Persian Ironwood: Beautiful Flowers, Bark, and Fall Foliage The Persian ironwood or irontree, Parrotia persica, is rarely seen in Northwest gardens, and yet it combines a number of very desirable traits, including adaptability and a fabulous fall foliage display. In that latest issue of the Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin, director emeritus of the Arboretum John Wott writes about this beautiful …
Handsome Plants of the UW Medicinal Herb Garden Established in 1911, the University of Washington’s Medicinal Herb Garden is a marvelous teaching, as well as a quiet and beautiful sanctuary for students and the public alike. The two-and-a-half acre garden contains approximately 1000 plants laid out in a network of formal beds and wooded borders. …
Hidden Treasure of the Arboretum: Enchanting Ehretia The Arboretum is home to two species in the genus Ehretia that are rarely grown in our region. Ehretia dicksonii and Ehretia acuminata are small trees native to East Asia, and both produce copious, fragrant, white summer flowers. They can be found in shady Rhododendron Glen. In the latest …
Downed Wood: Enhancing Beauty and Biodiversity Fallen tree branches and dead trunks can add visual interest and wildlife habitat to our urban landscape. In the latest issue of the Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin, writer Jean Colley describes how the Arboretum and other city parks are incorporating downed wood into their management plans. She also examines techniques for using dead wood and …
Hidden Treasure of the Arboretum: The Rough-Leaved Rhododendron Native to the Yunnan Province of China, the rough-leaved rhododendron (Rhododendron scabrifolium) offers lovely pink-tinged, silky white flowers in late March and early April. In the latest issue of the Bulletin, garden writer Daniel Mount profiles the species and tells you how to find the Arboretum’s lone …
Stealthy Stunner: A Profile of Daphniphyllum macropodum Boasting whorls of 10-inch-long evergreen leaves with beautiful reddish-pink midribs and petioles, Daphniphyllum macropodum is a showstopping shrub native to China, Japan, and Korea. Five lovely specimens grace a trail at the base of the New Zealand Forest in Washington Park Arboretum. In the latest issue of the Bulletin, …
Arboretum Treasure: The Pink-Flowered Strawberry Tree Hidden in the Arboretum, just south of the Sorbus Collection, is a small grove of unusual strawberry trees that sport pink flowers in fall and winter. The hardy, compact, pink-blossoming form of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo f. rubra) grows wild in southwest Ireland and also is a great …
Fern Foundation Favorites Five Desirable Plants for Every Northwest Garden The Hardy Fern Foundation, which helps maintain the fern beds around the Graham Visitors Center at the Arboretum, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, Richie Steffen has written an article in the latest edition of the Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin profiling five beautiful …
‘Sweet Shadow’ Sugar Maple A Hidden Treasure of the Arboretum ‘Sweet Shadow’ is a beautiful, deeply lobed cultivar of the sugar maple, Acer saccharum. In October, it boasts gorgeous, gold-colored fall foliage. We have two specimens in the Arboretum, just south of the Viburnum Collection. In the latest edition of the Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin, …
The Morinda Spruce A Hidden Treasure of the Arboretum In the first installment of a new Bulletin series exploring unusual trees that can be found “off the beaten path” in the Arboretum, writer Daniel Mount profiles the morinda spruce (Picea smithiana). Native to the Himalayas, the species bears distinctively long, soft needles and presents a dramatic, weeping habit. Daniel …