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. 

The Washington State Department of Transportation will start geotechnical and cultural field studies at the Washington Park Arboretum near the location of the future 520 bridge on August 6, 2012.
Complete information can be found at the WSDOT 520 Project webpage.
Cultural Resources Fields Study Factsheet
Geotechnical Drilling Field Study Factsheet
  

We haven’t even begun our Digital Photo Contest (starts TOMORROW! August 1st), but thought we would share some of the photographs taken by the Art in the Park Campers here at the Arboretum. We are so lucky to have these budding artists on our grounds. Take a look at some of their photos.

Hey, Kids! If you are between 4 and 16 get out your digital cameras, visit the Arboretum, take some awesome pictures and send them to us between August 1st and 31st. We’ll announce winners and prizes by September 5th.

1)   Berberis darwinii

Vigorous, upright evergreen shrub with spine-toothed, glossy leaves and spherical blue-glaucous fruit.
This specimen is located along the Pacific Connections Meadow Loop Trail within the Chilean Entry Garden.
First discovered by Charles Darwin in 1835.

2)   Hydrangea serrata ‘Bluebird’

Compact, erect deciduous shrub with flattened corymbs containing a few pink or blue sterile flowers and numerous fertile flowers within. 

Our free Weekend Walks topic for the month of July is conifers, therefore it seems appropriate to feature one of my favorite trees in the arboretum collection: the Montezuma Pine located in crabapple meadow.

“Something old…”
OK, so there’s the “old”, as in “enough already”, cold wet spring weather that seems to be continuing into summer and creating a monster weed season for us. And, there’s the “old” as in a staff milestone reached in age by none other than Riz Reyes, Soest Gardener.  Sure, compared to most of our seasoned horticulture staff, he’s still just a sapling in the woods at 30, but ever so slowly, he’s beginning to put down roots and develop heartwood, true elements of perennial long-life. 

Posted on behalf of Will Pleskow, UW student and UWBG volunteer service learner

 
I never thought weeds would be so endless and time consuming but I certainly have a new perspective on weeding after many back-breaking hours digging out seemingly endless little green plants. All of the planting and weeding that I have done and will do take place right outside the greenhouse in a secluded part of the Arboretum used for plant propagation. 

1)   Argyrocytisus battandieri  (Pineapple Broom)

Don’t worry if you can’t pronounce the Latin name; the common name tells it like it is.
Yellow, “pineapple”-scented, leguminous flowers with silvery foliage.
This drought-tolerant shrub from Morocco is one tough plant that thrives in poor soils.
Named for the French pharmacist and botanist, Jules Aimé Battandier.
Located along Arboretum Drive in our Legume Collections. 

Walking through the arboretum’s forested middle area, one is greeted with bursts of color on the hybrid Rhododendrons in our collection. Within this forest understory are many of the almost 1800 Rhododendron species and hybrids in the collection. Its cool and green and quiet on these forested paths, a lovely walk on any day, but this time of year the added beauty of the Rhody flowers is a seasonal treat.