UW Farm is now harvesting celeriac, also known as celery root – a great addition to your rotation of fall root foods!

Cecila Henderson spent the summer as an intern for the Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program (Rare Care). She completed her Bachelor of Science at the UW School of Environmental And Forest Sciences in June 2017.
This summer I was lucky enough to work with Wendy Gibble as an intern for Rare Care, and I can hardly express my gratitude for what has been an incredibly rewarding experience. 

The John A. Wott Botanic Gardens Endowed Student Award was awarded this fall to Ryan Garrison, a master’s student in the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.
Ryan was born and raised in Jackson, Michigan. His father’s love of plants and nature, and both his parents’ teaching professions set the foundation for a lifetime of growing plants and appreciating the value of learning. 

The Arboretum is one of the best places in Seattle to enjoy fall color and beautiful foliage. We have more deciduous tree species than any other setting in the northwest…all framed by the majestic conifers that characterize our region of the country.

When it comes to outstanding summer flowering shrubs for PNW gardens, one should not overlook the genus Clethra. Clethra is a genus of about 75 species, mostly native to south and east Asia and the Americas.  It is one of two genera in the Clethraceae, which is closely related to the Ericaceae (Heather family).  They prefer lime-free soil and produce white, fragrant flowers in long racemes or panicles in July or August. 

The water level in Lake Washington dropped an average of nine feet in 1916, when the complete set of canals and locks for increased shipping were completed. Much more land around the edges of Union Bay was then exposed, all of it soft and boggy. The City of Seattle had long used the low spots in various parks as dump sites, which is why artifacts are often found in low areas throughout Washington Park Arboretum. 

1)   Corylus colurna                     Turkish Hazel

This native of SE Europe produces edible nuts inside intricately beaked husks.
This Corylus and other Birch Family members can be found near the terminus of Foster Island Road.

2)   Dipteronia sinensis

Dipteronia is a member of the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, which also includes Acer or maples, another winged-fruited genus.
As fall approaches, the fruit of Dipteronia will continue to ripen to a reddish-brown color. 

1)   Abies concolor                     White Fir

This tall conifer, native to the mountains of western North America, adds an interesting silvery blue backdrop to our Legume collection.
The young trees are valuable in the Christmas tree trade for their ornamental look.
The specimens in grid 16-6E were planted in 1938.

2)   Acer davidii                     David’s Maple

This tree is named in honor of French priest and naturalist Armand David, who first described the species while on mission in central China. 

Oxydendrum arboreum is a beautiful summer flowering tree with dramatic fall foliage.

Early in June I received an exciting message from the Arboretum’s School Age Programs Coordinator, Cait McHugh. Cait had a request: she’d like to send us the weekly themes for UW Botanic Gardens summer programs for pre-kindergarten, grades 1-3, and grades 4-6 and have librarians select and send a weekly care package of books to enrich their curriculum. Instructors would borrow the books about a week before the start of a new themed program, giving them time for lesson planning.