UW Botanic Gardens Newsletter, Vol 6 Issue 4, April 2011
Reichard becomes UW Botanic Gardens Director
On July 1, Sarah Reichard will become the Orin and Althea Soest Director of the UW Botanic Gardens for one year. She is currently serving as interim director, following Sandra Lier, who is recognized for rebuilding important relationships and carrying the UW Botanic Gardens forward during the challenges of the past few years.
Professor Reichard co-led a trip to Chile earlier this year and authored the recently-published The Conscientious Gardener: Cultivating a Garden Ethic in addition to more than 40 scientific papers. Dr. Reichard received her Ph.D. in 1994, working at the Center for Urban Horticulture. She returned as faculty in 1997. Her research focuses on plant conservation, including the biology of rare plants and invasive species.
“Gandhi of the Forest” to speak on effective urban forest design
Chris Maser, known in some circles as “Gandhi of the Forest,” will be the keynote speaker at the 2011 Urban Forest Symposium May 9 at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Research ecologist, writer, facilitator in resolving environmental conflicts, and consultant in sustainable forestry practices, Maser will show how urban forests can be designed to serve city-dwellers. Other sessions will address tree ordinances, stormwater, sidewalks and wires.
Explore issues surrounding the Sustainable Sites Initiative
Join landscape architects, horticultural specialists, nursery industry representatives, arborists, planners, city staff, landscape maintenance contractors and scientists for a close look at the “Science, Services and Performance of Sustainable Sites.” The Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the UW Botanic Gardens present an all-day symposium on the issues surrounding the Sustainable Sites Initiative May 18 at the Center for Urban Horticulture.
A series of three related Science of Sustainable Sites evening classes will follow: Digging Deeper into Soil May 24, Native Plant Considerations May 31, and Beyond BMPs: Next Management Practices June 8. Watch our online calendar for details.
Arboretum ramblings: technology, plantings, walks, volunteers
Sound waves can now detect decay and other abnormalities in trees! Tree Solutions, Inc, used sonic tomography, a minimally invasive tree risk assessment technology, on a large western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) last month in the Washington Arboretum. Often trees that look healthy have decay inside the trunk and limbs. Instead of drilling or boring, sonic tomography uses sensors to measure sound waves sent through the tree. A computer then measures the waves and produces a color image showing healthy and decayed wood.
Have you noticed the Japanese Maple Collection’s expansion? Several newly-planted Acer palmatum cultivars north of the Woodland Garden will provide understory interest, especially in autumn, as you approach from the north along Arboretum Drive.
The Student Conservation Association, the UW Botanic Gardens and Seattle Parks and Recreation team up to offer a day of fun projects April 23 in celebration of Earth Day. Sign up today if you’re interested.
Thanks to a grant from the Jiji Foundation, we launched the Garden-based Restoration and Outreach Workgroups (G.R.O.W.) Program in January. We’re working with three high school classes and one after-school teen center program.
During Little Green Thumbs, one of three week-long summer camps at Washington Park Arboretum, children will plant a garden and harvest veggies from a garden that is being planted now. On the final day, campers will make a meal for their parents with the food they harvested!
Rum Dum Rhodies are the focus of the free guided 11:00 AM Arboretum tours May 1 and 15. Or catch a spring seasonal walk at 1:00 PM. Meet at Graham Visitors Center.
See photos of monkey puzzle tree installation that took place last September in the Gateway to Chile.
We're delighted to welcome five new Arboretum volunteers! They're joining veteran volunteers in engaging 2,000 young students in exciting explorations in the Arboretum this spring.
Miller Library musings: hours, art exhibit, story time, Q&As, gratitude
Monday hours in the Miller Library have been expanded. Drop in any Monday between 12:00 and 8:00 PM to read the periodicals, check out a book or enjoy botanical illustrations and paintings by members of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the American Society of Botanical Artists (on display through May 28). The illustration at right is by Suzanne Ferris.
May flowers are fresh and bright in three appealing stories selected for Young Gardener’s Story Time May 14 at 10:30 AM.
Thank you, everyone who attended the Garden Lovers’ Book Sale and helped the Miller Library raise $4,500 for its book budget.
Here’s The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s response to the Miller Library’s Gardening Answers Knowledgebase. McLean Library Manager Janet Evans said, "For years, I’ve been wanting to put up a database similar to the one that the wonderful librarians at the Miller Library have in Seattle."
Plant Profile: Osmanthus delavayi
[by Riz Reyes, Soest Gardener] One of the most useful and attractive evergreen shrubs for the Pacific Northwest, this fragrant, spring blooming gem is hardy, easy to grow and highly adaptable to our climate. Left alone, the Delavay tea olive (Osmanthus delavayi) is a loose and airy background shrub with clusters of densely packed tubular flowers in early spring. It also responds well to regularly pruning and shearing as a specimen or hedging plant. This is often done after flowering to stimulate growth that puts forth next year’s bloom.
Common Name: Delavay Tea Olive
Family: Oleaceae
Location: Fragrance Garden. McVay Courtyard
Origin: Western China
Height: 6-8 ft. tall
Spread: 10-15 ft. wide
Bloom Time: Late March into April
Bloom Type/Color: White, axillary, tubular flowers. Scented.
Exposure/Water/Soil: Sun-part shade. Moderately moist, well-draining soil.
See additional plant profiles.
twigs. . .
Three exciting plant sales are coming right up (even if it doesn’t feel like spring yet): Arboretum Foundation FlorAbundance at Magnuson Park April 30-May 1; King County Master Gardener Foundation Plant Sale at the Center for Urban Horticulture May 7-8; and the Hardy Fern Foundation Annual Fern Festival and Sale at the Center for Urban Horticulture June 3-4.
In a presentation about invasive weed control on Annette Island, Alaska, the Metlakatla Indian Community's Landscape and Maintenance Director Genelle Winter cites UWBG grad student Lauren Urgenson's research, "Ecological consequences of giant knotweed (Polygonum sachalinense) invasion into Pacific Northwest riparian forests."
The Center for Urban Horticulture is hosting an apiary. Plus the Arboretum has installed mason bee houses. Isn’t this the bee’s knees?
Happy National Public Gardens Day May 6!
E-Flora is a regular online newsletter of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens
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Sustaining managed to natural ecosystems and the human spirit through plant research, display, and education
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