UW Information School graduates researched and designed a mobile app to enrich the experience of Arboretum visitors. Team member Sarai Dominguez reflects on discovering visitors’ information needs .

Leveraging the recently developed interactive map of the Arboretum’s plant collection UW Information School graduates researched and designed a mobile app. Team member Loryn Lestz shares her experience.

1)  Hydrangea macrophylla   ‘Madame Emile Mouillere’

A blizzard white beauty all summer, long considered the best white mop head.
A charming companion to evergreen shrubs.
A beautiful 70-year old specimen graces the Hydrangea Collection along the Arboretum Drive.

2)  Leucothoe davisiae      (Sierra Laurel)

Native to the mountains of northern California and southern Oregon.
One of 4,000 species in the Ericaceae family. 

Most have us have been stung by a wasp or bee at some point in our lives, and many of us have an innate fear of flying insects with stingers. Personally, I was stung almost every year of my life between about the ages of 5 and 18. It never swayed me from spending all my free time outside, but I did cower at the familiar buzzing sound of nearby wasps. 

June is a great time to celebrate our native Lewis’s Mock Orange which is currently in blooming at UWBG!

By John A. Wott, Director Emeritus
This photo of the Montlake Section in the Washington Park Arboretum was taken September 10, 1953. The label states that you are “looking NE down the site of the canal fill, with the Museum of History and Industry in the background.” It is suspected that the small trees on the right are Japanese Cherry trees, which were later moved into the Quad on the University of Washington campus. 

1)    Crataegus crus-galli        Cockspur Hawthorn

Native to eastern North America, this small deciduous tree has a pleasant habit and is now showing off its small white flowers, but don’t get too close!  The rigid thorns can be up to three inches long.
Hawthorns are classified within the plant family Rosaceae, and are allied to Cotoneaster, Mespilus, and Pyracantha.
This specimen is located on the east side of Lake Washington Boulevard, just north of the Boyer Parking Lot. 

Pacific Coast Hybrid Irises, Yucca Filamentosa, and Hebe are just a few of the plants you’ll see in the Stormwater Garden.

Did you know that the Miller Library has  fresh seed packets collected from Hardy Plant Society of Washington member gardens? And that they are only $1 per packet? And that proceeds benefit the Miller Library? Come get them before they are gone! 

“That’s Ancient History”
1)   Cedrus libani      (Cedar of Lebanon)

The Cedar of Lebanon has been prized for its high quality timber, oils and resins for thousands of years.
It was used by the Phoenicians and Egyptians and was mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Because of its significance, the word “cedar” is mentioned 75 times in the Bible, and played a pivotal role in the cementing of the Phoenician-Hebrew relationship.