Last summer, I enjoyed a tour of the Ethel L. Dupar’s Fragrant Garden located within the corporate campus of Seattle’s Lighthouse for the Blind.  

Our tour guide, Helen Weber, encouraged us to look, touch, taste, and deeply breathe in the alternatively sweet, fresh, sharp, and often indescribable scents of the plants.  Not surprisingly, the garden is loved by hummingbirds and bees.

Out of the 80 or so species at the garden, my favorites included: 

• the ultra soft leaf of the Lamb’s Ear,
• the pretty white flower of the Garlic Chives (which also smelled and tasted like garlic),
• the peanut butter scented leaf of the Peanut Butter Plant,
• the curry scented leaf of the Curry Plant (Helen assured us the taste was awful and nothing like curry),
• the refreshing scent of the Lemon Scented Geranium leaf,
• the full-bodied chocolate scent of the yellow flower of the Chocolate Flower, and
• the soothing, fresh scent of Roman Chamomile.

Check out their website for tour dates and times.  

Other fragrant gardens in Seattle include the University of Washington (UW) Center for Urban Horticulture, the Joseph A. Witt winter garden in the Washington Park Arboretum near the Graham Visitors Center, and the UW Campus Medicinal Plant Garden. There is also the Fragrance Garden near Ferndale, WA adjacent to the Hovander Homestead historical site and its gardens.


So don't wait!  Enjoy the loveliness of a fragrant garden today!

Read Yes, Fernando to see the positive power found in opening to change.  

Click on the book cover to find out more! (Affiliate link)

July is the month to visit the UW Arboretum to see the hydrangeas—common, mop head, and lace caps to name a few.  Hydrangeas come in all sorts of shapes and colors.  The more acidic the soil, the bluer the flowers.

When I was looking at a lace cap beauty, I was struck with the thought of how much the Divine loves variety, creativity, and beauty.  I mean, just look at the lace cap—who would come up with something like this?  It’s a strange combination that renders the flower odd, wonderful, and beautiful at the same time.

Did you know that maple trees—no matter the shape of their leaves (they don’t all have a five pointed leaf shape, as you see in the photo below)—have samaras?  These are seed pods—non-Latin names include “wing nut,”  “helicopter,” and “whirlybird.” As a kid, you may have liked to pull them apart and stick them on your nose. 

Don’t miss out!  The hydrangeas are gorgeous—so get to the UW Arboretum this month!  And while you're there, decorate your nose with a maple tree samara!

FREE arboretum tours that highlight the hydrangeas during July are on Sundays, 1:00PM to 2:30PM.

With womanhood, she begins to wrestle with her changing sense of identity, her unhappiness in her marriage, the restrictions imposed by the male-dominated religion of her community, and her limited roles that she wants to sunder. 

And as she questions her faith and tries to give voice to her yearnings, the ties that bind her to her husband and her community start to unravel.

A beautiful and poignant film about growing up and away from that which has defined us and the costs this brings.

Click on the DVD cover to find out more. (Affiliate link)