Daniel Sorensen is a graduate student at the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, working in the lab of UW Botanic Gardens Director, Sarah Reichard, and researching the risk of invasion across Washington and Oregon of 2 two closely related grasses in the genus Cortaderia – pampas grass and jubata grass. Daniel works as the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Sustainability Coordinator for UW Grounds Management, and in that role he helps manage invasive species in the Union Bay Natural Area along with UW Botanic Gardens staff.  

SkyRoot Farm has been approved by the State of Washington to host (2) official farm interns on our farm this summer! SkyRoot is an integrated vegetable farm located on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound. The 20 acre farm is an active site of restoration agriculture – a form of agriculture that works to restore both ecological function as well as food production to a farm system. 

Blooming now in the arboretum are several large arrays of blue flowered ground covers in the Borage family. They make a stunning effect, especially if you adore carpets of little blue flowers as I do.
There are 146 genera in this family with roughly 2000 species including garden favorites such as Star Flower, Borage, and Forget-Me-Nots, Myosotis, which are annuals and can be grown in the sun. 

Rebecca Alexander is the Plant Answer Line librarian in the Elisabeth C. Miller Library. In addition to providing reference services, she works on acquisitions, cataloging, and a wide assortment of tasks including editing Miller Library and other publications, and updating the library’s database of questions and answers.
Rebecca grew up in Seattle and spent some of her early childhood years living near the current site of the Douglas greenhouses at the Center for Urban Horticulture. 

The sweetest little teardrop trailer you ever saw!
Lovely work by Saltbox Designs. Stay tuned for more pictures as we continue working to bring chickens to the UW Farm! 

By John A. Wott, Director Emeritus
The Center for Urban Horticulture officially began in 1980 with the arrival of Dr. Harold B. Tukey as the founding Director. He was given an office in the northeast corner (first floor) of Winkenwerder Hall in the College of Forestry Dean’s complex. His administrative assistant, Sally Dickman, was nearby.
When the first two new faculty arrived in 1981– John A. 

Our native grand fir … “is usually left in the forest to make music and distill incense.”

1)  Chaenomeles cathayensis                   Chinese Quince

This deciduous shrub is native to slopes and forest margins in western Hubei Province.
Light pink flowers in spring are followed by large oblong fruit which are unpalatable raw, but make fragrant jams and jellies when cooked.
Like other quince, Chaenomeles cathayensis’ arching branches are armed with stiff thorns.
Two specimens can be seen in the old field nursery south of the Crab Apple Meadow near Arboretum Drive. 

When she’s not at her day job, you can usually find Julie Bresnan on the hunt for an elusive rare plant. Julie volunteers for the Rare Plant Care and Conservation program of the UW Botanic Gardens, collecting data on rare plant populations native to Washington and collecting seeds to add to the Miller Seed Vault in Seattle.
She began as a rare plant monitor in 2004 and trained as a seed collector in 2007. 

The UW student chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration’s (SER-UW) native plant nursery is located on campus at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH). It is a student run operation that provides plants to the on-campus restoration projects that SER-UW manages. This year, with the support of a Campus Sustainability Fund grant, the nursery is expanding by building a new hoop house, growing more plants from seed and cuttings, and increasing its opportunities for volunteer involvement.