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Dec 09 2020
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Putting Your Garden to Bed for Winter

By Gardening No Comments
Putting Your Garden to Bed for Winter By Cynthia Welte Is your garden ready for winter? Work you do now will lay groundwork for your garden next year. Much like returning from vacation to a clean home, starting spring in a prepped garden gives you energy and makes the work more pleasant. (Plus, it’s nice to look out at a tidy garden over the gray winter months.) There are a few simple tasks that you can do now to protect…
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Dec 06 2020
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Leaf Diamonds

By Nature, Youth Education No Comments
Leaf Diamonds By Barb Williams Drip tips You may have noticed that here in the Pacific Northwest it rains often, which is one reason we have such a variety of healthy plants in the Bellevue Botanical Garden. When it rains, or when watery dew drops collect on the leaves, you may notice the sparkle of water droplets shimmering like diamonds on surfaces. Or they may be precariously hanging from “drip tips” at the leaf’s end. Many leaves end in a…
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Dec 02 2020
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Plant Heroes

By Nature, Resources, Youth Education No Comments
Are you curious about plants and animals? Are you always asking questions about the natural world? Do you like being outdoors and having fun? Then check out the American Public Garden Association’s “Plant Heroes” website. On the website you will find: Videos to learn more about moths, beetles, and fungi and explore each species like a scientist! Read comics about insects and plants Activity books with word puzzles, coloring pages, and other activities related to the comic books Lesson plans…
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Nov 19 2020
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Leaf Magic

By Bellevue Botanical Garden, Crafts, Nature, Youth Education No Comments
Leaf Magic  by Barb Williams At every season of the year there is Leaf Magic to be found at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. You will find leaves of different colors, shapes and sounds. The Nature of Sitting by Pam Beyette Treat yourself by sitting in the leaf chair opposite the Ground Cover Garden waterfall (this chair is actually an art piece titled "The Nature of Sitting" by artist Pam Beyette). As you sit, notice the colorful leaves as they whirl,…
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Nov 05 2020
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One Corner: Past and Present

By Bellevue Botanical Garden, Gardening, History, Nature No Comments
One Corner: Past and Present By Cynthia Welte The Shorts House under construction; the patio and tree would be installed in the foreground. The log cabin to the left is where the Shorts lived when they moved to this property. Cal and Harriet Shorts’ home was built in 1957. As avid gardeners, they planted many trees and shrubs all around their home, including a Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis) on the southwest corner of the patio. Sadly, this tree struggled…
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Nov 05 2020
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Ethnobotany at the Garden

By Adult Education, Botany, Nature, Youth Education 2 Comments
Ethnobotany at the Garden By Barb Williams Ethnobotany is the study of how people of a particular culture and region make use of indigenous (native) plants.  The native plants sprinkled throughout the Bellevue Botanical Garden remind us that us that the Coast Salish people lived in this area for thousands of years and skillfully developed a plant technology to support their daily needs. Maidenhair Fern Containers were necessary to hold and carry a multitude of items. Native Americans discovered that…
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Oct 13 2020
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Build Your Own Wreath using the Plastic Wrap Method

By Adult Education, Crafts, Nature No Comments
Here is a fun and simple way to make a wreath without having to do a bunch of wiring!  This style of wreath is also very easy to re-use with fresh greens. We taught this method at our wreath class in 2019 at the Bellevue Botanical Garden and it worked out really well. We had a family at the wreath class and the child who was about 8 years old was able to make a wreath as well.  We would…
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Sep 23 2020
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Haunted By That Day

By Bellevue Botanical Garden No Comments
The following post was part of a larger article in the Arnoldia Journal from the Arnold Arboretum about the impact of COVID-19 on botanical gardens. To see the complete article, go HERE. Haunted By That Day By Nancy Kartes, Garden Manager On January 21, 2020, our nation’s first case of COVID-19 was reported in the Seattle area, just a few miles from Bellevue Botanical Garden. I was not paying attention to the news. As garden manager, I was deep into…
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Sep 04 2020
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Leaves in our Lives: A Living Lab Historical Perspective

By Nature, Youth Education One Comment
Leaves in our Lives: A Living Lab Historical Perspective By Barb Williams, former manager of the Living Lab Program In the Pacific Northwest, deciduous and evergreen leaves are an integral part of our lives. They provide shade, oxygen, shelter, scientific discoveries, art forms, nesting materials for animals, a symphony of sound and so much more. For these reasons I chose leaves as the topic for the first activity that I developed in 1999 as the new Manager of the Bellevue…
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Jul 15 2020
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Wanted: Garden Escapee, English Ivy

By Adult Education, Gardening, Nature One Comment
Wanted: Garden Escapee, English Ivy By Angela DiLorenzo   English Ivy (Hedera helix) garners oohs and ahhs clinging to the sides of English cottages and adorning arbors. However, in our Northwest coast forests and parklands, it is a menace. Ivy draws us in with its lovely trailing vines and evergreen properties. We eagerly purchase hanging pots and planters full of lovely variegated vines to beautify our homes. Eventually, the annuals die, and perennials over grow their pots. A convenient backyard…
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