Lake Wilderness Arboretum

The winter storm was beautiful, everything was encrusted with ice, snow on the ground, it was a photographer's wonderland. But, it takes it's toll. Breaking branches, sounding like gunshots. Trees crashing down, blocking roads and paths.

As with everyone's property, the Arboretum suffered too. Several good trees are broken, several down, branches down all over gardens and pathways. Some of the forest trails are blocked, trees having fallen down. This Saturday, February 4th, there is a big work party scheduled to work at cleaning up as much as possible. Two big stacks of branches will be made at either end of the Arboretum, waiting to be chipped later. Trees and shrubs will be pruned, and the paths opened. Hopefully, we can clean it up enough for everyone to enjoy wandering along the trails, and see how nice it is, even in the winter. Already, we can see that spring is around the corner. Early plants are showing new shoots, the witch hazels are blooming. Hellebores are coming along. Soon, with your help, it will be looking great in the Arboretum again. 

Story:  Maggie Westerlund    Photos:  Linda LaConte 

New signage was added to the Perennial Garden acknowledging the contribution of the Western Fuchsia Species Society and the Northwest Fuchsia Society to the Hardy Fuchsia Collection at Lake Wilderness Arboretum. We have on display over 300 varieties of hardy fuchsias, making it one of the largest displays in the Northwest. Signage was donated by Maple Valley Signs Amy Kuiper.

Salli Dahl and Debbie Metzger from the Western Fuchsia Species Society with Patty Davis representing the Arboretum.