UW Medicinal Herb Garden

Location: Seattle.

Length: More than two acres of gardens; for a longer walk, combine with a walk uphill to the north side of campus and visit the ethnobotanical garden outside the Burke Museum.

Level of difficulty: Flat-to-gentle dirt, gravel, bark paths.

Setting: Located on the south side of the University of Washington campus, north of the botany greenhouses, this fragrant garden of more than 600 species is free and open to the public. Established in 1911 by the UW Pharmacy Department, the labeled plants are a resource for herbalists and botanists, and the garden is believed to be the largest medicinal-herb garden in the Western Hemisphere. Two carved wood monkeys on tall posts act as guardians for the gardens — they're replicas from those at the public gardens in Padua, Italy, established in 1545 as Europe's first botanical garden.

Highlights: The gardens are set up in a series of seven outdoor "rooms." Many of the plants guarded by the monkeys grow in the Northwest, so it's a great place to learn to identify local plants. Native Americans used camas and wapato plants — which still grow in Washington today — but do you know what they look like? Come here to find out.

Facilities: Restrooms inside campus buildings.

Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect. Like people, pets belong outside the garden beds.

Directions: From Interstate 5, take the Northeast 45th Street exit and go east on Northeast 45th Street. Turn right on 15th Avenue Northeast, turn left into campus at Northeast 40th Street, and bear right to follow Stevens Way (www.washington.edu/home/maps). Look for the sign for the gardens on your left. Campus parking is free on Sundays and after noon on Saturdays; there are a few parking spots available just above the gardens (turn left after passing the gardens).

By bus: Many Metro routes go to the campus; some buses run right by the gardens on Stevens Way. Metro: 206-553-3000 or http://transit.metrokc.gov.

For more information: Call 206-543-1126 or 206-543-0436 to find out about garden tours, or visit http://nnlm.gov/pnr/uwmhg.

— Cathy McDonald, Special to The Seattle Times

Renton-based freelancer Cathy McDonald, a former geologist, has written about science and nature travel for 20 years. She's currently a travel guidebook editor at Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door. Contact her: nwwriter@hotmail.com.