Meet JP! We are thrilled to introduce you to our new Executive Director, JP Sauerlender! JP grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is passionate about leveraging gardens to improve human health and facilitate learning. He is excited to join the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden team where he plans to help grow and develop this [...]
Tolmiea menziesii (now Micranthes tolmiei) An evergreen herbaceous native also brought into cultivation by Archibald Menzies. William Fraser Tolmie was from Scotland and worked for Hudson’s Bay Co as a surgeon and botanist who also traded in furs and politics. Tolmie was the commander at Fort Nisqually from 1843- 1859 before moving up to [...]
Pseudotsuga menziesii Douglas Fir. Archibald Menzies was a Scottish botanist and surgeon who accompanied Capt. Vancouver in 1790 to the Pacific Northwest. Douglas fir became an ever more important lumber tree in the succeeding years of settlement by non-indigenous people.
Mahonia nervosa Low/Cascade Oregon Grape. Typically below 2’ in height, this handsome shrub offers bright yellow flowers in Spring followed by blue-black fruits in late summer. The fruits are edible but tart, better used to make preserves or wine. Bernard M’Mahon served as the steward of the plants collected by Lewis and Clark on [...]
Wisteria An unknown species of the vigorous vine with fragrant, drooping racemes of flowers ranging in color from white to pink to blue and purple. Adam Wistar (1761- 1818) was a physician at the School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. Thomas Nuttall named the plant in his honor but misspelled his name; [...]
Lonicera crassifolia A low growing evergreen honeysuckle that will cloak itself with yellow blossoms if given adequate sun and a slightly moist soil. Adam Lonicer, a German physician and botanist (1528- 1586) is honored by having this genus named for him.
Claytonia perfoliata An evergreen herbaceous native often associated with damp places such as stream sides. One of its common names is Miner’s Lettuce as it was one of the few greens that miners could find to supplement their often monotonous diet. John Clayton (1694-1773) was a plant collector/botanist in Virginia who supplied specimens to [...]
Beesia deltophylla An evergreen perennial from Sichuan, China brought into cultivation by Dan Hinkley in 1998. Small white flowers decorate upright racemes in late spring, but most people grow it for its shade tolerance and handsome glossy foliage. The genus was named in 1915 for the plant nursery in England which financed plant expeditions [...]
This month's field note comes from a little further afield. On Saturday, May 28th I went for an early-season hike up Perry Creek off the Mountain Loop Highway. While there was still too much snow to make it past the falls, the wildflowers and new spring growth in the lower valley were in full [...]
Picea smithiana Morinda Spruce. This lovely Himalayan spruce is one of two spruces that feature pendant branches to give it a graceful look. The other is the Brewer spruce, another native to the Siskiyou mountains named in recognition of a Scottish gardener who was the first to grow this plant in Scotland in the [...]