Bob Hart's great grandparents, Isaac and Margaret Jennings left New Jersey in 1869, coming west on the transcontinental railroad to San Francisco and then continuing on the lumber schooner "Forest Queen" to Port Townsend, to stay with their cousin, Bill Engle on Ebey's Prairie. They filed preemption papers on a quarter section along White Slough in 1871, and an 80 acre Homestead claim two years later. In 1884 they purchased 239 acres from John Conner, which included the Singer and Calhoun farms. In 1887, they purchased 80 acres from James Porter. The 11 acres encompassed in the gardens, were above high tide and were covered with grass and Cedar trees. The farm includes 232 acres. The first crops grown were oats, hay and cattle, but within the first decades crops included potatoes, wheat, barley, horses and dairy cattle.
In 1914 their son, Louis Jennings, married Ethel Shields and they moved into the new home on the current property, built for them by his parents and designed by architect Charles F. Doan. They planted an orchard and garden and the Black Locusts which shade the house today. They had two children, Margaret and Philip, and in 1918 Ethel died from influenza.
The Granary building was constructed in 1914 and originally sat along Porter Slough where the oats could be loaded on sternwheeler steamboats. It was moved to its present location in 1955, when Best Road was improved and widened.
In 1940, Margaret married Ranville Hart, a florist and nurseryman, and they began growing nursery stock on the farm. The farm had a 50 head dairy herd, 30 horses, 100 head of beef cattle, pigs and chickens as well as oats, wheat, hay and pasture. They had 5 children, including Bob born in 1947.
Bob returned to the farm in 1971, after college and 4 years in the U.S. Navy. In 1972 the first retail sales nursery was opened, the operation was expanded regularly, until 1985 when the Garden Center was built, which was sold to John & Toni Christianson in 1990. In 1985, Bob married Margie Gilbert and the rest is history. Bob has 3 children: Tom & Cheryl Hart and grandsons: Chris and Tom of Balm, FL; Linda and Todd Reilly and grandchildren: Shannon, Kyle, and Madison of Parker, CO and Jen Hart of La Conner, WA. Margie has 3 children: John Gilbert of Arlington, WA; Cathy Gilbert of Mount Vernon, WA and Jim Gilbert of Everett, WA.
In 1985, we decided to design the garden of the farmstead to be a design and sales tool for the garden center. Landscape Architects Ross Hart and Glen Hunt helped fine tune Bob's design and installation over a cribbage board and lots of "Vino Tinto". After 20 years we are thinning and pruning annually, as well as continually changing areas in the garden.
In 1914 their son, Louis Jennings, married Ethel Shields and they moved into the new home on the current property, built for them by his parents and designed by architect Charles F. Doan. They planted an orchard and garden and the Black Locusts which shade the house today. They had two children, Margaret and Philip, and in 1918 Ethel died from influenza.
The Granary building was constructed in 1914 and originally sat along Porter Slough where the oats could be loaded on sternwheeler steamboats. It was moved to its present location in 1955, when Best Road was improved and widened.
In 1940, Margaret married Ranville Hart, a florist and nurseryman, and they began growing nursery stock on the farm. The farm had a 50 head dairy herd, 30 horses, 100 head of beef cattle, pigs and chickens as well as oats, wheat, hay and pasture. They had 5 children, including Bob born in 1947.
Bob returned to the farm in 1971, after college and 4 years in the U.S. Navy. In 1972 the first retail sales nursery was opened, the operation was expanded regularly, until 1985 when the Garden Center was built, which was sold to John & Toni Christianson in 1990. In 1985, Bob married Margie Gilbert and the rest is history. Bob has 3 children: Tom & Cheryl Hart and grandsons: Chris and Tom of Balm, FL; Linda and Todd Reilly and grandchildren: Shannon, Kyle, and Madison of Parker, CO and Jen Hart of La Conner, WA. Margie has 3 children: John Gilbert of Arlington, WA; Cathy Gilbert of Mount Vernon, WA and Jim Gilbert of Everett, WA.
In 1985, we decided to design the garden of the farmstead to be a design and sales tool for the garden center. Landscape Architects Ross Hart and Glen Hunt helped fine tune Bob's design and installation over a cribbage board and lots of "Vino Tinto". After 20 years we are thinning and pruning annually, as well as continually changing areas in the garden.
Circa 1969
Circa 1991
Circa 1986
Circa 1985
