Preserving a Northwest Treasure 
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2300 Arboretum Drive East Seattle WA 98112
206-325-4510
Arbor eNotes April 2014
The nursery has a nice stock of trout lilies.
Early Bloomers
Don't Miss Our First Spring Plant Sale This Saturday! 
Early Bloomers is on Saturday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hosted by the volunteers in our Plant Donations Nursery and Pat Calvert Greenhouse, the sale takes place at the Graham Visitors Center, so you can shop for your plants and then enjoy a stroll through the Arboretum in peak bloom. Admission and parking are free, and all sales benefit the maintenance and kids' education programs at the Arboretum! Trout lilies, primroses, azaleas, and much more: See our event page for a list of available plants.
More specialty vendors, more amazing plants!
Homeward Bound

FlorAbundance Returns to Magnuson Park
After two years in its interim location at the Arboretum, the FlorAbundance Spring Plant Sale will return home to the newly renovated Building 30 at Warren G. Magnuson Park. Please join us on Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the region's biggest and best plant sale, and help support the Foundation's mission. We'll have our full complement of specialty nurseries (at least 40) back to offer you an unbeatable selection of locally grown edibles, annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs. Nurseries: See our annotated vendor list for the 2014 sale.

 
Volunteers Needed for FlorAbundance!
This major fundraiser for the Arboretum would not be possible without the help of our volunteers. If you'd like to lend a hand, please email our volunteer resources manager Megan Meyer or call her at 206-577-0549.

Iris domestica, available from Windpoppy Farm at this year's FlorAbundance.
Bulletin Article
Irresistible Offerings at FlorAbundance

In the spring 2014 issue of the Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin, landscape designer and garden writer Janine Anderson profiles eight exciting plants being offered by some of the specialty nurseries attending this year's FlorAbundance (April 26 and 27). It's just a small taste of the cornucopia of botanical treasures that awaits shoppers at the sale. Read full article. 

Enjoy yummy grub from Skillet at the Member PreSale & Party.
Deadline Approaching

Early-Bird Ticket Pricing for the PreSale Ends April 11 

Arboretum members and their guests are invited to attend the FlorAbundance Member Pre-Sale & Party, on Friday, April 25, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Get the first pick of plants at the sale, while enjoying delicious local wine and tasty appetizers from the celebrated Skillet food truck - back again this year by popular demand. Early-bird tickets are $40. Tickets purchased after April 11 will be $50. Ticket numbers are limited, so get yours today! Buy tickets online or by calling 206-325-4510.


Windcliff Plants at the PreSale & Party
As an extra treat for Pre-Sale shoppers, Robert Jones will be joining us to sell Windcliff Plants - named for the stunning home garden that he has created with husband Dan Hinkley. Windcliff Plants is a "pop-and-pop" enterprise focusing on uncommon plants from around the world that are highly adapted to the Pacific Northwest and deserve greater recognition.

One of the "ramps to nowhere" in the Arboretum wetlands.
520 Bridge Update
Arboretum Supports Grassroots Call for Ramp Memorial 
The "ramps to nowhere" in the Arboretum - remnants of the never-completed R.H. Thomson Expressway - are scheduled to be removed by WSDOT as part of the construction of the new 520 bridge. At a meeting yesterday, the Arboretum and Botanical Garden Committee voted to support a grassroots request to preserve some pieces of the ramps and use them to create a memorial to the citizen activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s that halted the construction of the planned expressway through the Arboretum. Read Knute Berger's article in Crosscut celebrating the Arboretum's decision.
Mesh bags on hemlock tree branches in the Arboretum.
Baggy Branches
Arboretum Hemlocks Focus of Research Experiment  
If you've recently visited the Arboretum, you've probably noticed some white mesh bags covering the branches of our hemlock trees. What gives? The bags are part of a collaborative research project between UW Botanic Gardens and the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Researchers are trying to determine why the hemlock woolly adelgid - an insect causing major damage to hemlock forests in the eastern U.S. - is a relatively benign herbivore on the West Coast. It may be because western hemlock species are more resistant to the bug, or perhaps because the bug has more natural enemies on the West Coast keeping its populations in check. The bags in the Arboretum are designed to keep out predators of the adelgid, so that the researchers can figure out what's happening here and hopefully apply the results to the management of pest populations in the East.
Get Water Smart 
A Series of Free Workshops Presented by Seattle Tilth 
Seattle Tilth is offering free Water Smart educational workshops this spring to encourage practices that improve water health for the whole community. Two of the workshops are being hosted by UW Botanic Gardens, at the Center for Urban Horticulture, on April 21 and May 6. Learn how to manage stormwater runoff while transforming your yard into a beautiful, water-smart landscape! The workshop will show you how to plan and construct rain gardens, plant buffers, pervious pavements, green roofs and organic gardens. Learn more or sign up on the Seattle Tilth website.
Fragaria × ananassa, by Sylvia Portillo.
Botanical Artist Exhibit
Now Through May 3 at the Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Don't miss the 7th annual exhibit of the Pacific Northwest Botanical Artists at the Miller Library (3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle) this month. Gorgeous original artwork, prints, and cards will be for sale, and a portion of the sales will benefit the library. For more information, call 206-543-0415 or visit the Miller Library website.
BANNER PHOTO: Star magnolia blooming in the Magnolia Collection.
In This Issue
Early Bloomers
FlorAbundance Back at Magnuson
Plants at FlorAbundance
Member PreSale Early-Bird Tickets
Arboretum Votes for Ramps Memorial
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Project
Water-Smart Gardening
Miller Library Art Exhibit

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Foundation Seeks New Finance Manager

 

The Arboretum Foundation has an opening for a new Finance Manager. The position is part-time and well-suited for an individual with at least seven years of experience in the field of non-profit accounting. See a full job description and instructions on how to apply.

 

 
Free Sunday Tours to Showcase Hybrid Rhodies

 

UWBG-trained garden guides lead 

from 1 to 2:30 p.m. every Sunday. The April tour pays homage to the Rum Dum Club, a group of famous Northwest rhodie hybridizers. Many of the club's cultivars are showcased in a special garden on Azalea Way. Meet at the Graham Visitors Center.