The Pacific Connections Gardens is a great place to admire examples of related plants from different parts of the globe. One excellent example of this is the genus Gaultheria. Only a few steps separate Gaultheria species hailing from Chile, China, and the Pacific Northwest!
The genus Gaultheria includes over one hundred and fifty species hailing from North and South America, Eastern and Southeastern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Several genera at the Washington Park Arboretum are part of a multi-site nationally-accredited plant collection administered through the Plant Collections Network of the American Public Gardens Association. The Plant Collections Network is one of the most significant networks of cultivated living plant collections on Earth and is used for taxonomic studies, evaluation, breeding, and other research. The Network stewards diverse living collections at public gardens across North America to safeguard plants and share them with the world. 

1)  Chamaecyparis pisifera  ‘Plumosa Compressa’                      Dwarf Sawara Cypress

This cultivar of the Japanese native, Sawara Cypress, has soft blue-green foliage.
Growing only one to six inches per year, this 50 year-old specimen can be seen just at the entrance to the Graham Visitors Center along Arboretum Drive.

2)  Corylus maxima  ‘Atropurpurea Superba’                                   Purple Giant Filbert

This cultivar of the Giant Filbert, or Hazel, produces long red male catkins in winter before the bright red young leaves emerge. 

Fred Hoyt, UW Botanic Gardens Director and Orin and Althea Soest Chair for Urban Horticulture, has announced he will retire at the end of January, 2021. Please join us in showing our appreciation for Fred’s service and congratulating him on his retirement.

1)   Camellia sasanqua ‘Briar Rose’                                          Briar Rose Camellia

This medium-sized, flowering evergreen shrub is native to Japan.  Camellia sasanqua has many cultivars with the most popular being varieties that bloom in winter.
You can currently view ‘Briar Rose’ Camellia in bloom, sitting at the Mary Hughes Foxworth memorial in the Camellia Collection.

 
 
 
 
 
2)  Garrya x issaquahensis                                                               Silk Tassel Tree

The Silk Tassel Tree is a medium-sized evergreen bush with an abundant winter floral display of long male catkins that are creamy white-to-light green with pink highlights. 

As we anticipate La Niña bringing us a snowy winter, let’s take a moment to appreciate a snowy plant, or rather a plant named for its snowy berries – common snowberry. Botanically known as Symphoricarpos albus, the plant is aptly named for its white clusters of fruit.  The genus is a combination of “symphori” referring to the Greek verb “to bear together,” and “carpos” from the Greek word for “fruit.” The specific epithet “albus” is the Latin word for “white.”  This species of snowberry boasts ripe, white berries that develop in late summer and persist all winter, through the rain, cold temperatures, and even through, you guessed it, our [occasional] snow. 

We invite you to enjoy our “Game of Groves”.
Can you name the following iconic tree groves based on the photos shown and hints below?

#1)
I am a grove of nine broadleaf evergreen trees with berries that are commonly used as Christmas greens.  My location is an “island” in the middle of the ocean surrounding our five Pacific Rim flora.  

1)  Coprosma propinqua                                       Mingimingi

Coprosma is a genus of about 90 species of shrubs and trees found in various Pacific regions, including New Zealand and Australia.  They range from trees to low-growing spreading shrubs and those with a divaricating habit.
A member of the plant family Rubiaceae, C. propinqua is found in swampy areas and near streams throughout New Zealand.  The leaves are very small and oblong and the berries are a translucent blue color. 

1)  Stewartia monadelpha                                                                  Orange Bark Stewartia

Stewartia monadelpha is a small tree (up to 25 feet high) with stunning cinnamon bark.
A member of the Camellia family, the white flowers resemble those of small, simple Camellias and can be viewed in early summer.
Several beautiful specimens can be viewed at the southern end of the Camellia Collection.

2)   Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei  ‘Muskogee’                             Muskogee Crepe Myrtle

This garden hybrid was developed by the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. 

Despite not having showy flowers this demure evergreen fern deserves to be grown in more Northwest gardens.