I walked through the arboretum this week looking for early fall color in the park. This Fothergilla major always seems to be one of our first color transformations and its brilliant  reds and oranges drew me to it as usual.
The Fothergilla major is a deciduous shrub native to the Southeastern U.S. where its common name is Witch Alder. Though not an alder, it is in the Hamamelidaceae family and, like its relative Witch Hazel, is a wonderful deciduous shrub for any garden. 

are going like gangbusters! Between the months of September and November, we have over 1300 kids signed up for fieldtrips.
Our guides have been loving the mild weather and teaching and learning from these budding naturalists. The Arboretum is such an amazing place to explore; all of the senses can be engaged, well, except for taste! Those of us in the field are so fortunate to be able to teach a variety of topics to kids based on what they are learning in class. 

Congratulations, Annie!
Not only for having a photo that was one of the winners in our August Kids Digital Photography Contest, but for one of your photos making it onto the Visiting Seattle page of our city’s website! Annie’s amazing photo is 4th on the slide show.
Kids RULE! 

In July 2012 the Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded a Museums for America grant to UW Botanic Gardens to integrate an all-inclusive database, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. The multi-part project will ultimately allow for one point of access to herbarium, horticultural and curitorial records linked to an Arc-GIS generated map, searchable from any web-connected devise. The database will be used to advance environmental research, improve Arboretum management and expand interpretation of the woody plant collections. 

1)   Acer diabolicum  (Horned Maple)

This maple is one of the least ornamental of the native maples of Japan.
It is named for the tiny horn-like appendages between the winged seeds.
Ours is growing beside the Japanese Garden parking lot.

2)   Koelreuteria bipinnata

Named after a German professor of botany, J.G. Koelreuter (1733-1806), it is impossible for English speakers to pronounce. 

“Ornamental Late Summer Fruits”

1)  Betula lenta  (Sweet Birch)

The fruit, maturing in fall, is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.
Twigs, when scraped, have a strong scent of oil of wintergreen.
Several specimens are located east of Azalea Way bordering the wetland bog.

2)  Liriodendron tulipifera  (Tulip Tree)

The fruit is a cone, two to three inches long, made of a great number of thin narrow scales attached to a common axis. 

These 3-parted pods contain the seeds of the Koelreuteria paniculata or Golden Rain Tree. This tree is native to East Asia, China & Korea and is used as an ornamental for its flowers, leaves and seed pods. Although it is considered an invasive in the SE United States. The Arboretum’s free Sunday walks for the month of September will feature the “Fruits & Nuts” of this tree and many others in the collection. 

The UWBG Kids Digital Photography Contest was a complete success! We had 12 entries, ranging from ages 7 to 16, who submitted some really incredible artwork.

1)   Blechnum chilense

This impressive evergreen fern grows in full sun to full shade.
The Chilean Spanish name ‘Costilla de vaca’ translates into “cow’s rib” and refers to the shape of the fronds.
This fern can be found thriving in the Chilean Entry Garden in Pacific Connections.

2)   Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. niphophila

Beautiful peeling brown bark is just one of the attributes of this Australian native. 

All of the Hydrangeas in the park are at their prime flowering beauty right now. Its a great month to go on one of our free Sunday tours with a guide and walk down Arboretum Drive to view the variety of Hydrangeas in the UW collection which includes everything from exotic Asian vines to the bluest mopheads I’ve seen in a while to the pictured Hydrangea aspera – my personal favorite.