Venue a bit dated but Bay Laurel Catering does catering here at the UW. There is some dirt gravel parking on site. The UW farm and the outdoor space is worth exploring around in the area. read more

A nice surprise find! Small and fun botanical gardens, part of the University of Washington complex and adjacent to the Union Bay natural area, easy access to add to a walk through the wetlands or touring the beautiful campus. During this walk through, lots of spring flowers.. daffodils, some tulips, grape and regular varieties of Hyacinths, and cherries and flowering pears... lots of other blossoms coming in the next few weeks. Definitely worth checking out when in the University district of Seattle. Looking forward to walks through the seasons. Yelping on, God bless, and Cheers! read more

Center for Urban Horticulture - The map - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Seattle, Washington

A lovely spot to stroll through gardens, especially for those living in neighborhoods without much green space. The center offered story times for kids, fields for classes to engage in outdoor gatherings, and plenty of opportunity to learn and hone your green thumb. read more

Great bird watching. Short walk is perfect for kids. The farm has a beautiful selection of produce and could inspire anyone to do more backyard farming! read more

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The Center for Urban Horticulture is a beautiful venue located between the far edge of the University of Wasington-Seattle athletic fields and University Village. Been here for a Puget Sound Mycological Society Mushroom event and for two memorials, one in 2007, and again yesterday evening (7/24/17). It is an accessible gathering place, well maintained grounds, and with ample venue and street parking. read more

What an incredible space to have a wedding. My husband and I graduated from UW, but we were completely unaware of this hidden gem of a venue behind the university driving range. We held a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony, wedding ceremony, and reception at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH). It is an excellent place for a moderate sized wedding - ours was 150ish people - and there was so much room to roam (great for those families with kiddos!) We had no problems booking the venue after a tour with Britney Para, a helpful and upbeat venue manager at CUH. She guided us through the various possibilities on where to hold each ceremony and how past weddings have flowed. She was clear with us from the start of a few key points: We were responsible for mostly everything, she would request help for chair setup, etc. but we should essentially treat our venue rental as a community center rental. They will be there to open and close the doors, but you cannot expect any more. We were fine with this, as we worked with a rental company that helped with setup, teardown, etc. The price of booking the entire venue was very reasonable, especially for Seattle. CUH uses a preferred catering list, but to deviate from this list only costs $200. We opted to use a different caterer and it was not an issue. They also offer the use of AV and electronic equipment for an added nominal fee if you want to have a slideshow or video. Be aware that there is an extra fee on top of the normal venue fee ($400ish) to use the Goodfellow Grove, but for us, we fell in love with it and had to use it for our wedding ceremony! The Goodfellow Grove, in my opinion, elevates the wedding ambiance because it gives that earthy, green PNW vibe that we all know and love ;) Aside from wedding stuff, CUH is a great place to run, walk through, and explore. I run on the trails behind the venue all the time, as they connect to Montlake and other trails around the UW area. CUH is a happening place, with weddings, meetings, and plant sales throughout the year. I love that every time I come, the scenery changes with the seasons. read more

Center for Urban Horticulture - PLANTY OASIS | www.MistOfMorning.com - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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We stopped by here to check out the famous corpse flower. Who would have guessed you would ever stand in line to smell something that stinks so much? We mostly visited the greenhouse and walked around some of the gardens. It's a nice little destination if you just want to have nice walk on a spring or summer afternoon. There still was a lot to see that we didn't get around to, so I can only imagine it would get better. read more

I agree with the very thorough review by CK D. - who basically nailed all the details, which are still accurate as of 8/29/2015. To update, Merrill Commons now has strung bistro lights so you don't have to put up your own. Unfortunately, I found the lights to be too bright for mood lighting for dancing - but that's personal preference. The MAJOR downside to using Merrill Commons for dancing is that music has to be off by 10 pm, even though the rental is until 11 pm. This really kills the mood for guests who want a good dance party. I used the NHS hall for the dinner service and while they tell you the hall can hold a maximum of 200 guests, I would say it really only fits 170 comfortably. We had 150 people and it felt just right. I also paid to have curtains hung on the walls bc it really does feel like a frumpy classroom otherwise. I also opted to rent white folding chairs bc the black chairs provided, while modern and sturdy, don't feel as elegant. I paid an additional $100 to use their projector and screen to display the city skyline behind the head table instead of creating a more lavish decor/backdrop. Then we used Evenstagram.com to stream photos posted on social media by our guests using our wedding hashtag (highly recommend). I had committed to another venue for my ceremony before booking the CUH but holding your ceremony and reception together here would save you money as well as extend your reception hours. Our wedding day was unfortunately a wet one and I was thankful we booked a venue that had both indoor/outdoor spaces but I felt like my guests couldn't truly appreciate how beautiful the CUH was due to the weather. In retrospect, I'm not sure I would book the CUH again solely because of the cut off time for the music hours. We ended up booking an after party spot at Aston Manor which just added to our overall wedding bill. Anyhow, if you're on the hunt for a reception venue, this is well worth the visit. It's quite the picturesque place for a wedding on a beautiful summer day in Seattle. read more

I highly recommend renting the event space from the Urban Horticulture Center. If you have a wedding, family reunion, lecture, seminar, etc. this is one of the most beautiful venues in the city of Seattle. We had our wedding reception here. The space requires decoration for an event of this space, but they provide tables, chairs, projection screens, microphones, projectors, AV systems; almost anything you need. For our wedding, they allowed us to customize the layout of the floor plan. They also have a kitchen for catering or your catering company. Dorian and Clara were amazing. They were patient and allowed me to call and email updates any time. My mom was able to receive the contract and payment schedule in a timely manner. They provided great advice for how things had been set up previously when we met about 1 month prior. Also, the cost of the space includes ample set-up and tear-down time. My guests were dazzled by the courtyard outside of the Northwest Horticulture Society hall and the beautiful public gardens. They made my wedding so wonderful, it was great. read more

I came here on a weekday for my friend's wedding. The venue looked really awesome on the outside and there is a nice garden with a fountain. She had the ceremony set up in the outdoor space on the lawn. The blue sky and the green pasture and the back light (from the sun setting during the ceremony) made the pictures rather dramatic. The indoor space looked more like a classroom but with some decorations it looked respectable. I can imagine some scholarly conference could take place in the same space with the wedding party table being the speaker panel. My friend used the atrium space for her first dance and subsequent wedding guest dancing. The space is big enough and the glass windows allowed light to come in. Not too much decoration was done in this room other than setting a table with table cloth for the guest who don't want to dance to grab wedding cakes. There were also some outdoor furniture in the atrium for guests to sit. There were The space is equipped with outlets so that DJs can bring their own equipment to play. The wedding DJ did a great job keeping the guests on the dance floor. Overall a neat space to have a wedding. read more

Located on the farther reaches of the U.W. campus, close to Laurelhurst, the Center for Urban Horticulture is an oasis of peace and a haven for graduate students and amateur and professional gardeners. The Elizabeth Miller Library, with its rather limited hours, is an excellent resource as well. The Washington Native Plants Society has programs here as well. Occasionally, academic departments from the main campus have events here as well. I have volunteered here off and on for the past three years for the Horticulture office, preparing specimens collected at the Washington Park Arboretum for mounting. If you go, don't litter, skateboard, or disturb the tranquility of the natural surroundings! read more

I started looking at wedding venues about two weeks ago after getting engaged. This site was the main venue for the Northlake venue show (where shuttles took you to several venues in the UW and North lake Union region). I love the size of this space and the parking lot for overflow parking. I think the space is huge so it will require a ton of decorating, but it has the nice simple feel you would get with a barn. There is a large glass room with an interesting chandelier in the middle. Since I want a smaller wedding I would only want this smaller room, great for just a ceremony too. I like that you get light and a garden view from the main venue spaces as well. The only downside is that the classroom feel on the other side of the courtyard is a bit off putting, and the sheer size will require a ton of work to mask this area. read more

A nice space off the beaten path. This is a good place to have a big meeting b/c there's lots of parking and the grounds are pretty with lots of plants and flowers. read more

I came here for the PSMS Mushroom Identification clinic that is held here Monday nights during the Spring and Fall mushroom season. I can't say much else about the facility as I got here after dark and just barely in time. If it had been earlier I would have looked around. Monday nights they also have Master Gardeners here to answer questions. As for the PSMS Mushroom ID Clinic - that is 5 stars - the people there are experts and can not only quickly identify your mushroom specimens, but tell you if they are edible and how they rate. read more

I had my wedding here in late July. PRO'S: - Great location in Seattle, easy to get to, not near traffic-causing areas like the stadiums downtown for summer weddings. - Merrill Hall with the greenhouse (Merrill Commons) was designed by the architecture firm I work for (actually by my boss) so I had access to the plans from which I created a 3D computer model for planning (I'm an architect). - Has a nice variety of beautiful outdoor spaces all in one place including flower gardens, tree groves, forest-like groves, and waterfront view of Lake Washington further out. - Lots of outdoor spaces are great for kids. Gives them a place to run around unlike venues that more confined like hotels/restaurants. - LOTS of free parking - I think almost 200 spaces. - Same price regardless of time of year, day of week so go for a prime Saturday in the summer. - Even though it's public, the CUH is in a quiet neighborhood and not very well known like the Arboretum or Sculpture Park so your wedding isn't going to be overrun by the public walking by, staring, being disruptive, etc. - Merrill Commons - the greenhouse in the courtyard, is the perfect rain-back up. It costs an extra $375 to rent but compared to a tent it's much cheaper, way more beautiful, and takes no time to setup. Plus you can still feel like you're outside when you're inside. This greenhouse was the selling point for me for this venue. - If you rent NHS Hall, it comes with tables and chairs that the staff will set up for you. This is a huge plus because renting your own tables & chairs costs a lot and takes more time to setup. - Nice large well-equipped catering kitchen in NHS Hall with service entry. - Nice loading zone right outside kitchen & service entry so staff and guests are separate. - NHS Hall also has projector screens and a projector you can rent if you want a slideshow during your wedding. - Janitorial staff will take out garbage/recycling/compost at the end of the night for you. They even helped us move some furniture around during the wedding. - Great, responsive, helpful staff who answered my questions in a timely manner. Rasa does the bookings then hands off to Stephanie and Ali who handles the setup. I worked mainly with Ali on planning/organizing/coordinating setup & cleanup and she was awesome. - Venue comes w/ 8 box fans you can use at no charge. We brought a couple stand-up oscillating fans for dancing in the greenhouse. - You can be outside/set up any time but to be inside the building you must wait until your rental time. CON'S: - Limited rental time from 2pm-11pm, not a lot of time to get in, setup, have your wedding, and then clean-up. - Must pay for additional time at $300/hr, so we essentially paid over $700 just to be inside the building to setup/cleanup even though they wouldn't be renting out the venue for another event anyway outside of the 2-11pm window. For comparison, that's more than the $600 my friend paid to have his wedding at the Chinese Room in Smith Tower (granted it was on a Sunday in January). The high rental cost is what I dislike most about his venue. - Fills up quickly so you must reserve at least a year ahead for summer wedding. - Same price regardless of time of year, day of week so you can't save money by having your wedding on a weekday in the off season. - Doesn't come with a bridal room/back of house room for changing/getting ready/storing stuff - you must rent it for another $375. - The rooms (NHS Hall and Merrill Commons) don't come with very good A/V equipment so you must bring your own stereo system, lights, etc. which costs more and take longer to set-up & clean up. - NHS Hall where we had our dinner is a pretty uninspiring, bland space with - it's a classroom and it looks like a classroom with paper signs taped to the walls. It would take a lot of time and work to dress up this room to make it inspiring. It's also carpeted instead of wood so you'd have to rent a dance floor if you want to dance here. Probably not worth the $3000 we paid to rent it (almost $4000 for whole thing, for 11 hrs) considering there are much nicer spaces out there for much less. - No candles or open flames allowed. - Poor lighting in greenhouse, must provide your own if you want something nice. We ended up using the lights in the greenhouse at the end of the night and it was ok. - The greenhouse will be very hot during the day in the summer... because it's a greenhouse. We were fortunate that it only got to 75 degrees on our wedding day. I also asked the staff to leave all the doors open to the greenhouse in the morning, and by 7pm when we were in there for dancing, it had cooled down comfortably. - Venue has a 6' ladder but you can't use it due to liabilities. You must bring your own if you want a ladder. read more

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WEDDING VENUE REVIEW: I would have booked my wedding here, but did not realize that the ceremony fee ($750) I believe would put us outside of our budget. Rasa was extremely knowledgeable and answered all of our questions without making us feel rushed. Merrill Commons (the glass structure) is beautiful with the lights and I could definitely imagine dancing up a storm in there! The NHS Hall is very spacious and the kitchen is small but has pretty much everything you could need. You can bring food trucks in the back and are not considered outside caterers. The only reason I wouldn't give this five stars is due to the extra ceremony fee which is rather pricey and considering they only book one wedding per day & therefore would not be able to book another ceremony if someone was using it just as a reception site. That being said, if our budget was a little bigger, we most likely would have booked here! read more

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We had a wonderful experience using the Urban Horticulture Center to host our wedding reception. The venue was a perfect mix of outdoor and indoor beauty that truly spoke to what we love about Seattle. The venue staff were very accommodating and easy to work with, and the day went super-smoothly. We were lucky to have perfect weather that enabled us to take full advantage of all the outdoor space in the back. We even had some lawn games to keep the kids entertained. All in all it was a wonderfully magical and memorable environment for us to experience such a special day. read more