Poet’s Laurel is a jewel that will brighten the November garden.

Rare Care, along with faculty and graduate students at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, wrapped up a multi-year study on the federally-endangered showy stickseed (Hackelia venusta). The study was funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to support recovery efforts for the species by developing a better understanding of its habitat requirements and by improving propagation techniques. 

Each year, Rare Care is delighted by a few unexpected discoveries. This year these finds include a single pygmy saxifrage high up near a rocky mountain summit.

by John A. Wott, Director Emeritus
On August 19, 2015, one of the original staff members of UW Botanic Gardens (Washington Park Arboretum) left this earth to tend to her new garden “in the sky.” Joan Pirzio-Biroli, known to everyone as “Jan” or “JPB” was officially employed as a research/extension program assistant at the University of Washington from November 10, 1980, until her retirement on November 1, 1991. 

1)  Cupressus (Hesperocyparis) bakeri                               Modoc Cedar

A moderately-sized coniferous tree with greyish-green scale-like foliage that is dotted with white resin. It is native to the Siskiyou and Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges. A slow growing tree, usually under 90 feet over many decades.
Considered vulnerable to extinction in the wild in the medium term.
Located in the Pacific Connections Garden Cascadia Focal Forest above the Chilean Gateway. 

-Cyrena Thibodeau
The growing season is coming to a close and fall has officially set in on the farm. The tomatoes are done and have been cleared as well as most other high season crops. We are seeding our winter cover crop everywhere, a mix of rye and vetch seeds. Service learners have started for the quarter and it is great to have so much help and new faces on the farm! 

-Rae Russell
Thanks to the early start of the dry season and warmer temperatures, more Seattle gardeners were able to successfully grow tomatoes this year without having to resort to the usual hacks to make the most of our typically short and cool summers. Everywhere I turn, I see these heat loving fruits in every shade from bright red to black bursting out of small garden plots, and there is nary a Wall-o-water or black plastic soil warmer to be seen. 

Katherine Doughty, one of our own UW student farmers, recently traveled to KOREA for an international student leadership summit! Below are her thoughts on this incredible experience:

Attending the Global Daejeon Forum for College Students was surreal, enlightening, amazing, confusing—honestly, think of all the emotions: they apply. Attending a global forum or conference is not something I ever saw myself doing. 

1)  Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’                Blue Atlas Cedar

A large coniferous tree with vivid, glaucous blue foliage, making it easy to identify.
Native to Algeria and Morocco on the Atlas Mountains, these specimens can grow up to 100 feet tall and beyond.
Located in the Pinetum near the Lynn Street play area.

2)  Cunninghamia lanceolata                China Fir

Members of the family Taxodiaceae, these trees are named after James Cunningham, who originally found C. 

“Compost is an essential component of any sustainable agriculture operation; without the addition of nutrients and organic matter lost from harvest, agricultural systems would soon be unable to support crop life. I encourage you, as you read on, to keep in mind the ecology and cyclical tendencies of the entire farm (and how compost fits into this larger system). Decomposition is a (mostly) silent process with uncanny influence over future growth.