Camellia Circle Members Enjoy Appreciation Tour of the Garden
by Anne Phyfe Palmer
The Garden tour with a senior gardener Pete Putnicki
On the morning of October 18, about two dozen members of the Camellia Circle enjoyed a private tour of the Seattle Japanese Garden with senior gardener Pete Putnicki. This was the second appreciation event of the year for this circle of donors who contribute $500 or more annually in support of the Garden.
Founded in 2018, the Camellia Circle now counts 50 thoughtful and forward-looking donors and organizations, and they make the Garden’s rigorous landscape maintenance and cultural programs possible. Donors are recognized annually on a plaque at the entry gatehouse—between the Tateuchi Community Room and main gate—and through donor appreciation events.
The event on October 18 began at 8:30 a.m., before the Garden opened to the public. Attendees enjoyed coffee and a light breakfast. At 9:00 am before Arboretum Foundation Executive Director Jane Stonecipher introduced Pete to the group, thanking him for his 10 years of dedication to the Garden.
Pete then led the group through the winding pathways of the Garden, sharing stories and future plans—including an upcoming collaboration with 14th-generation stonemasons from Japan to reconstruct the Garden’s North Wall, a project that’s anticipated to begin in the summer of 2025.
Interested in joining the Camellia Circle? Contact Rumi Tsuchihashi at rtsuchihashi@arboretumfoundation.org or make a gift to the Japanese Garden on the Arboretum Foundation website.
Anne Phyfe Palmer is the Annual Fund & Membership Manager at the Arboretum Foundation and a Garden Guide.