Rutherford Conservatory Updates Ahead! Download (pdf) By Rutherford Conservatory Horticulturist Kim Farmer For those of you who have been visiting the RSBG for some time, it may be hard to believe that the conservatory first opened 16 years ago in September of 2010. Since that time, many plants have grown and flourished in their new […]
By RSBG Horticulturist and Assistant Curator Will Clausen Gardens are living museums and ever changing. Those basic truths, though occasionally frustrating, are a big part of the fun of being a gardener. As 2025 wraps up, I am reflecting on some of the garden projects we completed this year and thinking about things we plan […]
By RSBG Nursery Manager & Assistant Curator, Atsuko Gibson The most frequently asked question here at the garden is, “What is the difference between a rhododendron and an azaleas?” There is a simple answer and a long answer. The simple answer is, all azaleas are rhododendrons, but not all rhododendrons are azaleas. All azaleas belong […]
By RSBG Nursery Manager & Assistant Curator, Atsuko Gibson Rhododendron Potting Media The Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden is always on the lookout for the best potting media for species rhododendrons. After conducting numerous experiments with various soil types and ratios, we’ve settled on our current mix: 30% small lava rock and 70% fine bark. Visitors […]
By RSBG Horticulturist and Assistant Curator Will Clausen While December might be dark, often damp, and sometimes chilly, these characteristics make it perhaps the most atmospheric time of year in the garden. At its best, December is truly dramatic. Wisps of fog wending through the conifers, or entirely enveloping the garden creates an eerie […]
By RSBG Assistant Nursery Manager Emily Joseph November, the month when even the drive along Weyerhauser Way invites you into the garden through a tunnel of deciduous color intermixed among a backdrop of evergreens. Native big leaf maples (Acer macrophyllum), vine maples (Acer circinatum), and black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) are ablaze in shades of yellow, […]
By RSBG Horticulturist and Assistant Curator Will Clausen October is here, and by now, the days are getting short, the sky cloudy and often heavy with rain, and in the garden, we start to see colors popping up where before everything was green. The month of fall color is finally upon us, a time of […]
By RSBG Assistant Nursery Manager Emily Joseph The sun-drenched days of summer have passed, ushering in cooler temperatures and welcome rain showers as the seasonal shift from summer to fall sneakily slides into view. Early signs of deciduous foliage gathering sugars and producing anthocyanins and carotenoids have begun (those red, orange, and yellow pigments that […]
Story and photos by RSBG Horticulturist & Assistant Curator, Will Clausen Throughout August, new Rhododendron leaves continue to emerge and mature as the relentless summer sun does its best to sear the garden. As the heat builds through the end of summer, the new growth is quickly becoming thicker and more adaptable to both the […]
Story and photos by RSBG Nursery Manager & Assistant Curator, Atsuko Gibson While our nursery specializes in species Rhododendron, we also propagate “companion plants” — the term we use for our non-rhododendron collection. We focus on plants that grow naturally alongside rhododendrons in the wild, as well as many other genera within the Ericaceae, the […]
July 2024 Story and photos by RSBG Assistant Nursery Manager, Emily Joseph Somehow, it always surprises me how much cooler it is beneath the shady canopy of the garden than just down the hill in the sun-soaked nursery. Yet it is a well-known fact that trees provide a cooling effect that reduces the buildup of […]
June 2024 Story and photos by Will Clausen June is a month of transition in the garden. Even though peak flowering has passed for rhododendrons, there are still plenty of species that put on their show at this time of year, and a few that will wait for an even later date. And of course, […]
April by Will Clausen The beginning of April brings us near the end of the first big wave of color at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. Thankfully, the second wave should get going just as the early flowers fade away. It has been an exceptional spring for flowers throughout the garden so far and as […]
March by Emily Joseph March at the garden is a month most known for its variable precipitation, temperature swings, and for being the reason we check the 10-day forecast repeatedly. Frequently extolled in weather lore and age-old adages, it seems like a time-honored tradition for the weather to fluctuate without any predictability. Yet, the balance […]
February By Will Clausen February might seem like just another winter month to some, but at the RSBG February means spring is already here. Flowers are starting to brighten up the garden, though sometimes winter weather sneaks through the gate. Rutherford Conservatory It is a short walk from the Visitor Center to the Conservatory, and […]
January By Emily Joseph Seasonal Interest: Often labeled as the dead of winter, January probably ranks as the month of least interest in the minds of most botanical garden visitors. Yet amidst the quiet cold, bastions of the winter botanical world are showing off structure, spectacular bark, and swelling buds about to break, giving life […]
