Washington Park Arboretum

We've been working hard these last two weeks, getting our spring gardening done. Plants in the pots, seeds in the garden, repair of steps and pathways, planting perennials, cleaning and placing yard furniture, getting the watering system up and running, edging and weeding, it's all almost done. Well, a garden is never done, but we're coming to the end of the heavy work, so we took yesterday off.

We headed into the city to visit an open garden from the Northwest Perennial Alliance yellow book, after first stopping at Jake's to deliver and plant his tomatoes. Then, since we were in the neighborhood, we headed to the arboretum.

Washington Park Arboretum is a park owned by the city, full of plants owned by the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. Located in the heart of the city, it is an oasis of green and beauty, especially in the spring.

We started at the Visitors Center.

The first destination is Azalea Way, a lower level walkway running the length of the park.

This golden tree is an oak, maybe the only one of its kind.

About here we detoured over to the Japanese Garden, which will be another post. Then we took the high road to return back through the park.

Here you look up at the rhododendrons, and you walk under them.

We're in tall timber, studded with gems of color.

The Japanese maples were glorious in their fresh foliage.

The big leaf maples stand tall and proud.

Two hours later we were back at the visitors center, tired but refreshed, and ready to return home for a late lunch on our own patio.

To top it off, at 4:00, we parked in our recliners in front of the TV to watch the Sounders play an away match in New York. We got the win!

Today we'll do laundry, a little house cleaning and a little puttering in the yard before heading to Whidbey Monday morning for a couple of days.