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Notable gardens
Charles & Clark Malmo Garden
The late Jean Malmo created this garden to remember her husband Clark and his father Charles, both prominent Seattle nurserymen. Jean also donated 125 Bosnian pines, Pinus leucodermis, to the young Arboretum, and those pines became its 'bones,' providing structure as new gardens were created. The Jean Malmo estate continues supporting the Arboretum through an endowment.
Milton Sutton Conifer Gardens
Milton Sutton and his wife Helen were early supporters of the Arboretum at South. These conifer gardens were installed in his memory. One, combined with understory plants, creates woodland shade in the center of the Arboretum. Across the path, the Milton Sutton Dwarf Conifer garden, with its heaths and heathers, is especially colorful in winter.
Mabel Davis Garden
Mabel Davis was an early conservationist and community leader. Her garden surrounds the Gazebo, which was funded by the Federated Women's Club and built by their husbands in 1985. The Gazebo offers views of downtown Seattle and the Seattle Chinese Garden.
H C Erickson Garden
Erma Erickson dedicated this garden to her husband Chris in 1995. It is planted with birch, pine and heath to simulate the flora of Mr. Erickson’s birthplace,
a small mountainous island in Norway.
The Arboretum's natural gully flows through this garden and ends here among ferns, low-growing flowers and dogwood shrubs.
Mert & Beth Dawley Shade Garden
In this garden of 20-plus fern varieties, the bridge crosses a natural gully that fills with rain and supports shade-loving riparian plants.
Sequoia Grove
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The Sequoia Grove is three remarkable trees.
At 40 years, they are young and still growing, considering that the Coastal Redwood can reach 400 feet. The Giant Sequoia is the largest tree in the world in terms of mass, with a girth to 33 feet.
The Dawn Redwood is a living fossil, and the only deciduous redwood, dropping its leaves in winter.
Acer Garden
The maple tree genus Acer is Latin of uncertain origin, with roots that mean "be sharp," so called for its pointed leaves. The garden has many varieties, all with beautiful color and/or lovely bark. They include stripebark, paperbark, amur, red and sugar maples, along with a variety of both palmate and laceleaf Japanese maples. Many are gifts from longtime Seattle nurseryman Jerry Rosso.
Perennial Garden
A garden of waterwise shrubs, the Perennial garden displays grasses and flowers that work hard in our own gardens. Colorful blooms and grass seedheads attract pollinators in all seasons. An arbor and benches offer a place to stop and watch the birds.
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