Let's Go: Point Defiance Zoo Botanical Garden

Can a zoo be a plant paradise? It can, I discovered, as the Point Defiance Zoo Botanical Garden in Tacoma, Washington most certainly is. Earlier this summer for the 2024 Great Plant Picks field days, the selection committee descended upon several spectacular gardens in the Seattle area, and this was the first. Our fellow committee member Bryon Jones is the head of horticulture at the zoo so we enjoyed an exclusive tour. Actually Bryon is very generous with his time and knowledge with many people, not just our little group. There are tours the first Sunday of every month it turns out.

I had never been, but many of my plant friends have and all share the same sentiment, i.e., this is a remarkable garden that happens to be in a zoo. I was thrilled to visit, even on an incredibly busy Friday morning in the height of summer.

Bryon has amassed a varied and jaw dropping and diverse selection of what I think are some of the coolest plants we can grow on the West Coast including agave and arctostaphylos, both of which were plentiful. Bryon has a small team of only three people I believe and resources are tight - most of the budget goes to caring for the animals and the zoo itself. This means he has to be creative and that is certainly the case as plants will need minimal maintenance. He explained he doesn't map out new beds or design them per se, rather he has an instinct for where a plant might do well and in it goes. Plants are also not coddled; if it won't survive then it won't work because there is no winter protection here. Rather appropriate siting and soils make all the difference. OK, let's roll:

The very first photo I took is in the Desert Garden bed near the entrance. It is emblematic of what this garden is all about in my mind's eye. Agave parryi and cultivars from different sources yield different plants with differing degrees of hardiness. While I can't recall exactly which is which, you'll note an Agave parryi on the far left has a bit of damage while others do not, an observation Bryon takes note of. Sedum, Penstemon pinifolius, Sempervivum sp. and others mixed in a very well-drained rocky soil.

Here Byron is giving us a thorough orientation to the gardens and his work with his team at the zoo.

Pop of color from salvia.

And the scene again because it's so good.

Nolina hibernica ‘La Siberica' 

Moving down the path Bryon led us towards the Southern Borders, as in southern hemisphere.

Melianthus major on the right and a rather petite bamboo on the left whose name I did not record. The Southern Borders were fabulous, though Bryon mentioned they did lose a couple of plants this past January freeze. But not as many as one might expect.

Erigeron, possibly 'Wayne Roderick'

I turned to find a black and white ruffed lemur watching us.

Agave gentryi 'Jaws'

Othonna cheirifolia, I love that glaucus foliage.

Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', a repeated plant in many different gardens at the zoo which was the case with many plants. When a plant does well, repeat.

An extremely cool fern for sun and a rocky site, Pleopeltis lepidopteris is on my want list. Bryon joked that as with this fern, he often buys out entire plant stocks from nurseries to plant at the zoo which explains why I can't find this anywhere.

Agave ovatifolia near the fern.

Fabulous textures and foliage throughout.

One of the larger Drimys lanceolata (syn. Tasmannia lanceolata) I have seen. 

My fellow Great Plant Picks committee member Guy Meacham photographing Gaura lindheimeri while I photograph him.

An example of some of the sloped beds that roll down into public paths throughout the zoo, Bryon must be careful not to plant any unfriendly plants that would spill out and potentially harm passers-by. Slopes throughout, by the way, are a large reason why so many agaves do so well in the ground here.

Here is Bryon in the new-ish Baja Garden in front of the aquarium.

Sinopanax formosanus and velvety indumentum on the under sides of the leaves.

Wollemia nobilis, Wollemy pine, a fossil of a tree thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1994 in Australia.

We went though an area called the Little Explorers Nature Play Garden that featured a pollinator garden.

Fun stuff for kids (ok, or me).

What little explorer wouldn't be tempted to jump through this?

Fun things on the other side...

Or sit in this kid-sized nest?

Just to illustrate how well-sited Bryon's plant selections are, here's Agave 'Mr. Ripple' with the man himself for scale. This is in the ground and does not get winter protection - it's just on a slope with well-drained soil.

An area off limits to zoo visitors, these plants are grown for the zoo animals for food and interaction.

Bamboo - Bryon grows over 45 types here. It's a plant I know virtually nothing about however I do appreciate its beauty.

Albizia julibrissin, silk tree, one of a pair - the other died recently.

A rather large Schefflera taiwaniana (syn. Heptapleurum taiwanainum) at the back of a building, I doubt visitors see this area much. 

There is so much more to this garden and I emphasize garden rather than the zoo part (zoos, while they do wonderful conservation work now, are still depressing to me). Our visit here was quick, we were on to other gardens soon after so this post feels short to me. I'll have to come back. In fact I encourage anyone in the area to visit and see what Bryon and his talented team are up to. His smile and excitement are contagious - he loves his plants! He also loves geology and is a bit of a rock hound, I see echoes of that in his plantings. I am embarrassed I had not visited until this year, I will be back. Thank you, Bryon! We were all pretty blown away by how such a small team cares for such a huge garden - and in the public eye. It is immaculate and gorgeous, interactive and relates to the zoo in so many ways. It is interesting and has the wow factor and I imagine lures many unsuspecting zoo-goers into being plant-goers.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always thank you so much for reading and commenting, we do love hearing from you! Happy Gardening!

And a friendly reminder our group plant sale is coming in just over a week - Saturday the 14th, 11 - 3. The address is 334 N Baldwin, Portland. Come join a group of plant geeks as we sell a variety of plants - hardy perennials, shrubs, grasses, natives, succulents, books, pottery and more. We're the Dirty Diggers of Lovewood (you can find us on Facebook, too).