I'm always hoping for horticulture to make it in the mainstream media, but for some reason, when it does get mentioned or covered, it's always BAD NEWS like what happened to us at the UW Botanic Gardens's Washington Park Arboretum.
This was absolutely devastating. I got a call from David early last week and informed us of what had happened and immediately, we had a guess as to who may be responsible as right about the same time last year, we endured some vandalism and theft over at the Center for Urban Horticulture where I work part time.
Showing posts with label UW Botanic Gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UW Botanic Gardens. Show all posts
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Time to Build Your Garden Library!
The Miller Library is having their awesome book sale this coming weekend. Free Friday night for some wine, cheese and first dibs on some fabulous books at incredible prices? Attend their preview party!
 |
| A photo from past book sales. The selection is absolutely phenomenal! |
Look out for some floral arrangements assembled by moi!
R
On Friday, April 6 from 5 to 8pm attend the Preview Party for first crack at the books. Enjoy a glass of wine, mingle with other gardening enthusiasts, and bid on specially selected books in the silent auction. To purchase tickets contact the Library at 206-543-0415. Tickets cost $20 each.
On Saturday, April 7, the Book Sale will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Admittance is free.
Center for Urban Horticulture/UWBG
3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Autumn at the Arboretum
Fall color in its full splendor. It was just a few weeks ago that I wrote about the lack of color up in the mountains, but with snow expected up there soon, I'm sure things colored up well, but here in the lowlands, the show has been quite spectacular.
Check out a recent visit to Washington Park Arboretum and the wonderful display we were treated to.
After a staff meeting, our hort supervisor, David Zuckerman, lead us on a tour of the Woodland Garden.
The absolute standout was the intense coloration of Fothergilla major. All throughout the plant was this kaleidoscope of warm colors at different intensities. Each year, it's always this brilliantly colored and can be seen from quite a distance! Next to the Fothergilla is another one of my favorite landscape plants that will exhibit its autumn colors in just a few days. This is Hydgrangea quercifolia, the Oak Leaf Hydrangea! Below
Further down the path, we encountered the stunning fine texture of this Acer dissectum cultivar that lit up the woodland garden as the sun that day made an attempt to show itself that afternoon.
Close by in the winter garden, the Hamamelis, or Chinese witch hazels, were coloring up quite well also:
Can't share fall color with some bark action and these Chinese Paper Birches (Betula albo-sinensis var. septentrionalis) were simply outstanding!
Then, we looped around and captured a view that I've never seen before in all the years of visiting the Arboretum. It was such a treat to witness this with my co-horts and appreciate one of the reasons why we love what we do!
R
Check out a recent visit to Washington Park Arboretum and the wonderful display we were treated to.
After a staff meeting, our hort supervisor, David Zuckerman, lead us on a tour of the Woodland Garden.
The absolute standout was the intense coloration of Fothergilla major. All throughout the plant was this kaleidoscope of warm colors at different intensities. Each year, it's always this brilliantly colored and can be seen from quite a distance! Next to the Fothergilla is another one of my favorite landscape plants that will exhibit its autumn colors in just a few days. This is Hydgrangea quercifolia, the Oak Leaf Hydrangea! Below
Further down the path, we encountered the stunning fine texture of this Acer dissectum cultivar that lit up the woodland garden as the sun that day made an attempt to show itself that afternoon.
Close by in the winter garden, the Hamamelis, or Chinese witch hazels, were coloring up quite well also:
Can't share fall color with some bark action and these Chinese Paper Birches (Betula albo-sinensis var. septentrionalis) were simply outstanding!
Then, we looped around and captured a view that I've never seen before in all the years of visiting the Arboretum. It was such a treat to witness this with my co-horts and appreciate one of the reasons why we love what we do!
R
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Lilium lust
The lilies are on their final stretch and there have been many surprises in the last two months.
In our late late summer, the lily show began in July with the opening of one of the tried and true lilies out there. This is 'Tiger Babies' blooming with ornamental grasses in the Soest Perennial Display Garden at the UW Botanic Gardens - Center for Urban Horticulture where I work part time.
Then comes two species from China I brought back a few years ago. The first is the elegant and rare Lilium majoense and then the tall, stately Lilium leucanthemum.
Soon after, the "Orienpet" lilies put on a show. Here's the gold with crimson and richly scented 'Shocking' and the voluptuous 'Silk Road' at a client's garden.
'Shocking'
'Silk Road'/'Northern Carillon'
The new mixed bed I'm developing has the spectacular 'Scheherazade' blooming with mixed perennials and glittery grasses in the background.
My clumps of 'Nymph' have slowly dwindled as I love using them profusely for arrangements just like this one at my sister's house for a little reunion with cousins from out of town a few weeks ago.
Orientals are just starting and my collection has dwindled a bit as I used to grow more. The standout right now is 'Tiger Woods' and the rare 'Midnight Star'.
WHOOPS....that's the REAL Tiger Woods.
Here's the lily:
Orienpets overlap with the Orientals and, man, were there surprises:
From top left clockwise: 'My Precious', a sister seedling to the cultivar 'Pizazz', and a rare double-flowered oriental 'Josef'.
So the double orientals are looking their best EVER and I'm wondering if it's been the mild and relatively cooler summer or my new and special friend who's been helping me water more diligently.
The "classic" variety 'Miss Lucy' is towering at 5 feet with long pedicles and flowers that haven't aborted, but are opening slowly and quite beautifully:
Next to "Lucy" is 'Davyd'. Has done absolutely nothing but abort and look horrendous, but here this year, at least it looks like it's trying. LOL!
'Josef' is definitely a surprise as it has opened up pretty well despite still being in a container.
'Chrys' might be the same or similar to a new intro out right now called 'Polar Star'. It opened very nicely last year in a container, but the one in the ground is slowly doing its thing!
Then there's this HOT MESS of a lily. Interesting? Sure! Looks like throw-up? Uh huh. But fragrant? Of course! Why did you grow this? Shut up. Now, I can't even remember it's name. The interesting thing about this flower are the present anthers with pollen!!
One of my most highly anticipated purchases earlier this spring was a package of 'Magic Star'. It almost looks like a double-flowered 'Tiger Woods' or 'Dizzy' and when you've grown lilies for a long time and you see the photo, your jaws drop and you say, "WOW"! So I purchased two dessicated bulbs from a local nursery, potted them up so they can "recover" and root before planting them out in the garden.
So yeah....meh.....it's interesting and all and kind of cool looking, but very inconsistent when opening. Could it get better as it matures much like 'Miss Lucy' did? We'll see.
All lily'd out??!! Hhahahahh
Cheers,
Riz
In our late late summer, the lily show began in July with the opening of one of the tried and true lilies out there. This is 'Tiger Babies' blooming with ornamental grasses in the Soest Perennial Display Garden at the UW Botanic Gardens - Center for Urban Horticulture where I work part time.
Then comes two species from China I brought back a few years ago. The first is the elegant and rare Lilium majoense and then the tall, stately Lilium leucanthemum.
Soon after, the "Orienpet" lilies put on a show. Here's the gold with crimson and richly scented 'Shocking' and the voluptuous 'Silk Road' at a client's garden.
'Shocking'
'Silk Road'/'Northern Carillon'
The new mixed bed I'm developing has the spectacular 'Scheherazade' blooming with mixed perennials and glittery grasses in the background.
My clumps of 'Nymph' have slowly dwindled as I love using them profusely for arrangements just like this one at my sister's house for a little reunion with cousins from out of town a few weeks ago.
Orientals are just starting and my collection has dwindled a bit as I used to grow more. The standout right now is 'Tiger Woods' and the rare 'Midnight Star'.
WHOOPS....that's the REAL Tiger Woods.
Here's the lily:
Orienpets overlap with the Orientals and, man, were there surprises:
From top left clockwise: 'My Precious', a sister seedling to the cultivar 'Pizazz', and a rare double-flowered oriental 'Josef'.
So the double orientals are looking their best EVER and I'm wondering if it's been the mild and relatively cooler summer or my new and special friend who's been helping me water more diligently.
The "classic" variety 'Miss Lucy' is towering at 5 feet with long pedicles and flowers that haven't aborted, but are opening slowly and quite beautifully:
Next to "Lucy" is 'Davyd'. Has done absolutely nothing but abort and look horrendous, but here this year, at least it looks like it's trying. LOL!
'Josef' is definitely a surprise as it has opened up pretty well despite still being in a container.
'Chrys' might be the same or similar to a new intro out right now called 'Polar Star'. It opened very nicely last year in a container, but the one in the ground is slowly doing its thing!
Then there's this HOT MESS of a lily. Interesting? Sure! Looks like throw-up? Uh huh. But fragrant? Of course! Why did you grow this? Shut up. Now, I can't even remember it's name. The interesting thing about this flower are the present anthers with pollen!!
One of my most highly anticipated purchases earlier this spring was a package of 'Magic Star'. It almost looks like a double-flowered 'Tiger Woods' or 'Dizzy' and when you've grown lilies for a long time and you see the photo, your jaws drop and you say, "WOW"! So I purchased two dessicated bulbs from a local nursery, potted them up so they can "recover" and root before planting them out in the garden.
So yeah....meh.....it's interesting and all and kind of cool looking, but very inconsistent when opening. Could it get better as it matures much like 'Miss Lucy' did? We'll see.
All lily'd out??!! Hhahahahh
Cheers,
Riz
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
If you love public gardens, you WILL go to this talk!
Public gardens are struggling to gain support nationwide and it's heartbreaking to see, especially our local parks and gardens being subject to severe cuts. Working for one, I understand the dilemma and its made more apparent when colleagues are laid off or cut back and when our duties as gardeners are stretched out beyond what we were originally hired to do. Some would jump ship and not tolerate the work load and not being allowed to work overtime, while others, like myself, are simply fortunate to just even have a permanent half time job where I have some benefits and make enough to just get by along with my own small business on the side. It's hard for a lot of people looking for work and I often wish that I could be of more help to those who have asked me about work opportunities.
Me at the UW Botanic Gardens in one of the gardens I help maintain, speaking with a group of garden writers. (Thanks for the pic, Kelly!)
If you look pass the economic troubles we're all facing and think of the positive things we still have in our lives like friends and family and the activities that we can all engage in that don't cost any money, there's a lot of opportunities to truly enjoy some of the simpler things in life that are incredibly fulfilling. To me, public gardens provide many of those opportunities. Bringing plants and people together in a serene setting such as a public park is a time-honored tradition that spans many different cultures and walks of life. Think of the families out on a Sunday afternoon, a young couple sharing quality time on a blanket with a simple picnic, heck, even the homeless woman finds refuge and an occasional gesture of generosity within a public park. Find all the problems that coincide with that last example, but it still proves a point: public parks and gardens are a part of our needs as human beings to reconnect with nature, to feel safe, and feel like we belong on this planet.
Next month, we have an opportunity to meet a well-known figure in public gardens.
Lynden B. Miller is a public garden designer in New York City and director of The Conservatory Garden in Central Park, which she rescued and restored beginning in 1982. Her work includes gardens for The Central Park Zoo, Bryant Park, The New York Botanical Garden, Madison Square Park, Hudson River Park and Wagner Park in Battery Park City as well as many smaller projects in all five boroughs and beyond as well as several university campuses.
For almost 30 years, Mrs. Miller has focused on her belief that public open spaces with good well-maintained plantings can change city life. She has taken an entirely new approach to public horticulture by creating rich plantings that provide four seasons of interest.
Her award-winning book, "Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape" is inspirational and instructive about all aspects of creating and supporting beautiful public space.
She will speak at the 16th annual Miller Memorial Lecture at the University of Washington campus on September 15th at 7PM and I encourage people to come as it is free (please RSVP and learn more about the lecture here) and sure to be inspiring and beautiful.
Just learning more about her and the work that she does reminds me of why I pursued public horticulture as an undergrad. Cut the politics and bullcrap involved in working in one, you have to think of the big picture. Her motto is: "Make it gorgeous and they will come. Keep it that way and they will help"
R
Me at the UW Botanic Gardens in one of the gardens I help maintain, speaking with a group of garden writers. (Thanks for the pic, Kelly!)
If you look pass the economic troubles we're all facing and think of the positive things we still have in our lives like friends and family and the activities that we can all engage in that don't cost any money, there's a lot of opportunities to truly enjoy some of the simpler things in life that are incredibly fulfilling. To me, public gardens provide many of those opportunities. Bringing plants and people together in a serene setting such as a public park is a time-honored tradition that spans many different cultures and walks of life. Think of the families out on a Sunday afternoon, a young couple sharing quality time on a blanket with a simple picnic, heck, even the homeless woman finds refuge and an occasional gesture of generosity within a public park. Find all the problems that coincide with that last example, but it still proves a point: public parks and gardens are a part of our needs as human beings to reconnect with nature, to feel safe, and feel like we belong on this planet.
Next month, we have an opportunity to meet a well-known figure in public gardens.
Lynden B. Miller is a public garden designer in New York City and director of The Conservatory Garden in Central Park, which she rescued and restored beginning in 1982. Her work includes gardens for The Central Park Zoo, Bryant Park, The New York Botanical Garden, Madison Square Park, Hudson River Park and Wagner Park in Battery Park City as well as many smaller projects in all five boroughs and beyond as well as several university campuses.
For almost 30 years, Mrs. Miller has focused on her belief that public open spaces with good well-maintained plantings can change city life. She has taken an entirely new approach to public horticulture by creating rich plantings that provide four seasons of interest.
Her award-winning book, "Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape" is inspirational and instructive about all aspects of creating and supporting beautiful public space.
She will speak at the 16th annual Miller Memorial Lecture at the University of Washington campus on September 15th at 7PM and I encourage people to come as it is free (please RSVP and learn more about the lecture here) and sure to be inspiring and beautiful.
Just learning more about her and the work that she does reminds me of why I pursued public horticulture as an undergrad. Cut the politics and bullcrap involved in working in one, you have to think of the big picture. Her motto is: "Make it gorgeous and they will come. Keep it that way and they will help"
R
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Catching Up...
Ok, so it's been a crazy past few weeks. I've tried to post random photos and stuff just to say that I'm alive and still at it. Man, blogs are a lot of work!
Here's sort of a lil' timeline of my activities, where each one could be a potential blog subject/entry!
1) With severe reductions in state and departmental budgets, a prominent and critical position from UW Botanic Gardens was cut. It was so unfortunate to hear of the news and it basically resonated with what's going on with Botanic Gardens across the nation.
I'll try and elaborate on my thoughts about this New York Times article, but it basically states that many botanical institutions are taking on a new direction that isn't really so plant focused, but instead, they're catering to the gardens as simply places to be for non-horticultural events.
Even with this transition, you'd think that they'd keep up a position that produces the plant collections as well as provide outreach programs to instill in youth the importance of our native plants and environments. Ugh, it got me quite down and really unmotivated to work.
2) I prepared for and attended for the first time the Perennial Plant Association annual symposium held in Portland, OR this year. I spoke on "Perennials for Tough Situations" and aside from a supposed disappointing review from a very well known and respected individual in horticulture who attended my presentation, the feedback from everyone else afterward was most encouraging. I took the time down there to spend with friends, colleagues, and visit gardens and nurseries I've never seen before and so thrilled to finally have now! Definitely more soon!
3) It's time to scale back a bit. Each gardening season brings forth with it new challenges and this year, I've come to realize that my constantly full and unstable plate will continue to be occasionally unpleasant and intolerable if I don't make some pretty tough decisions in the next couple of months. Basically, a significant someone reminded me that I have a lot of life left to accomplish all that I aspire to do in horticulture. It's time to explore the country and the rest of the world more; gain experience that will help better shape me as a person and as a professional and realize that I have a whole arsenal of other skills and talents I must continue to nurture.
4) I've been thinking a lot about my "audience". Being somewhat of an outlier in the industry because of my age, I've worked diligently to appeal to an older generation of experienced gardeners, but now that I feel like I've got many of them on my side, I need to start collaborating more with my up and coming colleagues who are doing big and wonderful things to ensure that plants and gardening become not just a luxury for people, but a wonderful and fulfilling way of life! It's hard to bridge the generational gap at times, but I think it can be done with hard work, lots of patience, and a genuine respect and understanding between everyone.
There's lots to ramble about, but I promised myself that I'd try to really get more sleep than I've been getting.
Please stay tuned and thank you all for reading!
Riz
Here's sort of a lil' timeline of my activities, where each one could be a potential blog subject/entry!
1) With severe reductions in state and departmental budgets, a prominent and critical position from UW Botanic Gardens was cut. It was so unfortunate to hear of the news and it basically resonated with what's going on with Botanic Gardens across the nation.
I'll try and elaborate on my thoughts about this New York Times article, but it basically states that many botanical institutions are taking on a new direction that isn't really so plant focused, but instead, they're catering to the gardens as simply places to be for non-horticultural events.
Even with this transition, you'd think that they'd keep up a position that produces the plant collections as well as provide outreach programs to instill in youth the importance of our native plants and environments. Ugh, it got me quite down and really unmotivated to work.
2) I prepared for and attended for the first time the Perennial Plant Association annual symposium held in Portland, OR this year. I spoke on "Perennials for Tough Situations" and aside from a supposed disappointing review from a very well known and respected individual in horticulture who attended my presentation, the feedback from everyone else afterward was most encouraging. I took the time down there to spend with friends, colleagues, and visit gardens and nurseries I've never seen before and so thrilled to finally have now! Definitely more soon!
3) It's time to scale back a bit. Each gardening season brings forth with it new challenges and this year, I've come to realize that my constantly full and unstable plate will continue to be occasionally unpleasant and intolerable if I don't make some pretty tough decisions in the next couple of months. Basically, a significant someone reminded me that I have a lot of life left to accomplish all that I aspire to do in horticulture. It's time to explore the country and the rest of the world more; gain experience that will help better shape me as a person and as a professional and realize that I have a whole arsenal of other skills and talents I must continue to nurture.
4) I've been thinking a lot about my "audience". Being somewhat of an outlier in the industry because of my age, I've worked diligently to appeal to an older generation of experienced gardeners, but now that I feel like I've got many of them on my side, I need to start collaborating more with my up and coming colleagues who are doing big and wonderful things to ensure that plants and gardening become not just a luxury for people, but a wonderful and fulfilling way of life! It's hard to bridge the generational gap at times, but I think it can be done with hard work, lots of patience, and a genuine respect and understanding between everyone.
There's lots to ramble about, but I promised myself that I'd try to really get more sleep than I've been getting.
Please stay tuned and thank you all for reading!
Riz
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Bioblitz comes to Arboretum!!
Plants just make up a small portion of the biodiversity that exists in making our environment so special and much beloved by everyone. We've got birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, etc. and we often take for granted just how much is out there all working to survive in this delicate balance we call life.
2010 has been selected to be the year of biodiversity all across the globe and a campaign referred to as a "Biolitz" aims to catalog this biodiversity in the hopes that people become more aware of their surroundings and persuade decision makers about how they should approach projects, infrastructure, and make them all understand the environmental impacts.
Photo from UW Botanic Gardens
I think this is a tremendous opportunity for the community to volunteer and know that they took part in a worldwide project that could help preserve our beautiful surroundings.
Find out how to sign up and get more information here!
They are desperately seeking volunteers for this event so spread the word and do something unique, different and probably a whole lot of fun!!
2010 has been selected to be the year of biodiversity all across the globe and a campaign referred to as a "Biolitz" aims to catalog this biodiversity in the hopes that people become more aware of their surroundings and persuade decision makers about how they should approach projects, infrastructure, and make them all understand the environmental impacts.
Photo from UW Botanic Gardens
I think this is a tremendous opportunity for the community to volunteer and know that they took part in a worldwide project that could help preserve our beautiful surroundings.
Find out how to sign up and get more information here!
They are desperately seeking volunteers for this event so spread the word and do something unique, different and probably a whole lot of fun!!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
For the ultimate garden geek: The Miller Library Book Sale!!!
Each time I pass by the library at work this week, I see an ever growing stack of books in the conference room and librarian Martha Ferguson diligently sorting through each title to place it in its proper category.
As our hort community is known for its never-ending plant sales just about every weekend from now on, this is pretty much the only garden book sale in our region and it amazes me each year to see the remarkable selection of books they have available! From bulbs, vegetable gardening, perennials, landscape design, and specific genera of plants, the Garden Lover's Book Sale totally has something for the green thumb in all of us and you can find some really great deals.
ESPECIALLY IF YOU ATTEND THE PRE-SALE PREVIEW!
From the Miller Library website:
What: A used book sale fund raiser and all around FUN TIME!
Where: In the Merrill Hall Commons, Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st St., Seattle, WA, 98195. Map.
Why: to RAISE MONEY to buy new books by selling donated books that are not needed because the library already owns a copy.
When: The wine and cheese PREVIEW PARTY is Friday, April 2 from 5 - 8pm; tickets cost $20 in advance. The free book sale is Saturday, April 3 from 9am to 3pm
To buy Preview Party ticket call 206-543-0415; Visa & Master card accepted.
As our hort community is known for its never-ending plant sales just about every weekend from now on, this is pretty much the only garden book sale in our region and it amazes me each year to see the remarkable selection of books they have available! From bulbs, vegetable gardening, perennials, landscape design, and specific genera of plants, the Garden Lover's Book Sale totally has something for the green thumb in all of us and you can find some really great deals.
ESPECIALLY IF YOU ATTEND THE PRE-SALE PREVIEW!
From the Miller Library website:
What: A used book sale fund raiser and all around FUN TIME!
Where: In the Merrill Hall Commons, Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st St., Seattle, WA, 98195. Map.
Why: to RAISE MONEY to buy new books by selling donated books that are not needed because the library already owns a copy.
When: The wine and cheese PREVIEW PARTY is Friday, April 2 from 5 - 8pm; tickets cost $20 in advance. The free book sale is Saturday, April 3 from 9am to 3pm
To buy Preview Party ticket call 206-543-0415; Visa & Master card accepted.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A super cool Eryngo!
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