Seattle Plant Exchange

Dunn Gardens

This weekend, in honor of the Centennial of the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition, Dunn Gardens was open to the public. Cristine told me about the garden, which was designed by the Olmsted Brothers, who inherited the first landscape design firm in the nation from their father, Frederick Law Olmsted.  In addition to designing Central Park, F.L. Olmsted also designed the Landscape Master Plan at my alma mater, so I have an emotional and nostalgic connection to Olmsted designs.

The organic flow of Dunn Gardens and the enticing assortment of plants did not disappoint.  Here are some photos from yesterday:

Dunn Gardens

Though based in Brookline, Massachusetts, the Olmstead family regularly designed landscapes well beyond New England and, in many ways, beyond their lifespans. In 1903, the firm was commissioned by the City of Seattle to develop a comprehensive plan to guide the development of the Seattle parks system.  One of the specifications (which is one of the reasons I love this city!) was to have a park or a playground accessible within a half mile of every residence - a specification Seattle seems to strive to honor over a century later.

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Dunn Gardens provides private tours, so - as a group - we can schedule a guided tour sometime in the future. If you are interested, please comment here or post in the message boards.

Also, there are special events scheduled for the AYP Exposition Centennial: www.seattleolmsted.org | www.historicseattle.org.

Chamomile?

This looks like chamomile to me, but I'm not sure.  Any thoughts?

I have two or three plants available for swap. If interested, contact me directly or join The Exchange for free.

Purple Bee Magnet?

I received a question - to which I don't have an answer - from Rachel this morning:

I don't have a photo of it, but have you seen that shrub around that is just *teeming* with bees these days?  It has dark green glossy leaves (probably evergreen) and these big, thick, purple flower tubes that the bumblebees love.

I am going to be on the lookout for this plant now.  Has anyone else seen it?  If so, do you know what it is and/or do you have an image you can send me to post?

I have one candidate in mind, which doesn't have flowers just yet (it was "scorched" by the harsh winter weather), but here's a photo of its leaves:

 

Rachel, is this the same shrub?

Petunia's Garden

Stumbled upon this blog today and love it:

http://petunias-garden.blogspot.com/

HOTness in Seattle

I've only lived here a year, but I hear this level of heat (90 degrees Fahrenheit) is extremely rare in the Pacific Northwest. We, like most are without AC, but it's slightly cooler inside and I'm not terribly motivated to spend time outside (another rare phenomenon) . 

As I type this, I am listening to my neighbor's sprinkler, which I don't recall hearing before.

I, too, was watering the garden and lawn earlier, and wonder what others are doing to beat the heat...

• How are your plants looking?
• Are you using your sprinkler?
• Any tips for staying cool in the garden?

It's supposed to regulate tomorrow...

Dill Gone Wild

I was down at Lowman Beach with Jen (who has the best SPX profile pic of all time!) about two weeks ago, when she spotted some dill growing randomly:

I am not calling attention to it so you can add it to your dinner!  Please respect the dill and admire it from afar.

Washington Native Plants Society

Tremendous resource, worth sharing:

http://www.wnps.org/

Identify Please! "Rules"

This Exchange is meant to evolve (heck, one day it may no longer be a blog!). I am authoring posts now to keep it active and growing - like watering and fertilizing plants. But it's not about me. It's about community. So please, if you would like something identified, feel free to forward me photos and I will post them here.  You can send them to me in one of several ways:

• Email a photo or photos directly to me
• Upload to Picasa Web Albums (or Flickr - whatever service you choose - I'm just a Google nut) and send me the links
• If you have another way of image-sharing in mind, let me know

I may not be able to identify your plants, as I am learning every day, but hopefully a blog-reader can help!

PLEASE NOTE: Your photos are yours.  I will never use them anywhere (except this blog) without your permission.  If a reader grabs your image from the site and uses it in an irritating way, please deal with that person directly.  I can't be responsible for the actions of others (though I often wish I could!).

Dunn Gardens Open This Weekend

Cristine just brought this to my attention:

http://www.dunngardens.org/AYPEopen.html

Some SPX members will be meeting at the gardens this weekend. To join us this time or for future events, click here (it's fun and free!).

Garden Tours & Plant Sales Calendar

The University of Washington Botanic Gardens has a fabulous Garden Tours & Plant Sales Calendar available here.

If you're a Google Calendar fanatic (If you're not, you should be!), you can add the entire calendar to your Google Calendar by clicking the button in the lower right corner.