We’re off to Chile for gardens, forests, wine, and adventure! Dan Hinkley and I are taking a group of 12 free spirits to this beautiful South American country for two weeks of adventure and camaraderie.

The winter landscape is incomplete without the presence of twig-dogwoods. Their stately, yet elegant stems, vibrant color and imposing form in the garden is remarkable. What’s more impressive is their adaptability and ease of growth. They are tolerant of most soils, are drought tolerant once established and the ability to recover from almost being mowed down to the ground each spring and produce brightly colored stems the following winter is extraordinary. 

In the 2010 legislative session, a bill was introduced that required the Washington State Department of Transportation, in its efforts to push forward the 520 bridge renovation and replacement, to focus on minimizing and addressing potential impacts to the Washington Park Arboretum.  A group representing the Arboretum Botanical Garden Committee, which advises the University of Washington, City of Seattle and The Arboretum Foundation on the management and stewardship of the Washington Park Arboretum, worked with WSDOT on addressing issues outlined in ESSB 6392.  

Several weeks after an unusual early snow and cold snap, the grounds at CUH have looked like a bomb was detonated and we’re just now cleaning up the aftermath. OK, it wasn’t that bad, but the clean-up continues as the holiday season is well underway and we’re doing our best to keep things clean and presentable to our many guest this time of year. 

I had the privilege of attending some of the Regional Food Security Conference this past weekend at CUH, and wanted to share what I learned…
The plenary session Sunday morning was a joint effort by 3 presenters who each provided unique perspectives into successful small scale regional farming projects happening around the world. The one that stood out for me was presented by Travis English, a UW MA candidate, who spoke of the Tumaini Women’s Group in Kenya whose members are comprised of 20+ elderly widows. 

Cotoneaster tengyuehensis (Tengyueh cotoneaster)
Sorbus alnifolia (Korean mountain ash)
Grevillea victoriae (royal grevillea)
Viburnum tinus ‘Pink Prelude’
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’ (witch hazel)

Complete details. 

Contrary to its original form (Prunus laurocerasus), this selection of the common, overused and potentially invasive Cherry Laurel is a welcomed addition to any landscape. ‘Mt. Vernon’ is beginning to appear in many urban plantings both as a hugging evegreen groundcover or as a prostrate specimen shrub in front of a border. It is truly versatile, hardy, and a very dependable plant with glossy, deep green foliage that looks fabulous all year around. 

Acanthus spinosus
Echinacea purpurea – Purple Cone Flower
Iris foetidissima – Gladwyn Iris
Astilbe chinensis v. pumila – Dwarf false spiraea
Polystichum setiferum ‘Divisilobum’ – Divided Soft Shield Fern

Complete details. 

Cupressus arizonica var. montana (Sierra San Pedro Mártir Cypress)
Euptelea polyandra
Sorbus commixta (Mountain Ash)
Sorbus forrestii
Viburnum tinus ‘Gwenllian’ (Laurustinus)

Complete details. 

No, aliens haven’t invaded the arboretum. The “straw tepees” (left), as Kyle Henegar, PCG gardener, aptly coins them, are to protect the newly planted Phormiums and other marginally hardy New Zealand plants make it through this cold spell that’s hit Seattle. It just wouldn’t seem fair to let these plants try to make it on their own since they were just planted late last summer and have yet to get their roots established.