Seattle Chapter

Who: WSNLA Seattle and Northwest Chapter members and their guests. 

What: Van Bobbitt, Arboretum Coordinator and Instructor at South Seattle Community College will offer a guided tour of the SSCC Arboretum and the construction site of the Seattle Chinese Garden adjacent to the campus. Van has a B.A. in Botany from Central Washington University and a M.S. in Agriculture from Cal Poly. Mr. Bobbitt will illustrate how the arboretum provides a living laboratory for SSCC students. The six-acre garden offers many different venues, from the Sequoia Grove to the Coenosium Rock Garden! One of the most popular areas is the entry garden, lined with exposed aggregate pathways and large patches of grass.  The sensory garden and the reflection pool, with its large pool rock fountain and beautiful gold fish, is sure to lure you to linger and meditate.  The Seattle Chinese Garden is located on 4.6 acres just north of the campus with a view of Seattle, Elliott Bay, and the Cascade Mountains. When finished this garden will be one of the largest Chinese gardens outside of China. It was designed and is being built as part of sister-city relationship with Chongqing to represent Sichuan horticulture. Components of this garden have been fabricated in Chongqing using traditional materials and skilled artisans from China are supervising their installation. Because we will be doing a lot of walking, be sure to bring comfortable shoes. One CPH credit will be offered for participation in this meeting.

Where:  South Seattle Community College Landscape Horticulture Program 206-768-6717
6000 16^th Avenue SW, Seattle, Washington 98106

For a convenient map for this venue, go to the following URL: http://www.southseattle.edu/campus/map.htm

When: Monday, July 14, 2008, 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Why:  The Arboretum is important to the SSCC Landscape Horticulture Program as the students designed, built, and maintain the Arboretum. It is used as a laboratory for plant identification, arboriculture, irrigation, as well as landscape maintenance and construction courses. The Arboretum is also used as an outdoor classroom by professional horticulturists and hobby gardeners. Many of the plants on the Washington Certified Professional Horticulturist exam can be found in the SSCC Arboretum. To get an overview of this garden, visit the Arboretum web site at: http://dept.seattlecolleges.com/arboretum/index.html. The Seattle Chinese Garden (SCG), a nonprofit charitable organization, is responsible for the development of the garden, which will feature a plant palette of traditional garden favorites to exotics from Sichuan’s hills and valleys. Views of the design and construction photos can be found at the SCG web site: http://www.seattlechinesegarden.org/. Plan to attend this meeting and earn one CPH credit. All horticulture students are welcome to attend the meeting without charge, so bring your business cards and you may encounter a qualified prospective employee for your business.

How:  Reception catering will be provided through The Brockey Center, the culinary arts program at the SSCC. The menu will consist of fresh fruit trays, fresh vegetables, garlic crostini and chicken sate with Teriyaki sauce.