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UW Botanic Gardens Newsletter, Vol 10 Issue 5, May 2015
Spotlight on Students
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Upcoming Events
Free Weekend Walks
May's tour theme is Flower Power. So many trees and shrubs are in bloom this month. We'll also talk a little about flower morphology and pollination.
Join us at 1pm every Sunday in the Arboretum. See details.
On Exhibit
in the Miller Library
Wonder what goes on in the labs of Merrill Hall or in the study plots sprinkled throughout Union Bay Natural Area? Find out at the annual UW Botanic Gardens' graduate student research review May 9 - June 13 in the Library. Want to meet the researchers? Then join us for the reception May 8 from 5 - 7pm. Light refreshments will be served.
New Books in the Miller Library
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Work in Progress: Student Posters Reception May 8
Students in Environmental Science and Resource Management and Restoration Ecology and Environmental Horticulture have posters on exhibit in the Elisabeth C. Miller Library through June 13th.
Join us for a reception on Friday, May 8th to celebrate and learn about the great work our students do.
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Runoff Now Feeds Prairie Rain Garden at Center for Urban Horticulture
What can be done about muddy puddles caused by rain runoff in the middle of a trail used by hundreds of people every day? Could a garden solve the problem? Masters of Environmental Horticulture graduate student Malcolm Howard decided to find out by installing a Prairie Rain Garden on the west side of Merrill Hall. Read the full article.
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Comprehensive Audit of Hyde Herbarium Now Complete
During the last two and half years, a group of dedicated volunteers and students logged close to 1,200 hours in the herbarium completing an audit of the entire collection.
Ross Bayton, our 2014 UW Botanic Gardens Volunteer of the Year, led the audit by generously giving 680 hours of his time. With Ross’s botanical knowledge and expertise, he checked each of the 22,500 specimens for accuracy while adding information from each specimen into our database and organizing the collection to match current classification. Read the full article.
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For What It’s Worth: Valuing the Urban Forest
From clean water and air to healthier minds and bodies, we know that trees have significant value, but they never seem to get the credit they deserve. Attend this year’s Urban Forest Symposium on Wednesday, May 20, to learn the best methods for quantifying the worth of our urban forests, and how to communicate that value to decision-makers and the public. Space is limited, so register today! Learn more.
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New Zealand Beckons: Join us for a Garden-themed Tour
Experience spring in November and stay the night at the famous Larnach Castle and Gardens. Don't miss this opportunity to
travel to New Zealand in November 2015 with UW Botanic Gardens Director
Sarah Reichard! Read more about the tour. Deadline to register is July 29th.
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May 2015 Plant Profile: Paeonia suffruticosa subsp. rockii
This month we are highlighting a spectacular peony that’s currently in bloom in the Pacific Connections Entry Gateway. Visitors stopped in their tracks by the large, dinner plate-sized blooms which emit a wonderful scent. This is a pink form of the typically white flowered P. rockii. Found in Northwest China in Gansu Province. This species is characterized by a deep purple pattern in the center of each petal.
Read the full Plant Profile.
Family: PAEONIACEAE
Genus species: Paeonia suffruticosa subsp. rockii
Common Name: Rock’s Peony, Joseph Rock Peony, Ziban Mudan
Location: WPA – Pacific Connections – China Entry Garden
Origin: NW China, Gansu Province
Height and Spread: 5-7′ height x 6′ width spread on mature, undisturbed plantings
Bloom/Fruit Time: April-May
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A Glimpse into the Past - Mrs. Sawyer's Bench
By John A. Wott, Director Emeritus
Today’s visitors to the Washington Park Arboretum walk past historical artifacts not knowing why they might be there. One of those is the Memorial Fountain dedicated to the late Mrs. W.W. Sawyer, along Arboretum Drive E. opposite Rhododendron Glen.
Read the full Glimpse into the Past article.
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If Botanic Garden horticulturist Kathleen DeMaria could only have one gardening tool for the rest of her life it would be a digging fork with a ‘D’ handle. Read her strategy for conquering weeds.
Read more information on weed control from the Gardening Answers Knowledgebase.
The Miller Library is open late before the monthly Northwest Horticultural Society Wednesday evening lectures. This month's lecture, Travels to Inspiration—Journey to Your Garden by Marilee Kuhlmann will look at how travel can be a source of ideas to transform your home
garden. The lecture is on May 13 at 6:45pm. $10 for non-NHS members.
Android phone owners: the woody plants of the Washington Park Arboretum are now included in TreeWalk / Seattle, a free app featuring Seattle street trees.
Passionate about plants? Know your way around social media? Then we need you as Volunteer Communication Assistant! Apply today!
[digging fork photo by Vilseskogen]
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