The University of Washington Botanic Gardens is changing.

As part of a new chapter in our 90-year partnership with the Arboretum Foundation, UW Botanic Gardens is growing into the Seattle Botanic Gardens, a new nonprofit organization that will strengthen connections among three shared garden locations: the Center for Urban Horticulture, the Washington Park Arboretum, and the Seattle Japanese Garden. The new relationship for these organizations was first announced in January 2026 and marked an important milestone in one of Seattle’s longest-running institutional partnerships.

Our next chapter builds on UW Botanic Gardens’ longstanding commitment to plant research, conservation, education, and public engagement while creating new opportunities to connect people with plants, deepen a sense of belonging, and build community through shared experiences.

The new mission of Seattle Botanic Gardens is to deepen relationships between plants, people, and place through understanding and a commitment to shared stewardship.
Guided by this mission, we’re excited to create new opportunities for visitors to:

• Connect through science and discovery by exploring plants, ecosystems, and the knowledge that helps us better understand our world.
• Experience stewardship in action through thriving gardens, living collections, and the care that sustains them for future generations.
• Find belonging through welcoming spaces, learning opportunities, events, recreation, and shared experiences that bring people together.

We look forward to sharing more as Seattle Botanic Gardens takes root and grows. Together, we’re building toward a future where plants, people, and place flourish through shared stewardship.

Honoring Place
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations. This acknowledgement is one small part of our ongoing commitment to be in good relationship with the land and its peoples. As Seattle Botanic Gardens takes shape, we look forward to deepening partnerships with Coast Salish communities and strengthening our shared stewardship of these lands now and into the future.