In honor of the annual Elisabeth Miller Memorial Lecture on September 10 in Meany Hall, this month’s plant profile features one of her favorite trees, and perhaps the plant most associated with her: Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’.

At the UW Botanic Gardens, we have a grove of 6 planted in the Dorothy McVay Courtyard. These trees were included at Mrs. Miller’s suggestion when Iain Robertson developed the garden design for the courtyard in the mid-1980s. Betty Miller’s famous garden just north of Seattle includes over two dozen of the trees, which are among the very best small trees for texture and outstanding fall color.

They begin coloring in late July and slowly build to a crescendo of fiery reds ranging from flame orange to deep maroon. They are among the most reliable trees for fall color in the Pacific Northwest, and generally at their peak in mid-October. Read more

Common name: Fernleaf fullmoon maple
Family: Sapindaceae
Location: McVay Courtyard at the Center for Urban Horticulture
Origin: The species is native to mountain forests of Japan, Manchuria and Korea. According to Arthur Lee Jacobson’s North American Landscape Trees, this form was introduced to cultivation around 1888 by Parsons Nursery in Flushing, NY.
Height and spread: Generally 12-18’ high and as wide
Bloom time: Late March-early April
Bloom color: dark red, and showy for a maple

Since its founding 35 years ago, the Center for Urban Horticulture (now a part of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens) has produced numerous students, staff, and faculty who have continued on to illustrious horticultural careers. Read about one of the first faculty hires at the Center, Dr. James R. Clark. Upon arrival, Dr. Clark quickly developed programs in urban forestry and tree physiology. He was extremely instrumental in the early development of the Center from 1981 to 1991. Read more

Pictured above are Drs. James Clark (left) and Harold B. Tukey, Jr. in the research grounds behind Merrill Hall. Dr. Tukey was the founder of the Center for Urban Horticulture.

Read this month's blog post, "A Wind in the Willows," to learn how some trees respond to high winds.

Find out how our education programs are working to combat nature deficit disorder. Fiddleheads Forest School was featured in the latest issue of Public Gardens magazine.

Explore the Arboretum with your family at night. Park in the Dark continues in September and October.

Jean Witt, now in her seventh decade of breeding irises, recently received the 2015 Bennett C. Jones Award for Outstanding Median Hybridizing, in recognition of her long years and many contributions to the hybridizing of medium-size iris. Jean is the widow of former Professor of Urban Horticulture and Arboretum Curator Joe Witt and has been a long-time friend of the Botanic Gardens. Check out her story!

Looking for an opportunity to share your love of nature? We now have volunteer openings to lead school fieldtrips as a volunteer naturalist, or lead public tours as an adult garden guide.