Botanical Rambles
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Sarah Gage curates the Botanical Rambles blog for the Washington Native Plant Society. She is a writer and editor, a broad-spectrum botanist, a cranky gardener, and an accidental bureaucrat. Her writing has appeared in the Seattle Times, The Seattle Weekly, Willow Springs, and Douglasia, as well as in numerous scientific papers and government reports.
Botanical Rambles
3w ago
Traditionally, the privilege of naming a species new to science lies with the person who discovered it. Auctioning the rights to name newly discovered species is a relatively new phenomenon, but it is increasingly attractive to scientists who might desire funds to support publication charges or to conduct research, monitoring, or conservation of those species. The aim could also be to "drum up excitement" for the work of discovering new species. Others disagree. Auctioning naming rights t ..read more
Botanical Rambles
3w ago
Evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum) is one of my favorite shrubs, and it grows well in my Seattle garden. A) it's evergreen, so it wards off mid-winter bleakness. B) it reliably produces enough tasty berries so that I usually get a couple of handfuls before the birds eat the rest. C) it can have a pleasing gawkiness that reminds me of my nephews when they were teenagers. However, sometimes it can have a problem. Julie O'Donald wrote me recently, noting that "with the popularity of ev ..read more
Botanical Rambles
1M ago
Here we are in 2024. Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a peaceful and relaxing holiday season. This year starts with many interesting items to note. I have some wonderful news. Denise Mahnke has been promoted with a new title, from Business Manager to Executive Director, as of January 1, 2024. If you know what Denise does, you know this is well deserved. As we enter a new year, some things of interest to note: the WNPS membership is at an all-time high, the Native Plant Stewardship progra ..read more
Botanical Rambles
1M ago
A decades-old debate pits native species against non-native species, especially within the context of invasion biology. Which is better for the environment? There's never been more interest, opinion, and research stoking the native-plants-in-the-garden debate. Rhetoric blazes when invasive species management destroys attractive plants supporting pollinators (such as purple loosestrife [Lythrum salicaria]) or kills charismatic animals (such as mountain goats, [Oreamnos americanus]). The debate ev ..read more
Botanical Rambles
1M ago
The Washington Native Plant Society offers two weekend-long events this year: the 43rd Study Weekend and the 28th Botany Washington. While there are differences between the two, they both offer stellar opportunities to get outside, to learn, enjoy, practice skills, and generally hang out with other plant lovers in some of the most beautiful parts of the region. Are you new to all this? Don't be afraid! Plant lovers are a friendly bunch, and the 2023 Study Weekend hosted nearly 50 first time atte ..read more
Botanical Rambles
3M ago
I recently completed my master's thesis, titled "An Anthropocene Island Flora: The fate of native and alien plants in the San Juan Island archipelago" at The Evergreen State College. Funding from the Washington Native Plant Society Research and Plant Inventory Program facilitated my research in two ways. First, it funded boat time to re-inventory the small meadow-dominated islands off the southern shores of Lopez Island in the San Juan archipelago that were first botanized in the early 20 ..read more
Botanical Rambles
3M ago
Molly Hashimoto is well known for her unique artwork depicting nature, plants and animals of western landscapes. Trees of the West, An Artist's Guide features some of the artist's best water colors and block prints. An introduction to the bioregions where western trees are found doubles as the Table of Contents. Hashimoto blends art and science throughout the pages. Quotes and poems by various authors offer moments of reflection, accompanied by artistic scenery that takes readers to the beauty o ..read more
Botanical Rambles
4M ago
In the Washington Native Plant Society Facebook Group, I've noticed some participants asking for advice on pretty large plots of land—less gardening and more habitat restoration.This is great! There's a lot of folks participating in the FB group who are super knowledgeable and have good info to share. And many times, the advice given is to contact the local conservation district or CD. Conservation districts got started during the Dust Bowl crisis of the 1930s, when conserving the nation ..read more
Botanical Rambles
4M ago
This autumn, more than any other, I am getting the message to "leave the leaves." It's almost as if the invertebrates who overwinter in organic debris have gotten a new publicist. Our friends at the Xerces Society put the case in plain terms: "Where do insects and other invertebrates go in the winter? The vast majority 'overwinter,' or spend winter, right where they spent all summer—just less active and more hidden." I've never been an especially tidy gardener, so this exhortation to "lea ..read more
Botanical Rambles
4M ago
The following is a summary of my Master's thesis at Western Washington University, which has been partially funded by a research grant from the Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS). My work endeavors to identify a rare ice age refugium in the North Cascades of Washington state. Ice age refugia were ecologically stable areas that remained ice free during the Pleistocene glaciations. As a result, they offered a level of suitable conditions to host arctic species associated with the climate of th ..read more