April showers bring May weeds! How do professional gardeners manage weeds? Kathleen DeMaria, Botanic Gardens Horticulturist, shares her favorite tool and strategies.
Read more »Exploding trees, now showing at your local Arboretum
March did not go out like a lamb, nor did it end with a whimper. No, this lion ended with a grand BANG! A lightning strike from the massive thunderstorm that roared through Seattle yesterday was a direct hit on one of our largest trees in the Washington Park Arboretum. A Grand Fir located in the Oak grove at the north end of the Arboretum was obliterated with one flash.
Read more »Fragrance Garden renovation enters phase two
The Fragrance Garden at the Center for Urban Horticulture is being refreshed with help from partner the Seattle Garden Club. The declining stripe bark maple will be removed and new scented plants will be added. Manager of Horticulture David Zuckerman said the Acer capillipes has been declining for years. David explained: “it may have verticillium wilt, but more likely to be causing the decline are symptoms of over exposure (sun, temps) during the course of its life in the entry garden.
Read more »Arboretum Loop Trail nears construction start
By Audrey Wennblom At long last, the Arboretum Loop Trail (ALT) appears to be just a few months away from the start of construction. “Right now, it looks like the tentative start date would be late spring 2015,” said Raymond J. Larson, Curator of Living Collections for the UW Botanic Gardens. “The idea is to start after most of the rain has passed and to do construction over the drier months.’’ Depending on the the bids received, Larson said the project may be done in two phases.
Read more »What to do with fallen leaves? Arborist Chris Watson considers the options
When asked what homeowners should do with leaves falling from trees growing in city gardens, Chris Watson, Washington Park Arboretum Arborist definitively stated, "it depends!" Is the best mulch for a tree its own leaves? Or does that spread disease and pests? Chris Watson gives an expert's point of view.
Read more »Winter Garden Project: Remodeling the “Living Walls”
Arboretum Tree Removal Notification: The week of 8/25/14, UWBG tree crew will embark on a project located in the Winter Garden (read about project below). 4 western red cedars will be removed due to negative impact to plant collections and garden encroachment. All pedestrian path detours and other safety considerations will be handled by tree crew. If possible, cedar logs will be salvaged for future park uses.
Read more »The "Lost" Enkianthus Grove in Washington Park Arboretum
Does anyone reading this know where our arboretum’s “lost” Enkianthus grove is located? By “lost”, I mean extremely well-hidden under a dense canopy of western red cedars and other trees. Enkianthus are shade-tolerant shrubs, but NOT “black-hole” shade tolerant. Like most living plants, they do need light to grow and thrive. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I can honestly say, during my 30 plus year tenure on the UWBG horticulture staff, I don’t recall ever working in the area for longer than maybe a day cleaning up after a storm or pruning a few of the bigger trees.
Read more »Harbinger of Spring in Seattle - Flowering cherries on Azalea Way!
Most visitors experiencing the beauty of our historic Azalea Way flowering cherries from now through May probably have no idea of how intensive maintaining their health and prolonging their longevity truly is for the UW Botanic Gardens horticulture staff. Just ask our Integrated Pest manager, Ryan Garrison. Ryan with staff support spends many a day throughout the year monitoring and controlling the numerous diseases and insect pests our 175 plus cherries are prone to suffer from.
Read more »Coming Attractions for 2014 in Horticulture and Plant Records
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.
Read more »A Kiwi Botanist in our Mist
The misty October revealed a great surprise to New Zealand horticulturist Kathleen DeMaria while she was installing signs for the new 'Lookout Loop Trail' near the recently restored Lookout Gazebo.
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