1)  Azara lanceolata

An evergreen shrub with arching branches and lance-shaped leaves, A. lanceolata bears clustered yellow flowers in mid to late spring. Native to South America, Azaras is a genus of 10 species within the family, Flacourtiaceae.
Located in the double lot on the east side of Arboretum Drive.

2)  Cercis siliquastrum   (Judas-tree)

A deciduous tree usually of low, bushy habit, C. 

Last winter we told you about Abby Aresty, a Seattle-based composer, sound artist and UW doctoral student in music, who was raising money for a sound installation in the Washington Park Arboretum.

Did you know that the Camas bulb with its stunning blue and purple star-shaped flowers is native to the western US?
We recently spotted some Camas in bloom in the Union Bay Natural Area near parking lot E5. Go have a look! 

1) Camellia japonica ‘Drama Girl’

Hybridized in 1950, this winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit has very large, semi-double, deep salmon rose pink flowers.
Located in the Camellia Collection on the east side of Arboretum Drive.

2) Ilex aquifolium ‘Ferox Argentea’ (Hedgehog Holly)

This holly is a large, bushy evergreen shrub with small, spiny leaves whose upper surfaces as well as the margins are broadly-edged with creamy white. 

We have been back from Cuba for about a month and I am still sorting it out in my head. As I said before, it is a far more complicated place than I expected to find. My fellow adventurers continue to email new articles and books they are finding about Cuba, suggesting that they also are trying to reconcile what we experienced. 

On Saturday, April 14th join the Student Conservation Association (SCA), the University of Washington Botanic Gardens (UWBG), and Seattle Parks and Recreation for a day of fun service projects at the Washington Park Arboretum.

Celebrate Earth Day at the Arboretum on April 22nd from 10am-12pm!
Washington Park Arboretum and Wilderness Awareness School have teamed up to offer a family-friendly Earth Day event. Bring your family, bring your friends and come celebrate the earth, play games, do a small service project and eat yummy earth snacks. 

Spring is definitely in the air when the clouds of pink burst forth into bloom and our native red-flowering currants put on a show.

1)   Berberis darwinii

Darwin’s barberry is one of the showiest of the genus with striking orange flowers opening from red buds.
Unlike most other Berberis (including our native species), Berberis darwinii produce sweet fruit in the fall.
A large mass can be found in the Chilean entry garden in Pacific Connections, as well as the Chilean hillside along Lake Washington Boulevard. 

(click photos to see full size image)
We were privileged to go to an “ecologically protected area” known as Mil Cumbres (Thousand Peaks). Our bus wound its way up a very rough dirt road (though our expert driver, Miquel, did a fantastic job of missing the giant potholes) to the field station. The area of Mil Cumbres is geologically varied, including large patches of serpentine soil.