Blackberry thickets are a prominent (and prickly) feature of many Pacific Northwest natural areas including at Hoyt Arboretum and many other Portland Parks. The most common species of exotic blackberry in our region is widely accepted as Rubus armeniacus (AKA Himalayan or Armenian blackberry), but there are a couple of other exotic Rubus spp. that ... Read more The post Community Scientists Survey & Assess Invasive Blackberry Species appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

Every season has something spectacular to show at Hoyt Arboretum. Winter is no exception. Our Conifer Collection is green and commanding year-round.  Witch-hazel, Camellia, Viburnum, Mahonia, Hellebores, and more can all be found blooming in the winter months. Here are a few ideas of where to go and what to see at Hoyt Arboretum in ... Read more The post Recommendations for Your Winter Visit appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

It’s a busy Saturday morning in February of 2023 at Hoyt Arboretum, and a group gathers under the Stevens Pavilion for a special event. Today, we are lucky to have Eliza from the Oregon Maple Project come out to teach us how to make maple syrup from our native bigleaf maple. Eliza and the Oregon Maple ... Read more The post Tapping Into the Bigleaf Maple appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

Keeping the Arboretum’s trails clear is skilled work and valuable experience for everyone, but especially for the youth in our communities that will be our next generation of leaders. We seek opportunities to engage the next generation at Hoyt Arboretum, so our partnership with Northwest Youth Corps and Girls Inc in 2023 was a great ... Read more The post The Next Generation to Speak for the Trees appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

In 2023, Hoyt Arboretum Friends Visitor Center volunteers and trail rovers welcomed more than 40,000 visitors, and our Nature Educators interacted with 5,400 children. This is just a small faction of all the folks who came to explore and learn from our global tree collection! Museum of Living Trees Beyond the people Hoyt Arboretum Friends ... Read more The post How to Read a Tree Sign at Hoyt Arboretum appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

Red, yellow, orange, purple: fall colors are bursting out all over at Hoyt Arboretum!  With over 2,300 different species of trees, there’s quite a wide variety of leaves to turn a plethora of different colors. Every fall, the most common question we hear in the Visitor Center is “when will the leaves reach their peak?”. ... Read more The post The Fall Foliage of 2023 at Hoyt Arboretum appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

Third grade is one of my favorite times in childhood. Kids this age tend to be both capable, and expressive. They aren’t yet too cool for showing joy, and yet they can tie their shoes and put on their coats without assistance. They can walk reasonable distances and understand big ideas. They are in the ... Read more The post Finding Joy in Helicopter Seeds appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

My daughter Vivian’s summer camp canceled their entire week of programming on the first day of camp. Summer Scramble Vivian had just graduated kindergarten, and even if she wasn’t super excited about getting carsick in the camp’s big school bus, she was excited that it was finally summer. Then she found herself stuck in the ... Read more The post Volunteer Voices: Finding Animals and Connection at Hoyt Arboretum appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

Baby barred owls have taken up residence in the Arboretum! Yesterday during a walking meeting (yes, we work in the BEST place!), Ajah, Nina, and I heard a kerfuffle of bird sounds. Our attention drawn, we witnessed several crows flapping, and a much larger, brown bird swoop down to land on the lower branch of ... Read more The post Owls at Hoyt Arboretum appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more

The International Rose Test Garden is a one mile walk, along shaded downhill trails, from the Hoyt Arboretum Visitor Center. If in doubt, take the downhill path! The Route To get to the Rose Garden, you’ll take Oak Trail, Wildwood Trail, and follow the sign posts that point toward the Rose Garden and Japanese Garden. ... Read more The post Hike to the International Rose Test Garden from Hoyt Arboretum appeared first on Hoyt Arboretum ..read more