Arboretum Foundation

A high-season hodgepodge of handsome flowers from around the Arboretum.

1. Himalayan strawberry tree (Cornus capitata) in the future China Forest area along the Loop Trail. Our lone specimen of this small, deciduous Chinese tree came from .

2. Hybrid sweetshrub (Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’) in the Centennial Summer Garden.

3. The Hybrid deutzia (Deutzia x magnifica ‘Erecta’) in the Sorbus Collection area. One of three specimens we received from the in 1963.

4. Rhododendron yuefengense, a compact species native to China, in Rhododendron Glen. Sourced from .

5. Mining bee visiting our native Pacific ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) in the Cascadia Forest.

6. Hybrid rock rose (Cistus x purpureus ‘Alan Fradd’) in the sunny perennial border on the south side of the Big Greenhouse.

7. Callistemon subulatus ‘Dark Red’ in the Australia Entry Garden.

8. The sweet-scented Himalayan hydrangea (Hydrangea heteromalla) in the China Entry Garden at Pacific Connections. Wild-sourced by and in 2008.

9. Mint bush (Prosanthera cuneata) in the Australia Entry Garden.

10. Sierra laurel (Leucothoe davisiae), native to southern Oregon and northern California, in the Cascadia Forest garden. Wild-collected by in the Siskiyou National Forest in 2008.

A LANDMARK MOMENT FOR THE JAPANESE GARDEN

This summer marks a rare and meaningful chapter in the life of the Seattle Japanese Garden at the Arboretum. Later this month, we will embark on the Ishigaki Wall and Accessible Pathway Project, a once-in-a-generation restoration.

The $2.8 million investment will replace the Garden’s aging north stone wall with a hand-placed granite ishigaki wall, built using time-honored techniques. At the same time, a new, accessible looped pathway will allow more visitors to enjoy the tranquil beauty of the pond shoreline.

While the Garden will be closed from June 22 through July 27 for initial demolition work, we invite you to mark your calendars for a visit while this historic transformation unfolds. It’s a unique opportunity to witness the care, artistry, and vision that will shape the Garden’s future.

MORE DETAILS: https://www.seattlejapanesegarden.org/ishigaki-wall-project

Rendering courtesy Berger Partnership PS and Hoshide Wanzer Architects.

Project managed by our partner Seattle Parks and Recreation.

The lovely lime-green spring foliage tips of Douglas fir are prized by foragers for brewing a refreshing herbal tea that’s high in Vitamin C.

The flavor profile is described as “lemony,” “citrusy,” and “zesty.”

Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest and beyond have long used Doug fir and grand fir needles to brew medicinal tonics.

In the latest issue of the Arboretum Bulletin magazine, we discuss the ethnobotany and safe harvesting and use of fir needles for tea (eg. it’s not recommended during pregnancy). We also include a recipe.

FULL ARTICLE: https://arboretumfoundation.org/2026/05/14/douglas-fir-tea/

Have a floriferous weekend!

Here’s just a sampling of blossoms from around the Arboretum.

1. The tree peony Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii, native to Tibet, in the peony section along Arboretum Drive. This specimen came to us from the North American Rock Garden Society in 1970.

2. Oyama magnolia (Magnolia sieboldii), native to China, Japan, and Korean, on the Visitors Center Terrace. After its first flush of bloom, it will keep blooming intermittently until late summer.

3. Chilean lantern tree (Crinodendron hookerianum) in the future Chile Forest area along the Loop Trail. Though the flowers look good enough to eat, the plant is actually toxic to humans.

4. Rock’s peony (Paeonia rockii), native to China, in the China Entry Garden at Pacific Connections. It is named for Austrian-American botanist and explorer Joseph Rock (1884–1962).

5. Chilean fire tree (Embothrium coccineum), native to Chile and Argentina in the future Chile Forest area along the Loop Trail. In its home range, the tree is pollinated by both hummingbirds and insects.

6. Blue blossom (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus), native to the Coast Range foothills of Oregon and California, in the Cascadia Forest garden. The flowers of this large evergreen shrub are magnets for native bees.

7. Illicium simonsii, a small evergreen tree from China, India, and Myanmar, blooming in Rhododendron Glen. The species is a recent introduction to horticulture. Our specimen came from a wild collection made by explorer Dan Hinkley in 2000.

8. Hybrid rhody (Rhododendron ‘Snow Queen’) in Rhododendron Glen. This specimen dates to 1964 and is still blooming beautifully.

Volunteers from the nonprofit Friends of Arboretum Creek and our Arboretum Garden Stewards program working with staff on a pilot project to seed native grasses into the restored floodplain of the Loop Trail wetlands.

The Friends get together on the first Friday of each month (March to November) for work parties in the wetlands. They are also the masterminds behind a multi-million dollar project (now managed by ) to restore year-round water flow in the Creek and bring fish and other wildlife back to our watershed.

See the link in our profile to the Friends website for more details and also to sign up for a work party.

Flowers for !

As always this time of year, the rhododendrons are in peak bloom around the Arboretum.

1. Rhododendron ‘Ken Janeck’ in the Hybrid Rhododendron Garden on Azalea Way.
2. Rhododendron ‘Noble Mountain’ in the Hybrid Rhododendron Garden.
3. Rhododendron hippophaeoides ‘Haba Shan’ on the hillside above Azalea Way pond.
4. Rhododendron ‘Seaview Sunset’ in the Hybrid Rhododendron Garden.
5. Rhododendron ‘Sir Charles Lemon’ on the Visitors Center terrace.
6. Rhododendron davidsonianum, native to China, in lower Rhododendron Glen.

A stroll in the Arboretum on Mother’s Day is a Seattle rite of spring. The Seattle Times recommends a flower walk down iconic Azalea Way, as well as some other floral hotspots around town.

These Seattle-area flower walks are perfect for a Mother’s Day outing From Discovery Park to Burke-Gilman, Seattle’s parks, neighborhoods and trails are blooming with life this time of year.

Flowers, understandably, receive the bulk of the attention during the spring season at the Arboretum, but the new leaves of many plants can have their own distinct beauty. Here’s just a sampling:

1. Golden linden, Tilia endochrysea, native to China, in lower Rhododendron Glen. Like the new foliage of many plants, golden linden’s spring leaves emerge red, due to the presence of the pigment anthocyanin, which may perform a variety of protective functions, such as shielding the immature foliage from UV rays. The tree is extremely rare in cultivation; our specimen came from plant explorer Dan Hinkley at Windcliff Nursey in 2022.

2. Wang’s chestnut, Aesculus wangii, a rare species from Vietnam, just south of the Woodland Garden. This specimen was also a gift from Dan Hinkley, who wrote about the species for the spring 2025 issue of our botanical magazine.

https://arboretumfoundation.org/2025/05/17/wangs-chestnut/

3. The stunning foliage bud scales of Rhododendron hemsleyanum in the future China Forest area along the Arboretum Loop. Endemic to Mt Omei in Szechwan, the species is critically endangered in its home range. Our specimen came from the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in 2018.

4. Looking a little like a young xenomorph from the Alien franchise, this is the new leaf of a Chilean rhubarb, Gunnera tinctoria, in the restored stream bank of lower Rhododendron Glen. The young stalks are edible and traditionally consumed in the plant’s homeland of southern Chile and Argentina. They are said to have a mild, tangy, rhubarb flavor.

5. The red new foliage of temple bells, Pieris ryukyunensis, in lower Rhododendron Glen. An elegant evergreen shrub native to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, it produces snow-white lily-of-the-valley-like flowers in late winter. This specimen was also sourced from Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden.

6. Emmenopterys henryi, a large deciduous tree from southern China and Vietnam, in lower Rhododendron Glen. The fragrant, white, trumpet-shaped flowers are spectacular but (frustratingly for gardeners) rarely emerge on cultivated plants. Our specimen was wild collected by Dan Hinkley in 2015.

Grow with Us! Today is , and we need your support to grow the plants, programs, and people of the Arboretum. Donate today, or join as an annual member to receive benefits for your support.

www.wagives.org/organization/arboretum-foundation-1

A melange of beautiful blooms from around the park.

Help us grow the plants, programs, and people of the Arboretum with gift on May 5.

www.wagives.org/organization/arboretum-foundation-1

1. Umbrella plant (Darmera peltata) blooming in the Cascadia Entry Garden. Native to mountain stream sides and woodlands from southwestern Oregon to northern California, this wetland herbaceous perennial produces large, umbrella-like leaves after the flowers emerge. The young stalks can be eaten raw or cooked.

2. Winter’s bark (Drimys winteri var. chilensis), a small tree native to Chile and Argentina, along the Loop Trail just below the Chile Entry Garden. The common name refers to Captain John Wynter, who circumnavigated the globe with Francis Drake and used the medicinal bark of the plant to treat his scurvy-riddled crew.

3. Chinese flowering ash (Fraxinus sieboldiana) in the main ash collection, just north of the Loop Trail wetlands. The small, slender tree is native to China, Korea, and Japan. Our lone specimen came to us in 1977 from Toyko University Forests.

4. Davidia involucrata ‘Iseli Fastigiate’, a narrow form of the dove tree, by the Pacific Connections interpretive shelter. Native to China, the species gets its common name from the dove-like appearance of its inflorescence.

5. Himalayan bird cherry (Prunus cornuta) blooming on the Loop Trail, just up the hill from the Birch Parking Lot. The species epithet cornuta means “horned” and refers to the curled shape that the tree’s small, bitter red fruits take on in the Himalayas. The unusual growth is caused by the larvae of an insect native to that region.

6. Redvein enkianthus (Enkianthus campanulatus), native to open woodlands in Japan, near the new circular bench in lower Rhododendron Glen. The genus name comes from Greek words enkyos, meaning “pregnant,” and anthos, meaning “flower,” a reference to rounded shape of the flowers.

7. Lanceleaf azara (Azara lanceolata), also from Argentina and Chile, along the Loop Trail just below the Chile Entry Garden. This arching shrub was given its scientific name from collections made by Charles Darwin in 1834.

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