June 12: Touch an irresistible collection of mosses at Celebrating Wildflowers
We mean "hands-on" when we talk about Celebrating Wildflowers at Olympic Sculpture Park this Saturday from 12:00-3:00 PM. Dozens of native mosses will be displayed for up-close exploration and comparison. Washington Rare Plant Care and Conservation and will host other activities, too, including the Pollinator Game and microscopes for examining flower parts, in partnership with Seattle Art Museum and other organizations. These fun, educational festivities are free, at Western Avenue and Broad Street, downtown Seattle.

photo by Jean Coffey

June 20: Explore the Pinetum or Yesler Swamp with Dad
You've got a couple of great options for enjoying Dad's company outdoors on Father's Day. Washington Park Arboretum offers two free, guided walks, or you're always welcome to be spontaneous and plan your own route. The morning walk, departing Graham Visitors Center at 11:00 AM, takes you to the Pinetum. Or meet at the visitors center at 1:00 PM for the Tour du Jour.

Friends of Yesler Swamp are presenting a free Father’s Day program to introduce local residents to the natural wonders of a unique piece of nature in the heart of Seattle. (See their blog's June 7 post.) Walks leave the Center for Urban Horticulture parking lot at 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM. With a newly chipped trail leading to a lagoon at the edge of Lake Washington, you can easily explore the Yesler Swamp on your own any time. You just won't get to meet Swampy the Bear.

June 22: Adrian Bloom presents dramatic perennial & grass combinations at Molbak's
Nurseryman and author Adrian Bloom, president of Blooms of Bressingham, shares dramatic perennial and grass combinations for year-round gardeners Tuesday, 7:00-8:00 PM, at Molbak's, 13625 NE 175th Street, Woodinville. Bloom is known for develping successful plant associations in his "Foggy Bottom" gardens in Norfolk, England. He'll answer your questions and sign copies of his newest book (available in the Miller Library). Ticket sales benefit UW Botanic Gardens' youth education programs at Washington Park Arboretum. Thank you, Molbak's!

Learn how to propagate your own ferns or prune trees & shrubs
Propagating Ferns from Spores
Saturday, July 10, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, $40/door, $35 in advance
Interested in the challenge of growing ferns from spore - or just looking for a fun way to learn about the fascinating fern life cycle? Jeanie Taylor will show you how to judge spore ripeness, collect, clean, prepare media, sow, control moisture, light and temperature, and assemble equipment.

Summer Pruning of Trees and Shrubs
Thursday, July 29, 8:30 AM-12:30 PM, $50, preregistration required
This ProHort class meets in the Washington Park Arboretum greenhouse. Pruning in midsummer removes water sprouts, prevents heavy sucker growth and controls a plant's size. This outdoor demonstration class is presented by UWBG Horticulture Staff Supervisor David Zuckerman, UWBG Arborist Chris Watson and ISA Certified Arborist and horticulture instructor at Edmonds Community College Bess Bronstein.

Miller Library offers garden tour lists, Plant Answer Line, Gardening Knowledgebase, award-winning books & new hours
Beginning June 21, the Miller Library returns to shorter Monday hours, 4:00-8:00 PM. During the months of July and August, Saturday hours will be suspended, resuming September 11. View current library hours on the web.

As spring plant sales wind down, summer garden tours ramp up. Tempt yourself with the Miller Library's online calendar of plant sales, garden tours and Northwest Horticultural Society events.

The Miller Library's Gardening Answers Knowledgebase has a wealth of information, and it's growing all the time. Pose a question to the Plant Answer Line and it may just wind up in the Knowledgebase. Recent questions dealt with challenges of growing gooseberries, ants and fava beans, and salt-tolerant perennials and shrubs. What else do you want to know?

Winners of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Literature Awards were announced at CBHL's annual meeting hosted by the Miller Library last month. Ireland's Wild Orchids: a Field Guide by Brendan Sayers and Susan Sex and published by the authors won the 2010 award in the Technical category. The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire, and the Birth of an Obsession by Andrea Wulf and published by Knopf won the 2010 award in the General Interest category. The Brother Gardeners - “the fascinating story of a small group of eighteenth-century naturalists who made Britain a nation of gardeners and the epicenter of horticultural and botanical expertise. It’s the story of a garden revolution that began in America” - is in the Miller Library Collection.

June plant profile:
Rosa 'AUSboard' (Gertrude Jekyll)
Rosa 'AUSboard' (Gertrude Jekyll) is one of David Austin's timeless tributes to a famous garden designer. In bloom since mid-May, this English Rose is one of the most captivating and richly scented of all his hybrids. See it now in Bed 5 of the Orin and Althea Soest Perennial Display Garden at the Center for Urban Horticulture, complemented by the soft blues of Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' and the hardy lupine 'The Governor', our May Plant Profile. More details on 'Gertrude Jekyll' soon to be published in our Plant Profile blog.


twigs. . .
Thanks to more than 100 citizen scientists, students and professionals, the May 21-22 Washington Park Arboretum BioBlitz turned up a potentially rare spider, stinging ant and mushroom and a couple of possible new invasive plant species. Oh, and a raccoon latrine in a Western redcedar stump, and the discovery that the Arboretum's barred owls dine primarily on Norway rats. . .Take a free Arboretum tour the first and third Sunday of each month, departing Graham Visitors Center at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. The morning walk's theme changes to Hydrangeas and Magnolias for the July 4 and 18 walks. . .The UWBG's 9-person Group Health Commute Challenge bike team, The PetalPushers, biked a total of 903 miles to and from the UW campus during the rainy month of May.

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University of Washington Botanic Gardens' mission:
Sustaining managed to natural ecosystems and the human spirit
through plant research, display, and education.

3501 NE 41st Street, Box 354115, Seattle, WA 98195-4115
Phone 206.543.8616
Email: uwbg@u.washington.edu
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