Photographers invited to capture “timeless visions” at Seattle's Dunn Gardens

Photo courtesy Dunn Gardens

Photographers are invited to join the centennial celebration of an historic Seattle garden by using their lenses and competing for the chance to have their impressions published, displayed and archived. The contest is one in a series of activities and events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Dunn Gardens, one of the most historic and horticulturally significant gardens in the Pacific Northwest.

Submissions based on the theme “Timeless visions: Dunn Gardens through the camera lens” will be accepted until October 26, 2015. Both amateur and professional photographers are encouraged to participate.

Outdoor digital images may be submitted in two categories – landscape and detail. Photographers may take photos during docent-led tours, special events and open days. Up to three entries in each category plus a caption of up to 50 words may be submitted by contestants. Complete contest rules, criteria and conditions are on the Dunn Gardens website. 

“We are looking for high quality, striking photographs depicting the garden’s timeless beauty,” said Beth Weir, executive director of Dunn Gardens. She said judges will give preference to photographs that illustrate the historic Olmsted structure and design or highlight the impact of seasonal change on the magnificent garden.

Dunn Gardens, located in Seattle’s Broadview neighborhood, is the only Olmsted-designed private garden in the Pacific Northwest that is open to the public for tours. Once a family’s rural retreat and now a member of the National Registry of Historic Places, this hidden 7.5 acre gem has many distinctive features including deciduous trees , rare seasonal plants, trilliums, a great lawn, water features and a woodland glen of rhododendrons.

The Olmsted Brothers believed gardens should be places of respite and are renowned for their ideals of naturalistic groupings of trees. Other Olmsted legacies in Seattle include the boulevard system, numerous parks and playgrounds, the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (credited with shaping the University of Washington campus), and other public and private landscapes, including more than 30 residential grounds. Elsewhere, the Olmsted designs include Central Park in New York, the U.S. Capitol Grounds in Washington D.C., and Boston Commons.

Dunn Gardens is part of the E.B. Dunn Historic Garden Trust and supported by volunteers, memberships, donations, fundraising events, tours and other activities. Special events for its centennial, in addition to the photo contest, include lectures by noted garden historians, a Music on the Lawn concert (on July 29) and a Dunnton Abbey garden party (on Aug. 8).