Preserving and Enhancing a Northwest treasure!
Arbor eNotes March 2019
Coming Soon: A Membership Survey

Later this week, members and prior  members of the Arboretum Foundation will receive an email invitation to take a short online survey. We'd very much appreciate your participation! Your responses will provide valuable information and help us bring greater value to you and the community. Any information you share will be entirely confidential and anonymous. Thank you in advance!

Recovering From a 50-Year Storm

If you've visited the Arboretum in the last few weeks, you'll know that the park's world-class plant collection was badly hit by the early-February snowstorms. Our partners at UW Botanic Gardens and Seattle Parks have been hard at work cleaning up the damage, but much remains to be done! The Foundation, which supports the park arborists and hort staff, will make supplemental funds available for storm clean up and replacement plants. We are very grateful to the members of the public who have also made donations to speed the recovery. If you'd like to help, you can designate a gift using the "comments" box in our giving form.

Our Most Successful Opening Night Yet!

More than 360 guests attended our 31st annual Opening Night Party and Auction at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival on February 19. They helped us raise over $320,000 for Washington Park Arboretum - breaking last year's record by about $15,000! Along with a preview of the Garden Festival displays, partygoers enjoyed belly dancing and flamenco, and an inspiring tribute to the work of the Arboretum Foundation Units.

Arboretum Display Wins Silver Medal

The Arboretum's display, "Under the Mediterranean Sun," was awarded a Silver Medal by the show judges at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in late February. The charming, Mediterranean courtyard garden was inspired by the strong link between the region and the Arboretum's collection. Congratulations to everyone who made the garden possible, including our design team, our hard-working volunteers, and our partners at UW Botanic Gardens and Seattle Parks.
Display Garden Plants Still Available!

We still have a good number of dwarf boxwoods and Italian cypress left over from last Saturday's Display Garden Plant Sale. If you'd like to buy some, you'll find them stored on the west and south sides of the Big Greenhouse, beside the Graham Visitors Center. They are priced to  sell! Just grab the price tag(s) and pay for your plant(s) at the Arboretum Shop, open daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All sales benefit the Arboretum!

Admired by Samurai: Camellia 'Dewa-tairin'

Blooming now in the Arboretum's prized Camellia Collection is the cultivar Camellia 'Dewa-tairin', first recorded in Japan in 1695. It's part of a group of camellias known as the "Higos," which boast flat, large-petalled flowers with multiple, showy yellow stamens.  Because they bloom beautifully in cold winters, Higo camellias were beloved by the samurai, who saw them as symbols of steadfastness and bravery. In the latest Arboretum Bulletin, Daniel Mount profiles the plant and the fascinating history of the Arboretum's own specimens.

Save the Date: Spring Plant Sale, April 6

Mark your calendars for the Arboretum Spring Plant Sale, which will take place at the Graham Visitors Center on Saturday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The volunteer-run sale (former known at "Early Bloomers") will feature a great selection of trees, shrubs, and perennials from our Plant Donations Nursery and Pat Calvert Greenhouse. Enjoy a stroll in the Arboretum while it's in peak bloom and then buy plants for your own garden to support your favorite park!

Arboretum & Related News


Miller Library Book Sale
The 14th annual Garden Lovers' Book Sale takes place on April 4 and 5. Shop for used gardening and nature books while supporting the library!
plant donations

Donations Nursery
Our Plant Donations Nursery will begin accepting gifts of plants on Wednesday, March 13. It will open for business on Plant Sale day, April 6.

PNW Magazine
A photographer writes about his encounters with a family of osprey in the Union Bay Natural Area and how it strengthened his bond to nature.
Banner image | Crocus blooming by Arboretum Drive, just north of Rhododendron Glen.
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