Inside the Broadmoor gates, behind a 1920 Tudor home, is a hidden garden as old as the house itself.
The old-growth garden has been a gathering place for the owners' family and friends and was once a stop on the Broadmoor Community Garden tour, according to current owner Joanne Snow Smith-Willstater.
"It was always a pleasure for friends, neighbors and family to come and visit me," Smith-Willstater said. "We would always sit out on the balcony that looks over the beautiful garden."
According to Smith-Willstater, the home and the garden were designed by Seattle architect Alban Shay, who is known for his work on the Suzzallo Library and Anderson Hall on the University of Washington campus.
"I always had a special interest with the house and garden because of who the architect was," said Smith-Willstater, who is a full professor of Italian Renaissance art history at the UW. "You can see the similarities in his designs on campus and that of my home."
MANY FLORAL DELIGHTS
Both the house and the garden that frames it have been in the Broadmoor neighborhood since its inception in the late 1920s. Nearly every plant in the formal garden is original.
"This a very old-growth garden. My late husband and I made few additions to the foliage," Smith-Willstater said.
One of the main attractions are the numerous thick, rhododendron trees, some of which are as tall as the two-story home it stands beside.
"The garden was always a stop on the tour because of the enormous rhododendron bushes. Everyone always wanted to see them," Smith-Willstater said.
Smith-Willstater's favorite aspect of her garden is what she calls the "paradise garden," which includes a small sitting area, separated from the rest of the garden by small stone steps that overlook Smith-Willstater's sculptures.
"When my husband and I would come back from our travels through Italy, we would find replicas of classical and Renaissance sculptures," she said. "I have copies of Michel-angelo's 'David,' Donatello's 'David,' Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' and a bunch more."
Other features of the garden include a large rose bush that climbs over the wrought-iron railing of the second-story balcony, and French doors that lead to a stone patio, which Smith-Willstater and her husband added themselves.
A large blooming dogwood tree nearly 80 years old adorns the center of the garden, while an old camellia lines the back fence. The multi-leveled garden is full of old foliage and colorful flowers.
"I have a yard man who comes in and keeps the place up," Smith-Willstater said. "But the garden... really doesn't require much care."
HOME FOR SALE
Smith-Willstater, who has lived in the Broadmoor home for nine years, is now selling it for $1.95 million through Madison House Ltd. to move closer to her son in California.
"Since my husband died, the home just hasn't been the same to me," said Smith-Willstater, who recently lost her husband of eight years to melanoma.
Smith-Willstater said she loves the garden and wouldn't be moving if her husband hadn't died.
"The garden is absolutely magnificent," she said.
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