No pets, bicycles, or skateboards are allowed in the garden. Admission is free. Since the late 1980s, this 150-acre Bainbridge Island estate has been open to the public on a limited basis. The manse, which overlooks Puget Sound, is now a visitors center where interpretive material is available to guide one's walk through the property. The parklike grounds contain a number of theme gardens, including a Japanese garden with cloud pruned pines, a Zen sand garden, and a moss garden full of intriguing native plants.
Nature trails lead through native woods and wetlands.
A small pond attracts birds in increasing numbers as its plantings mature. Not a place for a family picnic or a romp with the dog. Children under 5 are free. Here one can explore 7 acres of gardens containing more than 500 species of plants, including those that made up English's personal arboretum. Rare ornamental trees and shrubs from all over the temperate world are underplanted with flowering plants in similarly rich variety.