Our free public tours of the Washington Park Arboretum have begun for the new year. We hold these tours as Free Weekend Walks every Sunday from January through November. The walks are led by an experienced docent and last about 90 minutes. With over 10,500 plants in the arboretum collection we don’t run out of topics to share with our visitors. 

There is much to look forward to in 2014 for the University of Washington Botanic Gardens (UWBG) horticulture and plant records staff. It will be a rare year of “normality” between capital project implementations, the completed 2013 Pacific Connections Gardens (PCG) New Zealand (NZ) forest exhibit and the looming 2015 multi-use trail. Our resources will be focused on smaller scale deferred maintenance projects of several gardens and plant collections, catching up with plant labeling and mapping of our Pacific Connections Gardens and embarking on a few recently awarded grants. 

Witt Winter Garden
1)  Calluna vulgaris ‘Robert Chapman’            Heather, Ling

This monotypic genus is native from northwestern Europe, through Siberia and Turkey, all the way to Morocco and the Azores.
The species has over 500 cultivars – some noted for spectacular flower displays in summer, while others display fantastic foliage coloration in winter.
C.v. ‘Robert Chapman’ has golden foliage throughout summer, which turns red in winter and spring. 

Rare Care will be offering a volunteer training on rare plant monitoring in Seattle on Saturday, March 1.

My experience as a volunteer at the UW Arboretum…
It was the first quarter of my freshman year at the University of Washington. I was enrolled in an environmental studies class, and we, the students, were given an option between doing a book report and volunteering for “service learning.” Man, was I glad I chose to volunteer, because my time at the arboretum was great. 

Stop by the UW Botanic Gardens’ educational booth, #2401, to explore the many opportunities we offer to plant lovers!

We are pleased to announce two new email newsletters: Leaflet and Leaflet for Scholars. These monthly publications showcase Library art exhibits, recommended resources and a complete list of new books added the previous month.

Striking color and accent for year round containers. The golden Monterey Cypress is popular and readily available for gardeners!

On June 29, 1988, the Douglas Research Conservatory was dedicated. It was a state-of-the-art facility for plant propagation, research, and horticultural education.

Tucked away behind the Cedrus knoll in the Arboretum’s Pinetum is the Euonymus europaeus ‘atrorubens’. At this time of year it is showing off its colorful seed pods, which hang all over the defoliated branches. A plant that has pink and orange fruits really catches your eye when you pass by.
This shrub is native to Europe and Western Asia and its common names are Spindle Tree and Cat Tree.