This month, instead of profiling a plant, we’ll be profiling a completely different kind of organism… slime molds!
In the fall of 2015, the Elisabeth C. Miller Library at the Center for Urban Horticulture held an art exhibit about slime molds: Now You See It, the Slime Mold Revelation! I had never head of these organisms and was intrigued by the art display and the amazing enlarged photographs of their fruiting bodies. 

1)  Aristotelia chilensis                    Macqui

This small evergreen tree is native to the Valdivian temperate rainforest of Chile and Argentina.
This inconspicuous white flower yields a small black fruit, and is sometimes called Macqui or, Chilean Wineberry.
This plant and New Zealand’s Mountain Wineberry (A. fruticosa) can both be found in the Pacific Connections Garden.

2)  Prostanthera cuneata                    Alpine Mint Bush

This evergreen shrub is native to southeastern Australia. 

During the first weekend in May 2017, the Master Gardener Foundation of King County held its annual Spring Plant Sale and Garden Market on the grounds of the Center for Urban Horticulture.  As I browsed the vendors displaying plants and other garden art, I was impressed as to how much has changed as well as how much is still the same. 

1)   Azara lanceolata

This large shrub is native to Chile and Argentina.
In spring, it is covered with fragrant yellow flowers.
Azara lanceolata can be found near parking lots #4 and #5 along Arboretum Drive.

2)   Cytisus x praecox                Broom

C. multiflorus x C. purgans
Pale yellow flowers are produced in axillary clusters.
Many Brooms and related plants are blooming now along Arboretum Drive in our legume collection. 

 
1)   Acer palmatum  ‘Beni-maiko’                     Japanese Maple

The name Beni-maiko means “red dancing girl”, referring to the brilliant red-to-pinkish foliage that emerges in the spring.
This tree’s current color stands out vibrantly in the Woodland Garden.
Beni-maiko has been recognized by the Royal Horticulture Society and given the Award of Garden Merit for several recent years.

 
2)   Erica arborea                     Tree Heath/Giant Heather

Erica arborea is native to Africa, having populations in the Ethiopian Highlands, mountains of Ruwenzori, and the Cameroon Mountains. 

There is a song which I used to sing all the time, “What a Difference a Day Makes”! Every day, the news is filled with stories about new plans to increase density and building heights in the city of Seattle, and especially in the University District. The University of Washington has just released a new Campus Master Plan which also increases building density and height. 

Our eleventh Arboretum Earth Day event partnering with Student Conservation Association was the largest ever with 340 total participants!
Opening ceremony speakers representing the three Washington Park Arboretum partners; Paige Miller, Executive Director of Arboretum Foundation; Elizabeth Van Volkenberg, Interim Director of UW School of Environmental Sciences (UW Botanic Gardens academic arm); and Christopher Williams, Seattle City Parks and Recreation Deputy Superintendent addressed the attentive crowd of eager volunteers of how valuable our Arboretum is to the local community and the importance of continual community stewardship. 

Seattle Parks and Recreation is undertaking a project to learn of ways to improve the specialty gardens in the Park system, including the Washington Park Arboretum. The project is funded by the Specialty Gardens division of the Seattle Parks Department and is being conducted by HR2 Research and Analytics.
HR2 Research and Analytics are conducting focus groups, with a $25 compensation (participants must confirm attendance with Haley Brown at hbrown@hr2researchandanalytics.com or 425-777-6718 -to receive compensation and ensure seating). 

The following are five of the best flowering cherries suitable for growing in the Pacific Northwest. All have good resistance to brown rot blossom blight disease and are good choices size-wise for the home garden.  All specimens below are currently in some stage of flowering along our historic Azalea Way Promenade.
1)   Prunus  x yedoensis  ‘Akebono’                 Daybreak Yoshino Cherry

‘Akebono’ (“Daybreak”) – This form has pinker flowers than the original Yoshino-type, and the petals are more frilled. 

1)   Acer triflorum                Three Flower Maple

A small, slow-growing deciduous 20’ to 45’ tree, where it is native to Manchuria and Korea. An excellent landscape tree boasting light-grey vertically furrowed bark and vivid red and orange fall color. The specific epithet makes reference to its flowers, which are borne in clusters of three.
This tree was discovered by noted plant explorer, Ernest H.