Foundation Marks Final Annual Meeting
This year, the Arboretum Foundation is joining with UW Botanic Gardens to form a new non-profit entity, Seattle Botanic Gardens. As we embark on...
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News Articles
Sharing Our Spaces: Coyotes in the Arboretum
Summer is a special time in the Arboretum as young wildlife begin to explore. Coyote pups and adults have been spotted in our spaces in recent...
Japanese Garden Hosts Groundbreaking Ceremony for Ishigaki Wall Project
Guests at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ishigaki Wall project. (Photo by Holly Cuaresma) BY RUMI TSUCHIHASHI On June 15, 2026, the Seattle...
Japanese Stewartia: A Four-Season Beauty That Lights Up the Garden
Japanese stewartia blooms in late-spring and early summer in our region. (Photo by Niall Dunne) BY CORINNE KENNEDY Stewartia pseudocamellia is a...
Waterfront Trail Restoration Project: Construction Starting in June
The Waterfront Trail is one of the Arboretum’s most popular attractions. (Photo by Niall Dunne) BY KAREN O’CONNOR Seattle Parks and...
Douglas Fir Tea: Ethnobotany and Health Benefits
The bright-green spring foliage of Douglas fir is prized by foragers for making tea. BY REBECCA ALEXANDER & NIALL DUNNE This regular column...
A Successful and Special Spring Plant Sale
Shoppers browsing plant selections at the Pat Calvert Greenhouse. BY ALICIA HAMILTON Nearly 750 visitors attended our Spring Plant Sale on Sunday,...
Shasta Snow-Wreath: A Threatened Beauty
The flowers typically have multiple showy stamens but no petals. “Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us” is a quote attributed...
A Season of Free Cultural Events at the Arboretum
Music in the Arboretum features free performances at the Visitors Center every August. BY MOLLY DALESSANDRO Did you know that Seattle Botanic...
Arboretum Helping Collector Revive “Lost” Camellia Varieties
The rare variety Camellia japonica ‘General Washington’ blooming in the Arboretum. (Photo by Niall Dunne) Collectors are a curious and...
News Articles
Symbiotic Marvels: Get to Know the Small but Mighty Lichens of the Arboretum
Figure 1: Lichens on the Ceanothus in the Graham Visitors Center parking lot, including Ramalina farinacea, Usnea species (fruticose), Evernia prunastri and Physcia tenella (foliose).TEXT BY KATHERINE GLEW | Photos by Richard Droker Hidden beneath the leaves and...
Conservation Corner: Large-Winged Wingnut
The winged fruits of Pterocarya macroptera maturing in summer. (Photo by Niall Dunne)BY CHRISTINA PFEIFFER Quietly tucked away in the Arboretum’s old field nursery, on the south side of Crabapple Meadow, a stately specimen of Pterocarya macroptera holds court amid a...
Volunteers Enjoy Field Trip to the Seattle Aquarium
BY ALICIA HAMILTON In late July, 40 volunteers from the Washington Park Arboretum, Center for Urban Horticulture, and the Seattle Japanese Garden enjoyed a special free outing to the Seattle Aquarium. For some, it was their first visit to the Aquarium in decades, and...
Bulletin Stories
Japanese Garden Hosts Groundbreaking Ceremony for Ishigaki Wall Project
Guests at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ishigaki Wall project. (Photo by Holly Cuaresma)BY RUMI TSUCHIHASHI On June 15, 2026, the Seattle Japanese Garden held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ishigaki Wall and Accessible Pathway project, with 30 guests in...
Japanese Stewartia: A Four-Season Beauty That Lights Up the Garden
Japanese stewartia blooms in late-spring and early summer in our region. (Photo by Niall Dunne)BY CORINNE KENNEDY Stewartia pseudocamellia is a lovely small tree, usually considered to be the finest Stewartia species in cultivation. With elegant small flowers, an...
Douglas Fir Tea: Ethnobotany and Health Benefits
The bright-green spring foliage of Douglas fir is prized by foragers for making tea. BY REBECCA ALEXANDER & NIALL DUNNE This regular column features Q&A selected and adapted from the Elisabeth C. Miller Library’s Plant Answer Line program. If you’d like to ask...
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