Arborists & Gardeners
Funding garden maintenance and tree care
By becoming a member of the Arboretum Foundation or making a donation, you play a vital role in preserving and enhancing the Washington Park Arboretum for current and future generations. The Foundation supports the maintenance of the Arboretum’s plant collections, gardens, and natural areas in the following key ways.
- Funding the UW Botanic Gardens staff arborists, who keep the Arboretum’s woody plant collections healthy, safe, and vigorous.
- Funding the salaries and benefits of the two UW Botanic Gardens horticulturists who care for the Pacific Connections Garden in the Arboretum.
- Funding temporary gardeners assigned to special projects, such as the restoration of the Lake Washington Boulevard Corridor.
- Coordinating the Garden Stewards program, which recruits and trains volunteers to assist horticulture staff with weeding, mulching, and other tasks.
- Coordinating the Corporate and Group Service Program, which recruits volunteers from local businesses and community groups to participate in weeding and mulching work parties.
Black Walnut Tree in Arboretum Tests Positive for Thousand Cankers Disease
Oct 15, 2026
Cankers and beetle feeding holes on the inner bark of a downed walnut branch. (Photo courtesy: Elizabeth Bush, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, bugwood.org)FIRST DOCUMENTED CASE IN WESTERN WASHINGTON! This summer, Seattle Botanic Gardens...
Hidden Treasure of the Arboretum: Witch-Alder
Oct 9, 2026
Fall foliage close-up of a witch-alder in the Arboretum's Woodland Garden. (Photo by Niall Dunne)BY PHIL WOOD As a retired garden designer, I am always on the lookout for plants that offer multiple seasons of interest. Witch-alders (Fothergilla species and hybrids)...
Volunteers Help Host First Seattle Botanic Gardens’ Plant Sale
Sep 24, 2026
Volunteers helping shoppers at check-out in the Big Greenhouse. (Photo by Polly Teeter)BY ALICIA HAMILTON Our annual Fall Plant Sale took place at the Graham Visitors Center in the Arboretum last Saturday, September 19. Though it happened on a single day, the sale was...
“Thank you so, so much for all your work maintaining the arboretum — it is a beautiful refuge that I have been lucky enough to visit every week during lockdown… Every time I visit I discover something new and see the care that the gardeners have taken. I wish I could give more, but hopefully this helps get you to your goal”
—Anna