Shelburne Hotel Garden Tour

The historic Shelburne Hotel in Seaview, Washington is home to several lush and pleasant gardens. Since 1896, guests have been lounging, playing, eating, drinking and getting married amongst a colorful collection of plants and quirky garden features. The gardens are designed to be beautiful in all seasons, so any time of year is a special time to visit the gardens of Shelburne Hotel. Book a King with Balcony room at the hotel for a front row seat to the ever-changing horticultural magic.

We collected some of the greatest hits of the garden to show you, and sat down with the gardener that makes all this lushness possible, Alix Daggatt.

Alix Daggatt, Landscape Manager for Adrift Hospitality, has been tending the gardens and landscapes of our 6 properties in Washington and Oregon since 2020. We interrupted Alix working in the gorgeous garden at Shelburne Hotel to chit-chat on the deck outside the pub.

The hotel has been on this site for over 127 years, and we know for most of that time there have been landscaping, plant containers, and garden spaces to set the scene for a serene vacation on the coast. Alix is the latest in a long line of garden tenders at Shelburne Hotel.

Alix’s favorite time in the garden is early spring when portions of the garden go from bare soil to bulbs popping up all over in a matter of days. Around that same time, a large Magnolia in the front garden is one of the big, showy signs of spring arriving in Seaview, with a wild display of white blooms. Some of Alix’s favorite plants include the sweet climbing rose in the side garden, and the firecracker Crocosmias (just finishing their bloom cycle at the time of our conversation.)

The garden makes a transition from outside to inside at the hotel in the sweet summer bouquets on the tables in the restaurant. Fresh flowers cut from the garden change throughout the season to delight guests.

While there have been lots of reports of ghost activity inside the historic Shelburne Hotel, Alix does not have any spooky experiences in the garden to report. There is a story that a ghost called Georgina has been spotted in the garden near the large, century-old Laurel tree shading the deck at the pub. It is said that she likes being around during the outdoor weddings set in the garden – what a romantic!

Come visit the gardens and admire Alix’s hard work! Book a room at Shelburne Hotel, or join us for a drink or a meal at the Shelburne Pub. Be sure to ask for a table on the deck for a dreamy garden dining experience, weather permitting.

Do you have your own thoughts or pictures from the Shelburne Hotel garden? Send them to us at [email protected].