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This is Tadpole Haven’s 25^th year in business! How time flies when you are having fun. I haven’t thought about that milestone much, but last week Brian and I visited Chimacum Woods, a nursery on the west side of Hood Canal near Port Ludlow. It was a fun excursion to celebrate our 3^rd wedding anniversary.

Robert Zimmerman and his crew at Chimacum Woods grow and sell species Rhododendrons. At 81, Mr. Zimmerman would like to find someone to take over and continue this work of 47 years. 25 years fade in comparison!

Set in the lush woods (we were lucky enough to visit on a rainy day), several greenhouses abut the moss-lined lane that spirals up the hill. Across from the greenhouses, paths wind through an enchanted forest. Shaded by towering Western Red Cedars, Western Hemlocks and the California native, Coast Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirens), native groundcovers, huckleberries and Vine Maples share the limelight with many species of Rhododendron.

Mr. Zimmerman has explored and collected seeds from Rhododendron habitat during several trips to China, where many native species of Rhododendrons face extirpation as the juggernaut of Chinese industrial agriculture gobbles up land. He has witnessed the devastation of native forests, where bulldozers chase away the natives, be they human or other animal, and tear out the roots of trees and shrubs, including the beautiful Rhododendrons, many found only in one corner of the earth. He sees his work with these species especially as a mission to save some of these species from extinction. 

He is trying to recruit a successor who will carry on some of this work. Meanwhile, he is getting some help from volunteers who for a chance to live for a while on the premises rent-free, spend a few weeks or more caring for his plants. Check out the website: https://www.chimacumwoods.com

>>> Tadpole Haven Native currently has our state flower, the Pacific Rhododendron (Rhododendron Macrophyllum), in stock. <<<

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