I was at the University of Washington-Seattle this week and stumbled upon a series of gardens on campus, not far from Pacific Street.

The plants were all labeled, many were from Asia, some were common but I couldn't make sense of why they were grouped together. There wasn't any rhyme or reason to it.

Then finally I found someone working in the garden. He told me I was in the biology department's Medicinal Herb Garden. It, apparently, is one of the largest of its kind in the western hemisphere with over 1,000 species represented.

None of the signs explain what the various plants are used for. That makes sense. There might be a whole bunch of people in the gardens every day trying to medicate themselves if there were.

If you're up at UW during the growing season you might want to check it out. Consult this map to find the string of gardens. Here are some photos and finds I made there:

I've never seen or heard of this plant but its name, Fremontodendron californicum, suggests it's native to California and was named for or by the 1800's explorer Captain John Fremont. It's common name is Fremontia or flannel bush. It was a low shrub with sparse branches and had grey-green, maple-like leaves and apricot colored blossoms. I definitely want one of these for my garden.

I named this hops plant "Cousin It." It made me want to have a beer.

I don't know what purpose other than "pretty" this peony has but I'd have it in my garden.

This is the biggest hedge of tea (Camellia sinensis) that I've seen since I was in Japan.