Thinking about visiting Cuba? Why not go on a guided tour with a bird-loving plant expert and UW Botanic Garden Director, Sarah Reichard?

We may focus on spring blooms and fall color in the garden but don’t neglect your summer features! There is a hidden trove of summer colors, textures, and blooms to be found.

The Magnolia grandifloras in our collection are blooming now!  Who doesn’t love a 12-inch wide flower that smells great?   The commonly named Southern Magnolia or Bull-Bay is native to the SE United States from Eastern Texas, along the lower Gulf Coast to the Atlantic where it grows in loamy soils near water.  It has proven to be very adaptable to different soils and this has allowed for its ability to be cultivated in many different climates.  

Read the story behind the development of a University of Washington arboretum in Washington Park.

Running out of ideas for using up all of those extra leafy greens and herbs from your garden or CSA? There are many options for utilizing a bumper crop of greens, and we’ll be covering many of them on the UW Farm blog this summer. For part one of Making the Most of Greens we’re going to focus on pounded and pureed sauces; which are simple, freeze easily, don’t require any cooking to make (if we have another heat wave you are going to want to stay away from that stove!), and can help to use up all sorts of ends and bits that you may have previously thrown in the compost bin. 

Greetings UW farm fans! The big heatwave has broken (for now at least) and we’re settling into July under a comfortingly familiar partially cloudy sky. That burst of heat might have made us uncomfortable but it was great for our crops and all of the plots on the farm are exploding with life! Here’s a glimpse of what is growing and what is being harvested on the farm in July:
Growing at Mercer: Asparagus, Turnips, Carrots, Rhubarb, Horseradish, lettuce, Parsnips, Basil, Cilantro, Potatoes, Tomatillos, Mushrooms, radishes, Broccoli, Onions, Beans, Leeks, Chinese Cabbage, Bog Choi, Beets, Mixed Cutting Greens (mizuna, mustard greens, arugula, etc), Cauliflower, and Perennial Herbs. 

1)  Itea ilicifolia                Holly-leaved Sweet Spire

Native to western China
Evergreen shrub growing up to 16 feet tall and 10 feet wide
Bears fragrant racemes of greenish-white flowers in late summer and fall
Located west of the Magnolia Collection near the south end of the Asiatic Maples

2)  Lomatia myricoides                Long-leaf Lomatia

Native to New South Wales in southeastern Australia
One of the hardier members of the Proteaceae
Honey-scented white flowers are much visited by bees in summer
Located across Arboretum Drive from the New Zealand Focal Forest

3)  Pterocarya stenoptera                Chinese Wingnut

Native to China
Deciduous tree to 70 feet or greater, with a trunk diameter as large as 8 feet
Located west of Azalea Way, north of Loderi Valley

4)  Quercus vacciniifolia                Huckleberry Oak

Native to western North America, mountains of the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range
Leaves and acorns are an important food source for birds and mammals within its native range. 

If you are a member of our fabulous farm CSA then you have been receiving the freshest produce that the season offers plus recipe ideas for the past five weeks, but for those of you that shop at Seattle area farmers markets or buy seasonal produce at the grocery store, here are some links to recipes from the web that will help you make the most of your July fruits and veggies! 

1)  Quercus gilva                    Evergreen Oak

Native to China and Japan
Reaches heights of 90-100 feet in its native range
Located in the Oak Collection along the South Oaks Extension Trail

2)  Rhododendron calophytum           Beautiful-face Rhododendron

Native to China
Large species rhododendron capable of becoming a tree
Located along trail between Loderi Valley and the Woodland Garden

3)  Sequoia sempervirons  ‘Cantab’                     Coast Redwood

A cultivar of the coast redwood with unique needles
Specimens vary in form from shrubby to tree-like
Located in the north end of the Pinetum, along the Pinetum Trail

4)  Thujopsis dolobrata                    Hiba Arborvitae

A Japanese native
Capable of reaching 100 feet or more in Japan, yet large specimens are rare in the Seattle area
Located along the south slope of the Woodland Garden

5)  Viburnum rhytidophyllum                    Leatherleaf Viburnum

Native to China
Large evergreen shrub recorded to heights of 30 feet
Located along the trail through the Viburnum Collection 

The University of Washington Botanic Garden was ranked as one of the top University gardens, tied with three other gardens by Best Colleges Online. Gardens were scored on a number of criteria, including number of plant species, and presence of a horticultural library, education and conservation programs. With the Washington Park Arboretum enormous woody plant collection and the Center for Urban Horticulture’s numerous opportunities for formal and informal education it is no surprise that we ranked in the top of the list of 50 reviewed gardens.