Virginia Witch-Hazel: Fragrant Fall Flowers and Colorful Foliage
By Randall Hitchin The Virginia witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)—also known as American witch-hazel and common witch-hazel—is a season bender....
News Articles
Designing Colorful Island Beds in the Garden
Garden writer Barbara Ashmun transformed her back garden by gradually replacing boring lawn with spectacular island beds full of summer- and...
News Articles
Volunteers Help Host First Seattle Botanic Gardens’ Plant Sale
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...
Helping the Recovery of North America’s Rarest Fir
Arborists Lincoln and Shea after collecting the Santa Lucia fir cones. (Photo: Joanna Long)Seattle Botanic Gardens arborists Shea Cope and Lincoln Erbeck are quite the dynamic duo. They spend much of their time ensuring that the thousands of trees growing in the...
Growing Connections: Celebrating the Volunteers of Seattle Botanic Gardens
Volunteers and staff mingling at the 2026 Volunteer Appreciation Party.BY ALICIA HAMILTON On Monday, August 31, volunteers from across Seattle Botanic Gardens came together at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) for our 2026 Volunteer Appreciation Party—a...
Bulletin Stories
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...
Fabulous Fabiana
Fabiana imbricata f. violacea blooming in the Arboretum in summer. (Photo by Cynthia Welte)BY CYNTHIA WELTE As a horticulturist, I have been studying plants for a long time—especially how to grow and care for them. And, although I’m not a botanist or taxonomist, I’m...
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