July in the Arboretum: Summer Fest is Back!

The world is very, very beautiful if you look at it, but most people don't look very much, with an intensity, do they?" --David Hockney

Summer Fest: July 19th, 1 to 4 p.m.

Summer Fest is back, with more fun than ever. New this year is Reggie Miles and his Interactive Musical Gadgets—a playful mix of rhythm and creativity made from found objects.

Rain City Rope Works, crowd favorites from last year's event, return to demonstrate their rope jumping skills and provide how-to-it lessons for newbies from 3 - 4 p.m. Yay Big Yay High Yay Ice Cream truck, another crowd favorite from last year is returning, and a generous donor is providing coupons for a free ice cream treat as long as the supply lasts.

This year more organizations than ever will be participating, promising new activities for visitors to enjoy. And perennial favorites are also back:

• Selfie stations with peep-through boards for fun photo ops
• A nature-themed art project from Imagine Children’s Museum
• A bug exploration station hosted by Master Gardeners of Snohomish County
• Face painting with YMCA volunteers
• A garden scavenger hunt with surprises around every corner

Be sure not to miss the fun--mark your calendars now. And, if you haven't bought your raffle tickets, you can purchase them at Summer Fest. Check out the prizes below.

Raffle Items: Old Favorites and New Selections

Where to buy tickets: Tickets are still just $1 each and will be available at Summer Fest. Winning tickets will be drawn in August during Sculpture Walk.

Check Out Our July Class Schedule

Classes are free; no registration is required.

Meet at the columns for both classes.

The Perennial Path: Spectacular Summer Color, A Walk and Talk Class

July 12th, noon to 1 p.m.

This is the fifth of a free, informal educational series in our beautiful Perennial Border Demonstration Garden, presented by the WSU Extension Snohomish County Master Gardeners. Your speaker is Lee Borgatta, Master Gardener and Evergreen Arboretum board member. The Perennial Border in full bloom will serve as a backdrop and inspiration for Lee's talk about color in the garden and how to use it in your home garden. Dress for the weather and come prepared to ask questions.

Everything Hydrangeas with Master Gardener Marylou Hart

Saturday, July 26th from 12 to 1 p.m.

It's July and all the hydrangeas are blooming! Learn how to take care of your hydrangeas from our Woodland Garden curator. Marylou will answer all your questions from soil to pruning, plus you can check out the varieties growing in the Arboretum. There are so many to choose from.



If you would like to see a complete list of classes and events for the year, click this calendar link for a preview of what we have scheduled.

2025 Plant Sale Redux: If you were there, you know how big it was.

• In 2025 nurseries donated 7,000 plants.
• In 2024 we received 4,000 plants.
• In 2025 we sold over $40,000.
• In 2024 we sold over $32,000.

A huge thank you to all our volunteers who helped make this possible.

We still have plants left to sell. While we will try to keep them going for a spring sale in 2026, we would really like to sell more--so if you're interested in buying some of our leftovers, let us know.

Prices are drastically reduced. Send us an email if you're interested in picking up a few more plants for your garden.

What I did on my summer vacation

Your newsletter editor spent last week in Saugatuck, Michigan, with old friends. On the last day of our vacation, we visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. (No relation to our Fred Meyer.) Covering 158 acres, the garden features a 5-story glass conservatory and 200 sculptures by internationally acclaimed sculptors. With the temperature in the 90s, we opted to walk through the conservatory (it's enormous) and then took a tram tour that took us through part of the garden. I have a lot more photographs but will share just the three below. The pelican flower, pictured below, is a deciduous vine whose odor attracts flies.

The Conservatory is even larger than it looks

Pelican flower. About to bloom or going to seed?

Aristolochia grandiflora, aka pelican flower, in full bloom.

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