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Frequently
Asked Questions
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What are the goals of UW Botanic Gardens? MISSION: VISION: Is the UW Botanic Gardens open to the public? Yes! The public can tour the gardens at the Union Bay Gardens, the grounds of the Washington Park Arboretum and the Union Bay Natural Area year round during daylight hours. The public is also invited to visit the Elisabeth C. Miller Library and the Otis Hyde Herbarium at the Union Bay Gardens, and the Graham Visitor’s Center at the Arboretum. In addition the Master Gardeners hold problem-solving clinics at the Arboretum and Center for Urban Horticulture. Hours are available by following the links. The facilities at both Union Bay Gardens and the Arboretum are available to rent for meetings, parties, weddings and other events. The Public Education program offers classes for the garden public and landscape professionals. Where is the UW Botanic Gardens located? The Union Bay Gardens is located at the corner of Mary Gates Memorial Drive and NE 41st Street. Click here for a map and directions. The Washington Park Arboretum's (WPA) Graham Visitors Center is located at 2300 Arboretum Drive East. Click here for a map and directions to WPA. Where can I park? Ample parking is available for the public attending an event at Union Bay Gardens, visiting the Miller Library, the Herbarium, the gardens or the Union Bay Natural Area. Can I ask someone questions about my garden? Yes! Plant Answer Line is a quick reference service for gardeners provided by the Miller Library. Call 206-UW-PLANT (206-897-5268) Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm or send your question electronically. The Otis Hyde Herbarium provides help with plant identification and the Master Gardeners hold problem-solving clinics at both Union Bay Gardens and the Arboretum. Contact the Plant Answer Line for the hours these services are available. Can I tour the greenhouses? The greenhouses are used by staff, students and faculty for teaching and research purposes and are not open to the public. For a wonderful place to visit, try the Conservatory at Volunteer Park. What kind of classes do you have? We offer classes in a wide range of topics relating to horticulture such as using compost in the landscape, turf management, drip irrigation, culinary herbs, basic pruning and much more. Lectures, studios, symposia and a variety of regional tours are also offered. UWBG also conducts a variety of youth and family programs and community outreach activities, primarily at the Arboretum. These include specialized on-site tours, school group programs, explorer packs and special events. More information, schedules of upcoming events and a listing of the free newsletters and publications are available from Public Education. How do I get on the mailing list for the UWBG Newsletter? Contact Jean Robins at 206-685-3088 or e-mail: jrobins@u.washington.edu Are there volunteer opportunities available? Many important activities at UWBG simply could not go on without the assistance of volunteers. Services they perform include leading tours or teaching Sapling classes at the Arboretum, collecting and processing herbarium specimens, helping to maintain the gardens and natural areas, assisting with plant production or with plant records and seed exchanges. Volunteer receptionists are often the first contact for a visitor. Public Education, Rare Care and other programs, and the Miller Library all depend on these dedicated individuals. For more information on how you can be come involved at UWBG as a volunteer, click here. My neighbors and I are trying to improve our neighborhood park/greenspace. Can you help? Possibly. The Restoration Ecology Network work with community clients to perform landscape restoration and/or rehabilitation. Follow the link to their web pages to learn more about these programs, the type of help they provide, and the type of projects they work on. Does UWBG have an undergraduate/graduate program? The Environmental Horticulture and Urban Forestry curriculum supports both undergraduate and graduate students and provides course material and experiences to students in other Forest Resource curricula, Landscape Architecture and general University of Washington students. Both the undergraduate and graduate curricula prepare graduates for careers in (1) environmental horticulture, (2) public horticulture and (3) urban forestry. Students with an undergraduate degree will have immediate job opportunities in a number of horticultural, landscape and restoration professions. These professions concern the selection, management, and role of plants and ecosystems in urban and other strongly human-impacted landscapes. The three options within the curriculum have the following thrusts: 1) The environmental horticulture program focuses on applying horticultural knowledge in an ecological context. Students choosing this option focus on plant sciences from an eco-physiological viewpoint, applying the information to specific environments such as wetlands or disturbed urban landscapes. Included in this are restoration ecology, stress physiology, and management of rare and endangered plant species. 2) The public horticulture program prepares students to enter careers that involve both plants and people, including management and curation of botanic gardens and arboreta, governmental positions, and education. Students may emphasize various aspects such as plant materials, plant care and maintenance, or education. 3) The Urban Forestry option provides students with fundamental knowledge of tree science, forest ecosystems and forest management practices. In acknowledging the emerging field of urban and community forestry, students learn about the socio-cultural dimensions of managing forest resources in the midst of human settlement - including economics, political science, sociology and policy. These studies enable students to effectively manage forest systems for multiple purposes (e.g. environmental benefits, conservation, amenity and recreation) in cities and towns. What kind of job do you get with an ‘environmental horticulture’ degree? Jobs in government, with private foundations, consulting firms, tribes, etc. The common thread is that our grads can measure, describe, manage and improve the environment in which we live. Why are you part of the College of Forest Resources at UW? Edmond S. Meany was the first instructor of Forestry at the UW and also responsible for developing the first arboretum on the campus. As the College of Forestry evolved in the early 20th century, management of this arboretum was assumed as one of its roles. This has continued, through the move to the present location in Washington Park (in 1926), to this day. In the 1970’s Dean Jim Bethel and Professor Dale Cole, of the new College of Forest Resources, and the Northwest Horticultural Society were instrumental in developing the plans for the present site and concept of the Center for Urban Horticulture. Who manages the Washington Park Arboretum? Management of the Arboretum is coordinated between the UWBG and the City of Seattle. The UW owns the plant collections and through UWBG manages the functions of the Arboretum and its public programs and activities. The City is responsible for all infrastructure support, turf, security, the Waterfront Trail, Japanese Garden, and native plant areas. The Arboretum Foundation, a non-profit organization with 3,000 members, has supported the Arboretum with nearly $5 million in donations since 1935. What is urban horticulture? The early and initial focus of urban horticulture was on the new science of growing and using plants in cities. Its focus is on the problems and opportunities unique to city gardening: pollution, restricted root systems, anomalies of wind, light and water in urban canyons, the use of plants as climate or noise controls, and so on. Urban horticulture is different from traditional horticulture in that the focus is on hundreds of species, including both native and introduced, rather than on the production of a few economically important species. Today, this foundation built on horticultural principles and practices continues; however, it is being applied to a wider array of problems arising in human-impacted environments spanning from urban-industrialized areas to distant wilderness areas. How is environmental horticulture different from horticulture? Environmental horticulture combines ecology, horticulture, restoration and conservation in a way that allows the use of horticultural practices to improve natural systems. What is a sustainable landscape? A sustainable landscape is one where proper plant care is provided, resources are not wasted, and plants, animals, and humans are nourished. Plants are correctly selected, installed, and maintained, eliminating preventable losses due to improper management techniques. A sustainable landscape works with environmental conditions, correcting past mistakes and not creating new problems. What is an urban forest? Generally, urban forests are collective masses of trees found within the boundaries of cities, towns or neighborhoods. Such forests contain publicly and privately owned trees growing in parks, near schools, within residential yards, on the grounds of institutions and along streets. These tree collections may look very different from each other. They may be remnant forests or small tracts of trees preserved during development that become a naturalistic looking greenbelt. Some sites have a designed landscape, made up of carefully placed trees and shrubs surrounded by turf, as in many urban or community parks. Some forests are on "leftover" land, an untended collection of plant volunteers and scruffy vegetation. Each of these forest settings not only looks different but the ecological function of each varies. Nonetheless, scientists have proven that trees, in all settings, provide extensive environmental benefits such as carbon dioxide exchange, reduced energy use, air pollution reduction, and water quality improvements.
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