UW Botanic Gardens Newsletter, Vol 7 Issue 3, March 2012

7th Annual Garden Lovers' Book Sale April 6 & 7

Thousands of used gardening, horticulture, botany and landscape design books will be for sale at the Miller Library the first weekend of April. All proceeds of the sale are used to purchase the best and newest in horticultural books and journals. Original artwork from the American Society of Botanical Artists - Pacific Northwest Chapter will also be on exhibit and for sale for the entire month of April.

Be among the first to browse the books at the Wine and Cheese Preview Party on Friday, April 6, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tickets to the Preview Party are $20 each. Enjoy a glass of wine, mingle with other gardening enthusiasts, and bid on specially selected books in the silent auction. To purchase tickets to the Preview Party, contact the Library at 206-543-0415.

On Saturday, April 7, the Book Sale will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Admittance is free. Shoppers will find a wide range of topics on all things horticultural, at great prices. The CUH grounds crew will also be selling some excess inventory plants on Saturday (including Japanese Maples).

The sale will take place at the Center for Urban Horticulture, UWBG, 3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle. While you're there, you can also check out the Northwest Fuchsia Society's Spring Plant Sale from 9am-1pm in adjoining NHS Hall. 

A Glimpse Into the Past

The first edition of a new monthly column by John A. Wott, Director Emeritus

Here is an aerial view of the Washington Park Arboretum and the Broadmoor Golf Course in 1939 (In ’39, it was still known as the University of Washington Arboretum). This was just the time when the University and the City had entered into a formal agreement about the establishment of the Arboretum in Washington Park. Note the sparseness of vegetation in the Park and in the Montlake Community. The original set of greenhouses is present. Most of the land on the west side of Arboretum Drive East is vacant. It also shows some of the Victory Gardens and other growing operations for the Park.
Note that there is no SR-520.   (Photo from UWBG Archives)

Be sure to view the full size image.

For the Younger Set: Spring Break Camp at the Arboretum

Come join us for a week of spring time explorations, investigations and adventures. We will become nature detectives looking for signs of spring. What are the birds telling us? What are the plants doing? Where are the animals hanging out? We will look for clues while playing games, doing spring-themed crafts, reading and telling stories, and adventuring through the Arboretum.

The camp runs April 16-20, 9am-3pm (before and after care available if 6 or more campers sign up). The cost is $225 ($200 for Arboretum Foundation members). More info at 
the UWBG website or give us a call at (206) 221-6427.

Earth Day 2012

Get your hands dirty helping to improve the Arboretum! Join the Student Conservation Association (SCA), the UWBG and Seattle Parks and Recreation for a day of fun service projects at the Washington Park Arboretum. It takes place on Saturday, April 14th from 9am to 2pm. Just meet in the Meadow, which is a five minute walk south of the Graham Visitors Center. Tools, gloves, project materials and some drinks and snacks will be provided. For more information and to register, go to the SCA website, email them at wanw@thesca.org or call 206-324-4649.

A Tree Tour with Arthur Lee Jacobson and Other Classes

UW Campus Tree Tour with Arthur Lee Jacobson Sunday, Apr 8, 2 – 4pm

Botanical Drawing Series Wednesday, Apr 18, 7 – 9:30pm

Bryophyte Basics: an introduction to the mosses, liverworts & hornworts of the Pacific NW
Monday, Apr 23, 7 – 9pm
Designed to Eat: Combining Edibles with Ornamentals for the Table Saturday, Apr 28, 10 – 11:30am

Plant profile: Two members of the family Thymelaeaceae

(by Soest Gardener Riz Reyes) I had a hard time deciding on just one plant for the month of March. I was able to narrow it down to two highly notable species. Since they happen to be in the same family, I figured I’d mention the family as an excuse to have two plants this time around.

One of these plants, Daphne odora, is familiar to many of us because of its remarkable winter fragrance. The other one is more familiar to collectors and is not as readily available, but just as dramatic and wonderfully scented. That plant is Edgeworthia, the Chinese Paper Bush.

Both are members of a family that’s difficult to define as there aren’t any very obvious diagnostic traits to identify it. In Landscape Plant identification, however, it’s a family known for woody shrubs producing very fragrant winter blossoms. They also have smooth bark and fibers that make them valuable in quality paper making.

First off, let’s discuss the ever popular Daphne odora. It is, by far, the most intoxicating scent in the winter garden. It has a very heady perfume and some are reminded of Fruit Loops, the children's cereal, when they come close to admire it! The most common selected cultivar of Daphne odora is ‘Aureo-marginata’, implying the variable gold edges on the foliage. This species is evergreen, but ‘Aureo-marginata’ tends to be sprawly and have a poor growth habit. A newer selection called ‘Zuiko Nishiki’ (pictured at right) looks to be a more promising cultivar with a better growth habit. It is more upright and the foliage appears cleaner, more refined, but lacks the gold edge.

Common Name: Winter Daphne
Location: CUH-Fragrance Garden, Miller Library/Merrill Entrance
Origin: China/Garden Origin
Height and spread: 2ft. high and 4ft. wide.
Bloom Time: Winter

Edgeworthia chrysantha has been a much sought after collector’s plant for years, but it’s becoming more readily available. It has a really architectural look to its multi-stemmed habit and light, cinnamon colored stems. It makes a rounded shrub with lush foliage during growing season as it begins to set buds for the following winter’s blooms which are a deep creamy yellow and possess a fabulous scent. They can be finicky to get established. It needs a spot with sun/part shade, and it benefits from a protected location, as it’s not as hardy as the Daphnes of the Pacific Northwest. Rich, well drained soil is a must along with regular irrigation during the summer and fall while buds are setting. Avoid moving it around as mature specimens will sulk if transplanted.

Common Name: Chinese Paper Bush, Yellow Daphne
Location: CUH-Fragrance Garden, Miller Library North beds
Origin: China
Height and spread: 6ft. high and 6-7ft. wide (usually smaller)
Bloom Time: Winter

twigs

This year's Arboretum Foundation Early Bloomers Plant Sale takes place on Saturday, April 14 from 10am to 2pm at the Graham Visitors Center. Featuring plants that bloom early in NW gardens & many others, the sale offers a great start on spring planting with hundreds of favorite & unusual plants. Perennials, shrubs, small trees, herbs & much more! For information: www.arboretumfoundation.org or call 206-325-4510. Meanwhile, over at the CUH....

The Hardy Plant Society of Washington also has their Spring Plant Sale in the Douglas Classroom at the Center for Urban Horticulture on April 14 from 10am to 2pm. They will be featuring choice treasures from members' gardens. Get more info from www.hardyplantsocietywa.org or call 206-579-2702. No need to choose--go to both sales and make a day of it!

Speaking of sales, here’s an early notice that the Arboretum Foundation’s FlorAbundance Spring Plant Sale will occur on April 28 and 29 (with a Foundation member’s Pre-Sale and Party on April 27). This year, the sale “returns home” to the Washington Park Arboretum. Look for more details in the next issue of E-Flora or visit here.

Here's a wonderful piece from the UWBG website about the Student Capstone Experience in Habitat Restoration at Union Bay Natural Area. You can also find out about future volunteer habitat restoration events at the Restore Yesler Swamp Facebook page.

E-Flora is a regular online newsletter of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens

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

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Phone: 206.543.8616
Email: uwbg@u.washington.edu
Web: www.uwbotanicgardens.org
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