Arboretum Icons
Not unlike the Paris gatherings of the Roaring Twenties , I sometimes picture running into some of the icons of the Arboretum in the late 1980s and 1990s . A time when people like Iain Robertson , Duane Kelly , Dan Hinkley , and John Wott were reimagining the Witt Winter Garden , starting the Northwest Flower and Garden Show , adding rare and endangered specimens to the Arboretum ’ s collections , and dreaming of the key elements to shape the Master Plan . Their energy and vision continue to shape much of what we love about the Arboretum today .
Please enjoy the interview with Dan Hinkley ( page 19 )— the latest excerpt from our oral history project — in which he discusses his student days at the Arboretum , his role in planning the Pacific Connections Garden , and more .
Sadly , we lost two of these icons in recent weeks : Professor Iain Robertson and Dr . John Wott ( pictured above left and right , respectively ). Iain was one of the best lateral thinkers I ’ ve ever met — someone who , with a turn of a phrase or a quick sketch , could help you think about things in a completely and delightfully different way . John had a gift for nurturing not only the collections but , perhaps more importantly , the people who would care about them . John wrote many articles for the “ Bulletin ,” and it seems fitting that John ’ s final one celebrates a woman whose quiet , everyday passion for the Arboretum and Center for Urban Horticulture resulted in her own brand of influence .
As you walk through the Witt Winter Garden or along John Wott Way in Pacific Connections , please give a little salute to Iain and John for their decades of love for the Arboretum .
Jane Stonecipher Executive Director , Arboretum Foundation
2 v Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin