University of Washington
Leaflet from the Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Volume 12, Issue 6 | June 2025

Paintings by Victoria Likes

 
 
The Miller Library welcomes Victoria Likes with her evocative paintings of birds and landscapes. The exhibit, entitled Encounters with Eden, runs June 5-27 during library open hours. Meet the artist at a reception Monday, June 9 from 5 to 7 pm.

From the artist:
 
 
painting of two crows on a branch by Victoria Likes
 
My work invites viewers to meet nature face to face. For birds and animals, I use a simplified portrait style on a large canvas so their presence can't be missed. For me, it’s a way of honoring their individualism and autonomy. With landscapes, I focus on skies and vistas and strive to capture the many combinations of blue, green, yellow, red, and burnt sienna. Plants and natural objects such as rocks, shells, and feathers provide inspiration.
Learn More

Thank You, Rebecca!

 
Rebecca Alexander
 
 
Rebecca Alexander is retiring this month after 20 years of service as a librarian here. Her knowledge and skills as Plant Answer Line Librarian and Manager of Reference and Technical Services have been invaluable. Visit the library by 2:30 pm on June 27 (her last day) to wish Rebecca well in her next chapter.
 
Read More
 

Ask the Plant Answer Line:

How can I help my 100-year-old jade plant?

Researched by Rebecca Alexander

up close of a jade plant
Question: My 100-year-old Jade plant is about 5 feet tall and recently has been producing a sap from its leaves. White and sticky. Is there anything I can do to help this? Is it normal? Or is it endangering the plant? It is in kind of a cool spot; should I move it to a warmer place? It is a succulent, right? I would also like some information about repotting if necessary.

Answer: The pests most likely to cause a white, sticky substance are aphids, whiteflies, scale or mealybugs. These are known to affect jade plant, or Crassula ovata, which is indeed a succulent. They won’t destroy plants, but can weaken them and allow other problems to surface. If none of the pest descriptions below resemble what you are observing, you can take affected plant samples to a local county extension agent. Without knowing the specific pest, we can’t suggest specific treatments. Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides offers general information on caring for houseplants. Note their description of mealybugs, which do produce a sticky substance: “These insects look like little bits of cotton that are greasy or waxy. They are oval in shape, have a segmented body, and are about 1/4 inch long. You’ll usually find them hidden between leaves and stems or under leaves. They move slowly. They make a sticky liquid called honeydew and also cause leaves to become distorted and spotted.”

As for temperature and repotting, The New House Plant Expert (by D. Hessayon, 1991, p. 212), says that succulents like a difference between day and nighttime temperatures. They like to be kept cool in the winter, with 50-55 degrees F ideal, but as low as 40 is alright. Jade plants should only be repotted when essential. Repotting should occur in the spring; shallow pots rather than deep ones are preferable.

More care information can be found through South Dakota State University extension.

Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries

2025 Literature Awards

some of the 2025 CBHL Literature Award winners
The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) presented its twenty-sixth Annual Literature Awards on May 8, 2025, during CBHL's 57th Annual Meeting. The CBHL Annual Literature Awards, created to recognize significant contributions to the literature of botany and horticulture, honored eleven remarkable works this year. Many of them may be found in the Miller Library, where they are featured in a display this month.

Honored with the 2025 CBHL Annual Literature Award: The Vasculum or Botanical Collecting Box: Symbol of the Nineteenth-Century Botanist, Now an Obsolete Relic by Régine Fabri and published by Plantentuin Meise.

The 2025 Award of Excellence in Botany went to The Lives of Lichens: A Natural History by Robert Lücking and Toby Spribille, published by Princeton University Press.

Palms of New Guinea by William J. Baker and 8 co-authors; illustrated by Lucy T. Smith and published by Kew Publishing was honored with the 2025 Award of Excellence in Field and Regional Guides.

The 2025 Award of Excellence in Plants and Environmental Change was presented to Rare Trees: The Fascinating Stories of the World’s Most Threatened Species by Sara Oldfield and Malin Rivers and published by Timber Press.

The 2025 Award of Excellence in Horticulture was presented to Weeds of the Pacific Northwest: 368 Unwanted Plants and How to Control Them by Sami Gray and Mark Turner, published by Timber Press. 

Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl by Erica Lee Schlaikjer, writer: Shan Li Bannai Serasis, translator; Cinyee Chiu, illustrator; and published by Sleeping Bear Press received the 2025 Award of Excellence in Literature for Children.

The Miracle Seed by Martin Lemelman and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers earned the 2025 Award of Excellence in Literature for Young Adults. Detailing the discovery and planting of 2,000-year-old date palm seeds, this fascinating story and imaginative artwork will appeal to budding scientists.

Olivia Laing’s The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise published by W.W. Norton & Company received the 2025 Award of Excellence in Garden and Nature Writing.

The Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and their Impossible Choice by Simon Parkin and published by Scribner was honored with the 2025 Award of Excellence in History.

The 2025 Award of Excellence in Botanical Art and Illustration went to Botanical Icons: Critical Practices of Illustration in the Premodern Mediterranean by Andrew Griebeler and published by University of Chicago Press.

The 2025 Award of Excellence in Series was presented to Phaidon Editors, commissioning editor Victoria Clarke for their series:
  • Plant: Exploring the Botanical World (2016)
  • Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom (2020)
  • Garden: Exploring the Horticultural World (2023)
  • Tree: Exploring the Arboreal World (2024)

Ask a Librarian

The Miller Library's Plant Answer Line provides quick answers to gardening questions.
You can reach the reference staff at 206-UWPLANT (206-897-5268),
hortlib@uw.edu, or from our website, www.millerlibrary.org.

Digital resources

book reviews
Online thesis collection
Illustration of Polypodium Incanum from 1879 The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States (Thomas Meehan)
Journals available online

New to the library

How can I help? : saving nature with your yard / Douglas W. Tallamy.
The trees are speaking : dispatches from the salmon forests / Lynda V. Mapes.
Hedgelands : a wild wander around Britain's greatest habitat / Christopher Hart with Jonathan Thomson.
Writing science in plain English / Anne E. Greene.
Wild, tamed, lost, revived : the surprising story of apples in the South / Diane Flynt ; foreword by Sean Brock ; photographs by Angie Mosier.
Black girls gardening : empowering stories and garden wisdom for healing and flourishing in nature / Amber Grossman.
The spirited garden : creative private retreats / photography by Doreen Wynja, written with Lorene Edwards Forkner.
Pastoral gardens / words, Clare Foster ; photography, Andrew Montgomery.
Domestication of plants in the Old World : the origin and spread of domesticated plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin / Daniel Zohary, Maria Hopf, Ehud Weiss.
Israel florilegium : an album of wildflower illustrations / [written and edited by] Yadin Roman, Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir. Illustrations by Mary Grierson and Heather Wood.
A path through the trees : Mary Sutherland : forester, botanist & women's advocate / Vivien Edwards.
An ancient Mesopotamian herbal / Barbara Böck, Shahina A. Ghazanfar & Mark Nesbitt.
The pie that Molly grew / Sue Heavenrich ; pictures by Chamisa Kellogg.
Farah loves mangos / Sarthak Sinha.
Secret gardeners : growing a community and healing the Earth / Maija Hurme and Lina Laurent ; translated by Sofia Karlsson and Jen Pulju Porter.
Plant lessons : introducing children to plant form and function / text and photographs by Priscilla Spears, Ph.D.
The elders are watching / Dave Bouchard, text ; Roy Henry Vickers, images.
Funky fungi : 30 activities for exploring molds, mushrooms, lichens, and more / Alisha Gabriel and Sue Heavenrich.
Blue camas, Blue camas / written by Danielle S. Marcotte ; illustrated by Alyssa Koski.
My mommies built a treehouse / Gareth Peter ; [illustrated by] Izzy Evans.
Lola meets the bees / Anna McQuinn ; illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw.
Wild greens, beautiful girl = 野菜姑娘 / written by Erica Lee Schlaikjer ; translations by Shan Li Bannai Serasis ; illustrated by Cinyee Chiu.
Inside the compost bin / by Melody Sumaoang Plan ; illustrated by Rò̂ng Phạm & Vinh Nguyẽ̂n.
Log life / Amy Hevron.
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