art Studies league in New York, and combined colors no one may have thought to. By paying special attention to blooming seasons and size, and understanding how colors can complement each other; seeing a larger more breathtaking picture in his mind, he designed a garden full of vibrant color and vitality.

Bob planned his garden with the future in mind, and most of his plants started as cuttings. Over the years’ flowers began to bloom, trees began to provide shade, and planned contours began to fill out. The garden boasts an impressive 100 different types of species and 400 different hybrids of rhododendrons, along with companion plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers that give the garden its finished look.

The best part of all of this is Bob did this solely for his own entertainment. He sought no publicity, and had no plans of making a public attraction. It isn’t surprising, however, that word of this fabulous garden leaked out, and slowly more and more people were drawn to this garden unrivaled by any other. It has been used for everything from weddings to birthday parties.

The garden has since passed to the next generation of Andersen’s, who are preserving the gardening traditions passed on to them, and keeping it a gorgeous and unique place to visit in Enumclaw, Washington.