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).

A master plan is critical for a botanic or public garden of any size, to give it a sense of mission and purpose, and then to guide priorities to accomplish its goals.

“The Arboretum is over 230 acres and it is absolutely a public space. And when we say public that means everyone, not just the people that live close by,” says Christina Owen, co-director of UWBG.

University of Washington Bothell (UWB) and the University of Washington Botanic Gardens (UWBG) at the Washington Park Arboretum (WPA) partnered this Winter quarter with two community based learning and research BES 495 student interns. Here are their BES 495 project blogs:
Planting Projects at WPA by Jessica Rouhana, BS in Conservation and Restoration Science 
Two projects were focused on: Rhododendron Glen and the Lightning Tree. 

Each country has its own traditions associated with the new year. For Vietnamese families, we love to decorate our homes with the yellow Mai flower (Ochna integerrima). As if on cue, the buds push forth an explosion of delicate golden flowers during the days leading up to Lunar New Years, called Tết in Vietnamese. Read more about the legend surrounding the beautiful Mai flower.

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Enjoy this 50 sec video capturing rare footage of Rhododendron Glen’s creek in full grandeur after recent snow melt and heavy rains. Filmed by Ron Schmaltz, UWBG horticulturist assigned to Rhododendron Glen restoration project. 

The UW Farm is teaming up with 2050 Project, a nonprofit organization that specializes in environmental communication to bring you a 6-part video series about sustainable food systems and urban farming!

Last week was the 7th installment of Staff Conversations, a series developed by the Equity and Justice committee consisting of staff from UW Botanic Gardens and Arboretum Foundation. The goal of Staff Conversations is to move our organizations towards more equitable and inclusive programs, organizations and practices by engaging staff in the discovery, learning and implementation of equitable and antiracist practices. 

Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The UW Botanic Gardens celebrate and honor the original stewards of this land.

“This trial is significant as it really does put data to the observations–not just qualitatively, but quantitatively–about how plants are performing,” says Ray Larson, Curator of Living Collections at UWBG.