By Kimberly Mayer
On Gardening 102
First rule of weeds:
pull them out.
Second rule of weeds:
prevent them from seedling.
Third rule of weeds:
mow them.
And after all that fails, call them
Wildflowers.
—David Mark Jenkins
Rumor had it when I first moved on island, that the caretaker of the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park & Nature Reserve was a former curator from The Smithsonian. How extraordinarily fortunate for us, I thought. Rumor had it pretty close. An exhibit designer with zoos, David Jenkins consulted with museums, and ultimately as the Associate Director of the National Zoo at the Smithsonian Institution. Upon retirement to San Juan Island he became involved with the Trails Committee, and from there he segued into the Sculpture Park, “weeding, cleaning things up, and adding paths. Creative mowing, I call it.”
Touring the 20-acre park in his Gator I thought of the fruit orchard farm the land had been at one time, prior to the park. Today, paths tell multiple narratives as they wind over meadows, around a pond, through woods, and down by the saltwater mud flat on Westcott Bay. Visitors come to walk, to meditate, to observe birds, wildlife, and art. Approximately 150 sculptures are there at any given time, predominantly from the Pacific Northwest. Works of art are on commission, Roche Harbor owns the land, and with 65,000 visitors a year the Sculpture Park is self-supporting. And a non-profit, did I mention that?
David points out new Coast Redwoods and Giant Sequoias planted for future shade and privacy in the park. He’s planted Butterfly Bush, and pussy willows to grow into shrubs in a ditch that will fill in with run off from the private little airport nearby. Each year 1,000 daffodil bulbs are planted by hand, now totaling 12,000.
We circle the poetry contest for locals, and I know it’s David who brought poetry to the park. At the installation of one of my favorite exhibits, three Orcas in cedar by Jim Burgess, David mentions how much he enjoys it when synergy happens, and sure enough there’s a nearby sculpture, “Forged Boundaries” in steel and glass by James Mcluen revealing 20 salmon, or what one orca can eat in a day. “I believe any installation should be information,” David tells me.
Some exhibits defy information, however. The Starfish Project where children and visitors can build their own sculptures with natural beach finds in a large starfish-shaped sand area. The Prayer Wheels by Chris Moebch. And what will be the Sculpture Park’s last project for this year: a Wind Phone, in which a visitor, any one of us, can sit and talk to someone who has passed. There are no words for that.
Originally published September 9, 2026 in the Journal of the San Juan Islands
a little elbow room
