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.

Learn about Paeonia mairei, a lovely woodland peony in our latest edition of UWBGatHome.

Native Ground Covers in Bloom
1)  Trillium ovatum                                                                                          Pacific Trillium

The three white petals of Trillium are always a sign of spring.  As they age, the petals turn pink.
These native wildflowers are common under-story plants in our woods.
The seeds of Trillium contain a substance attractive to ants who act as seed dispersers.
Scattered populations of Trillium bloom throughout the native areas of the Arboretum. 

Forage for greens in your backyard and learn to make a delicious pesto.

In the spring of 1997 I came across an adorable little pink rhododendron called ‘Pink Snowflakes’. It was absolutely covered with small white flowers with a bright pink ruffled edge and a tiny smattering of pink dots in the throat. I brought it home and gave it a place of pride next to my driveway. Soon after a foraging deer rudely stepped on it, breaking off two thirds of the plant.