The UW Farm planted more asparagus plants as an act of hope for Earth Day and for those challenged by COVID19, because we will not harvest until 2022. The UW Farm highly recommends planting asparagus in your garden, due to the ease of growing and harvest and nutritional benefits.

I love woodlands. And a big part of that is I love all the woodland perennials. One of my favorite genera of woodland perennials is Arisaema. Arisaema are in the family Araceae, which you may know as jack-in-the-pulpit plants or aroids. The pulpit (known as a spathe) is a modified leaf that protects “jack” (the spadix) which contains the small flowers. 

Horticulture supervisor Roy Farrow reveals the secrets to pruning wisteria for a floristic display that doesn’t engulf the house.

No other tree in the Arboretum is as beloved as our Golden oak, Azalea Way’s sentinel and harbinger of Spring.

Flowers that grow without help from the gardener can be charming, but also may try to take over the garden.

Pacific Northwest Natives
1)   Berberis aquifolium, formerly known as Mahonia aquifolium                                                                                                                                                                       Tall Oregon Grape

Native to the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to northern California.
Its yellow flowers in April smell like honey and attract hummingbirds and insect pollinators.
Blue-black berries are edible and are used to make jam and juice. Pacific Northwest aboriginal peoples used the bark and roots to make a yellow dye. 

While many of us are working from home, we are finding new ways to connect with our community remotely and provide you with resources as you garden and explore nature in your own spaces.

The Pacific Connections Garden (PCG), found at the southern end of the Arboretum, is a place that spurs the floristic imagination. Visitors traverse hemispheres and continents while moseying through gardens that showcase plant communities from specific regions in New Zealand, China, Cascadia, Chile, and Australia. In a short walk it’s possible to pass through our version of the New Zealand high country, continue on to the Cascadia garden, featuring plants native to the Siskiyou mountains, and finish with our representation of the wine palm and monkey puzzle laden temperate rainforests of Southern Chile. 

Horticulturist Joanna has an eagle eye for weeds, both at the Arboretum and at home.

Partners at UW Botanic Gardens, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and the Arboretum Foundation are offering you and your family ways to engage with the Arboretum safely this Mother’s Day.