SEQUIM — Neil Burkhardt and Jane Stewart, who operated McComb Gardens, 2.5 acres of display gardens in Sequim filled with thousands of species of plants, trees and flowers for more than 15 years, have received the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association’s 2015 Harold Young Lifetime Achievement Award.
It is the association’s highest award.
“Their dedication to excellence as an independent retailer shows in their beautifully designed demonstration gardens that showcase diverse and unusual plant material, support for certified professional horticulturist employees and continuing education and service to their local gardening community,” the award’s citation said.
The award was presented at the Northwest Green Industry Conference in Tacoma. The conference is the annual meeting of the nursery-landscape association and the Washington Association of Landscape Professionals.
Burkhardt and Stewart had previously received the association’s Presidents Award, Member of the Year Award and an Environmental Excellence Award.
Gardens closed last year
The couple retired and closed McComb Gardens on April 1, 2014.
The property at 751 McComb Road was sold to Sequim-based WAG — Welfare for Animals Guild — the nonprofit dog-rescue group that saves at-risk canines across the North Olympic Peninsula.
Now retired in the Sequim area, “I am walking the Discovery Trail, birding, volunteering and doing yoga,” Stewart told the Peninsula Daily News in an email.
“I am birding the southern canyons of Utah (ending at the Grand) in September. Neil is hiking, birding and doing yoga. He is hiking the Inca Trail (in Peru) this summer.”
The couple kept the Gardens’ email address and phone number and can be reached at 360-681-2827 and info@mccombgardens.com.
