Art at the Arboretum: John Grade

Join us for a FREE public opening of art installation, UNION, a stunning largescale outdoor sculpture created by one of the world’s leading contemporary artists, Seattle-based John Grade. 

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Aug 3, 2023 / News / Alex Ball, UW Farm Urban Farming and Food Systems Intern

UW Farm Weekly Dirt: The Joys of a Summer Plum Harvest

Hi everyone! My name is Alex and I’m the UW Farm Campus Food Systems intern for summer and fall quarters here at the UW Farm. I’m also going into my second year at UW, planning to major in Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health.
This is my first time writing for the UW Farm newsletter, and I would like to talk about an unanticipated memorable experience: harvesting fruit from our asian plum trees. 

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Aug 1, 2023 / Washington Park Arboretum, Center for Urban Horticulture, Plant Profiles, Horticulture / Sloane Palmer, Horticulturist, Center for Urban Horticulture

August 2023 Plant Profile: Cornelian Cherry

Scientific name: Cornus mas 
Common name: Cornelian cherry, European cornel, Cornelian cherry dogwood
Family: Cornaceae (Dogwoods)
Native range: Southern and central Europe to western Asia
Location: At the Center for Urban Horticulture, there is a grove located in the northern lawn area along the central drive and the trees’ accession numbers are 87-90. At the Arboretum, there are three specimens under the accession number of 704-38 (grid 33-B) from the original planting of the Woodland Garden in 1938. 

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Jul 31, 2023 / Washington Park Arboretum, Horticulture, News / Shea Cope, Arborist, Washington Park Arboretum

The Washington Park Arboretum: New Beginnings!

The horticulture staff at the Washington Park Arboretum are constantly planting new trees. These new plantings increase species diversity within the collection, succeed dead or declining trees, contribute to future increased canopy coverage and much, much more. All of the trees mentioned in this article were planted over the last year and are located within the Pinetum on the west side of Lake Washington Boulevard. 

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July 2023 Plant Profile: Hummingbird Fuchsia

Hardy Fuchsia love sun and do fine in part shade.  Once established they tend to be drought hardy plants – I have one in my yard that I never water in summer and it has thrived over the past 15 years.  They are the hardiest species of the Fuchsia genus and are rated for USDA Zones 6 & 7.

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Jun 29, 2023 / Washington Park Arboretum, Horticulture, News / UWBG Horticulturist, Megan Westcott

Easy to miss these beauties in June!

Photo of New Zealand Iris

1)    Libertia peregrinans                                                             New Zealand Iris

An iris in which each bloom only lasts a day, but blooms prolifically for several weeks.
Named/honored after Mde. Maire-Anne Libert, a Belgian botanist, mycologist, and plant pathologist.
Has sword-shaped leaves, only about one foot high off the ground, and easy-to- miss blooms.
Found in the New Zealand Entry Garden, at the north entrance of John Wott Way (U-shaped path). 

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Jun 12, 2023 / Washington Park Arboretum, Horticulture, News / UWBG Horticulturist, Ron Schmaltz

Some Undesirable Plants in the Washington Park Arboretum Display Beds

Photo of Horsetail

1)   Equisetum arvense L.                                                                    Horsetail

Equisetum arvense (commonly known as “horsetail”) is native throughout the temperate and arctic areas of the northern hemisphere – any place with wet or damp soil with some sunlight.
Colonization relies heavily on its extensive, deeply-penetrating creeping root system and to a lesser extent, on spore production. During the winter, the foliage dies to the ground. 

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Jun 8, 2023 / News / Aisling Doyle Wade, UW Farm Production Manager

UW Farm Weekly Dirt: Meet the UW Farm’s New Production Manager!

Hello UW Farm Community!

My name is Aisling Doyle Wade and I am entering my seventh week back at the farm as the Production Manager. I started my journey with the UW Farm back in 2017 when I was an undergraduate freshman at UW. I ended up spending much (if not most) of my time as a student on the farm or working on farm related projects. 

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Jun 6, 2023 / What is Growing, Washington Park Arboretum, Plant Profiles, Horticulture / Roy Farrow, Washington Park Arboretum Grounds Supervisor

June 2023 Plant Profile: Japanese Nutmeg Tree

In Japan, the seeds of the nutmeg yew are desirable to be roasted and eaten or used to produce a cooking oil with a subtle nutty flavor highly prized in some circles for tempura. The ‘nuts’ are rich in vitamin E as well as sciadonic acid, known to reduce cholesterol.

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UW Farm Weekly Dirt: Chestful of Whispers, Art Installation at Mercer Court Farm Site

My name is Winnie and this quarter I am the art intern on the farm. My relationship with the farm transformed after helping with Althea Rao’s (Multidisciplinary Artist, PhD student, UW DXARTS) art piece at the Mercer Court location. Her processional altar, Chestful of Whispers, was part of a larger piece through the Henry Art Gallery and artist Daniel Alexander Jones, taking place at 5 locations on the UW campus. 

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