July 18: Head over to the hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are the focal point for this Sunday morning's free, guided walk in the Washington Park Arboretum, departing Graham Visitors Center, 2300 Arboretum Drive, Seattle, at 11:00 AM. The route will take you past oaks, maples, sequoias, magnolias and rock roses, too. The afternoon tour du jour, based on the guide's latest discoveries and interests, leaves the visitors center at 1:00 PM. Free walks are offered the first and third Sunday of each month, and no two are ever the same!

July 29: ProHort class examines reasons & techniques for summer pruning
Summer is an excellent time, even the preferred time, for pruning certain plants. Midsummer pruning removes water sprouts, prevents heavy sucker growth and controls a plant's size. In this outdoor demonstration class at the Washington Park Arboretum, learn why, what and how to prune in summer from UWBG Horticulture Staff Supervisor David Zuckerman, UWBG Arborist Chris Watson and Certified Arborist and Horticultural Educator Bess Bronstein. Summer Pruning of Trees and Shrubs is scheduled for Thursday, July 29, 8:30 AM-12:30 PM, costs $50 and offers 3.75 ISA Credits and 4 CPH Credits. Preregister online or call 206-685-8033.

July 31: Be a bat or a moth on this night walk
It’s nighttime at the Arboretum. . . but the park isn’t sleeping! On this special family adventure, you’ll learn about animal adaptations in the dark and see the gardens in a whole new light! Become a bat or a moth, test your sense of smell and use your “deer ears" to hear night sounds. This guided walk is designed for families with children ages 6 and up, $6/child, accompanying adults are free. Bring a flashlight and your deer ears, my dears. Park in the Dark offers an exciting way to experience the Arboretum by night from 8:15-9:45 PM. To register, contact Lisa Sanphillippo, 206-543-8801.

August 11-20: Paddle for a new perspective
Guided kayak tours around Portage Bay and Foster Island are back! Agua Verde Paddle Club and Cafe’s generous sponsorship is making a larger number of tours possible this summer. Choose a Wednesday or Thursday afternoon or evening or a Friday morning, and email Jean Robins or call 206-685-8033 to sign up, $25/person. Here are the dates and times:
Wednesday, August 11, 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Thursday, August 12, 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Friday, August 13, 7:00 AM
Wednesday, August 18, 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Thursday, August 19, 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Friday, August 20, 7:00 AM

Rare Care documents endemics during annual monitoring weekend
Seventeen Washington Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program volunteers, staff and botanists from the US Forest Service and Washington Natural Heritage Program (WNHP) participated in the fourth annual Rare Care monitoring weekend July 9-11. Volunteers converged on the Teanaway from Port Hadlock, Bellingham, Bothell, Kirkland, Seattle and Shoreline as well as from Portland and Gresham, Oregon. They compiled plant lists and documented locations of Wenatchee Mountain endemics for a several-year project conducted by WNHP. Claytonia megarhiza var. megarhiza, Clematis columbiana var. dissecta, Delphinium lineapetalum (pictured at left, top of two), Eriogonum compositum var. lancifolium, Eriogonum umbellatum var. hypoleium and Valeriana columbiana were among the Wenatchee Mountain endemics observed. Participants also located rare plant occurrences of Chaenactis thompsonii and Erigeron salishii (both endemic) and the small "belly plant" Phacelia minutissima (pictured at left, bottom of two). On Saturday, Rare Care Program Manager Wendy Gibble led a hike that turned out to be a "five-Lewisia" outing, with sightings of L. rediviva (bitterroot, pictured in this month's header), L. columbiana, L. pygmaea, L. triphylla and the endemic L. tweedyi.

July plant profile: Cornus elliptica
Soest Gardener Riz Reyes is enamored with this small, taxonomically confusing tree from China. He writes, "We have this stunning specimen growing here at CUH (within the Fragrance Garden, though it’s not fragrant at all) and each June-July, I stare in amazement at the glossy evergreen foliage blushed in deep red and bronze with a smattering of star-like bracts that cover almost the entire tree from top to bottom." Read the complete plant profile.

New plant pest coming to a garden near you
A new type of fruit fly called the spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) is showing up in local gardens. It’s known to target strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, plum, peach, cherry and grape. SWD first appeared in California in 2008 and in Oregon and Washington in 2009. Females lay eggs in fruit as it ripens on the plant, creating tiny scars on the fruit skin which collapses and molds while larvae develop and feed inside the fruit. At least two UWBG staff members have observed SWD in their own gardens. The Miller Library's online Gardening Answers Knowledgebase provides information and additional links about this recent invader.

twigs. . .
Catch the inside scoop on the Center for Urban Horticulture's cool hideaways and picnic spots for hot summer days. . . Peruse a short but wide-ranging sampling of the Miller Library staff's favorite books. Want more? They've just compiled a more generous list of favorites! . . The Miller Library also has a wish list of delectable books. Please call 206-543-0415 if you'd consider making a gift of one of these for our shelves. . . Soest Gardener Riz Reyes presents "Where the Sun Doesn't Always Shine: Perennials for Tough Situations," a talk about his experiments in dry shade gardening in the Soest Garden, Thursday, July 22, at the Perennial Plant Association Symposium in Portland, Oregon.

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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
Web: http://www.uwbotanicgardens.org/
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