Credit: Mary Randlett

Arthur (Art) R. Kruckeberg, University of Washington emeritus professor of botany, died on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, at age 96.

University of Washington Press is proud to have published several books with him over the years, including Geology and Plant Life (2002), The Natural History of Puget Sound Country (1991), as well as the classic Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Times called the book, “[T]he bible on how to grow in our own gardens plants native to our mountains, meadows, seasides, and forests.” Sunset magazine said, “This book contains so much well-organized, well-written material that it should become a standard guidebook for anyone who gardens with Northwest natives.”

In an obituary published on the Kruckeberg Gardens site, Richard Olmstead, professor of botany and curator of the UW Herbarium at the Burke Museum, writes, “Art left a legacy as a scholar, teacher, promoter of gardening with native plants, and conservation activist. . . . [Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest] has turned on generations of gardeners to the joy and conservation value of using our native flora in home gardens. . . . A legion of friends, colleagues, and many who never met him, but were influenced by his work, will mourn his passing.”

University of Washington Press will publish the third edition of Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest with Linda K. Chalker-Scott in Fall 2017.