When Fall Out Boy sang,

“We’re going down, down in an earlier round

And sugar, we’re going down swinging,”

they were actually referring to leaves falling in autumn and the wonderful process of tapping sugar maple trees for syrup (not really, but wouldn’t it be funny).

I’ve been touting crape myrtle as Seattle’s “tree of the future” for years now. And, because of climate change, I daresay, the future is now! Lagerstroemia indica is a beautiful tree for all seasons; outstanding in flower, fall color and winter bark interest.

If you have the fortune to be botanizing in southwest Washington, you might have the chance to encounter one of Washington’s rare paintbrush species. At first glance you might think this is the common, harsh paintbrush (Castilleja hispida) since both species have the same vibrant, orange-colored bracts and both are found at low to mid elevations. But it is in fact Chamber’s paintbrush (Castilleja chambersii), and when you look more closely at the leaves, you will see what is so unusual about this species. 

After 29 years, our incredible, show-stopping Nolina nelsonii specimen is flowering at the Center for Urban Horticulture!

Imagine you walk deep into a woodland in Japan, the Hokkaido region, and along a rocky creek side you see these small clouds of nodding bell-shaped flowers. Hues of pink, maybe yellow, some with striations of red (hence it’s English common name, red-veined enkianthus).

Basalt daisy (Erigeron basalticus) is a cliff dweller, found exclusively along the Yakima River Canyon and Selah Creek. There you will find it tucked into crevices and cracks of the basalt cliffs formed in the late Miocene (5 to 11 million years ago). There are six known populations in Washington State. Over the past few years Rare Care has made a concerted effort to re-monitor all known occurrences, and we only have one left to visit! 

Horsetail, a plant that Seattle area gardeners love to hate. Have it in your garden? You have likely been fighting it for years. But this plant is more than just a weed. Field horsetail, Equisetum arvense, is a tenacious perennial native to the temperate and arctic regions across the northern hemisphere, including the Pacific Northwest.
In early spring I often encounter visitors wondering about the otherworldly-looking reproductive stems of field horsetail. 

The species of Rhododendron in the subsection Grandia are all native to southeast Asia, though they blend into our PNW conifer and mixed forests magically. Now is an excellent time to come visit these amazing plants in the Washington Park Arboretum before the distraction of so much color enters the world.

Plants enrich our lives in many ways and each one tells a story. The red rose is known to be the symbol of romance. The 4-leaf clover for good luck.

For the violet, its story and importance to the queer community can be traced back to Ancient Greece and the poetess, Sappho (c. 600 BCE).

Western white pines (Pinus monticola) are five-needled pines that are native from southern British Columbia to southern California. In the northern parts of their range, including in western Washington, they can be found from sea level up to about 5,000 feet in elevation. As their range extends southward they are found at higher elevations. Western white pines are often found in sites with low-nutrient, gravelly soils, where they compete successfully with other native conifers such as Douglas-firs.