And the astonishing United Way “Day of Caring”  numbers are in!

103 total volunteers working 417 hours!

Representing 4 companies/corporations: AT&T, Japan Business Association, Microsoft, Nordstrom

Completing 5 projects:

AT&T – Holly Collection

3 truckloads of blackberry and weeds hauled out, roots and all!

Native plant bed and holly berm weeded and mulched!

Japan Business Association-Pacific Connections Garden, Siskiyou Slope

Weeded over 1,100 linear feet of 8’wide pathways and hauled out 3 truckloads of weeds!

UW undergraduate Jeanine Carlson developed a draft proposal for the Campus Sustainability Fund as her Capstone project. The proposal imagines a cafe and permaculture demonstration garden at the Washington Park Arboretum.
Jeanine shares her vision for the proposal:
The Permaculture Perennial Guild Garden is a display and study of permaculture perennial plant guilds in an event hosting site. It provides visual demonstration, experiential learning, and a place for community to gather in sharing, learning and celebration. 

“C” is for Conifer
1)  Cedrus libanii ssp. atlantica ‘Aurea’ (syn. Cedrus atlantica ‘Aurea’)

Native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco
Young leaves have a bright yellow cast, maturing to blue-green.
This specimen is located in the North Pinetum.

2)  Chamaecyparis lawsoniana x pisifera

Hybrid of the Japanese Sawara cypress and our own Port Orford cedar
We have a specimen along the Pinetum Trail, south of the Wilcox Bridge. 

Recent UW graduate, Lisa Haglund, worked with UWBG staff and faculty and teams of high school students to plant natives in rain gardens to control and clean stormwater run-off at CUH. Read Lisa’s project narrative or visit the site.

Catalpa X erubescens (Hybrid Catalpa)
Hibiscus ‘Lohengrin’
Kalopanax pictus (Prickly castor-oil tree)
Quercus hypoleucoides (Silverleaf oak)
Sequoia sempervirens ‘Henderson Blue’

Complete details. 

The following was submitted by Angela Williams, one of five UW student interns who worked with us this past spring through the Carlson Leadership Center. Angela and co. were tasked with transforming the long neglected “Back 40” located between Plant Donations and the Greenhouse at the Arboretum into a vegetable garden…
“As a student majoring in public health nutrition, I’ve worked in many food-related service learning/volunteering positions in the past several years. 

Director Sarah Reichard invites you to come visit UWBG as often as you can – the gardens and natural areas we manage are free to all, so whether it’s respite and relaxation you seek, a quiet walk in the woods, the beauty of what’s blooming, or the splendid colors of fall, UW Botanic Gardens offers you magnificent nature experiences year-round.

Things certainly ramped up since my last post on here hence the absence of updates, but it’s been a busy past few months here at the Center for Urban Horticulture Grounds. There are several exciting new projects underway and our regular summer regiment is in full swing with regular volunteers that have helped what is now a two person crew to oversee all of CUH Grounds since our third colleague left. 

Marilyn Smith Layton has created a book of images called Seasons of Lifein the Union Bay Natural Area, and she is donating the profits from the sale of the book to projects in UBNA. The cost of the book is $60, and $20 of that will go to help the natural area.
You may purchase a copy in the Miller Library (cash or check only). 

Hydrangea involucrata ‘Tama Azisai’
Lonicera xylosteum (Fly honeysuckle)
Magnolia virginiana var. australis
Rhododendron degronianum ssp. yakushimanum
Sorbus scopulina var. cascadensis

Complete details.