2/21/26. The driveway of Marriott Downtown Tacoma. The mix of containers makes it a really interesting and inviting space. I've chatted with the local grounds staff several times and the extra effort to make this space part of the first impression when guests arrive is apparent and intentional. Being attentive to people and place is something that comes across very clearly from the company's Core Values & Heritage page.
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2/19/26. I recently came across this great online article about the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society partnering with Subaru of America to develop their campus garden. The details of the design partnership, images of the gardens, and information on how to conceptualize and implement a corporate garden are really valuable. They include some insight on how the Subaru corporate culture and values were reflected in the garden design and maintenance as well. Definitely on my list to visit int the future.
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I had the great honor of spending an entire morning with David De Groot, Curator of the Pacific Bonsai Museum. David has been the collection's curator since it opened with 60 specimen in 1989 by Weyerhaueser to celebrate Washington State's centennial. Today, there are over 100 plants in the collection and David leads a team of experts that not only care for one of the largest bonsai collections in the US, they work diligently to inspire and educate visitors with dozens of lectures, special exhibits, and intimate tours of the collection.
It goes without saying, that each bonsai was magnificent...I could easily spend hours appreciating and then describing each and every one. The more time you take looking at each bonsai, the more you discover in the foliage, the trunk, the branches, etc. One thing that made the collection so striking to me was its setting among tall Douglas fir, hemlock, vine maple, and other trees. This made the attention to detail in bonsai placement and display even more evident and highlights the beauty of nature at every scale. Having David himself guide me through the collection was an extraordinary opportunity and I can only compare it to something like taking a fencing lesson from a world class Maitre d’Armes. I might have been able to perceive many beautiful and stirring attributes of each bonsai on my own, but David was always able to point out and interpret even more attributes that were even more subltle, yet profound.
The history and culture of the bonsai collection is remarkable in itself but it is also clear that this history and culture are closely intertwined with the Weyerhaeuser corporate culture as well. Long term care and management are requisite with any bonsai collection, essentially an outdoor living art museum. The idea of long term care and management is core to the Weyerhaeuser corporate culture and values as well and it is evident throughout the grounds of the rest of the Weyerhaeuser International Headquarters campus. David also took me on a short tour of the 500 acre campus where nature is often left to take its course. More a true forest than a corporate garden, the extensive grounds include lakes and meadows, many open and canopied trails, and a few surprises such as a large nurse log and giant ant hills that dot the landscape.
Although Weyerhaeuser has often been the target of criticism regarding their own and industry-wide forestry practices, today they are considered to be one of the industry leaders with sustainability being among their key business goals as demonstrated in their products, their operations, and their community involvement.
