Earth Month at the Morris Earth Month at the Morris Image Morris Arboretum & Gardens has nature-focused tours, talks, and events all April long! Family Activities Image Solar Eclipse Watch Party  Monday, April 8 • 2 pm Enjoy the gardens while experiencing the 2024 Solar Eclipse! We’ll make cereal box viewer for the kids, and other visitors will receive solar eclipse glasses.  Free with general admission .  Learn More Image Raptor Jawns: A Birds of Prey Close Encounter Wednesday, April 10 • 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Join us for this rich educational experience—an incredible encounter with live birds of prey! Members: $35 • Non-members: $40 Learn More Image Storytime Wednesday, April 17 • 10:30 am This month we’re reading  Oddbird  by Derk Desierto, a story about a bird who learns to celebrate themselves.  Free with general admission .  Learn More Image People, Plants & Penn Discussion Series Fostering Resiliency: Helping our Forests and Wildlife Respond to a Rapidly Changing Climate Thursday, April 18 • 12 – 1:30 PM Virtual. Advance registration required. Join Penn Alumni and the Morris Arboretum & Gardens for a free moderated panel about how a warming climate could determine the fate of our ecosystem and its millions of interconnected species. Moderated by Executive Director Bill Cullina, this panel discussion brings together forward-thinking experts from the University of Pennsylvania and beyond to shed light on strategies to foster resiliency among our native trees, birds, and mammals. Learn More & Register Image Private Gardens of Philadelphia Virtual Book Talk Thursday, April 25 • 7 pm Members: $30 • Non-members: $35 Author Nicole Juday will give us a look inside her gorgeous new book, Private Gardens of Philadelphia , highlighting 21 of our area’s rarely seen private gardens. In-Person Book Purchase & Signing Saturday, April 27 • 10 am Fee: $60 (includes a signed copy of the publication and Morris admission) Join us in person for a celebratory launch of the …

Rose Garden Rose Garden Image Rose Garden Image Photo: Rob Cardillo The Rose Garden was created in 1888 and is one of the oldest features of the Morris estate. Originally comprised of fruits, vegetables, flowers, a few roses, and a specimen chestnut tree, Lydia Morris transformed this mixed garden into a Rose Garden in 1924. Once a monoculture of roses, today the Rose Garden contains a mix of roses, perennials, annuals and woody plants with height elements and garden ornaments added to create a look reminiscent of the Victorian era.   … Rose Garden …

Production Arborist of the Year Congratulations to our Chief Arborist Peter Fixler, was awarded Production Arborist of the Year by the Penn-Del Chapter of the ISA at their annual symposium! Image Peter Fixler, Chief Arborist at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, holding his 2023 Production Arborist of the Year award. Chief Arborist Peter Fixler was awarded Production Arborist of the Year by the  Penn-Del Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture! Peter was awarded at Penn-Del ISA's 59 th  Annual Shade Tree Symposium in honor of the his contribution to advancing quality arboriculture through innovation, selflessness, and the promotion of safe work practices. Each year, Peter teaches the Morris's arboriculture   interns how to safely climb trees and trains them in current arboricultural practices—his work comprehensively reduces tree-related risk at the Morris Arboretum and Gardens and beyond. See Peter at work! Check out these videos and photos of Peter high up in the trees at the Morris: White Pine Removal → Northern Red Oak Removal → Image Penn-Del ISA 2023 Award Winners (L to R): Tom Bechtel of Heritage Lawn & Landscape Care - Arbor Day of Service Award; Sandy Feather of Penn State Extension Green Industry Team - John B. Ward Outstanding Person in Arboriculture; Aaron Greenberg of Laurel Hill Cemetery - Penn-Del ISA Award of Merit; Peter Fixler of Morris Arboretum & Gardens - Production Arborist of the Year.   Image Peter Fixler teaching a 2023 Morris intern how to safely climb trees.  Cynthia Schemmer, Digital Marketing Coordinator Courtesy of Penn-Del ISA Blog Image April 5, 2024 … Production Arborist of the …

Legacy Weeping Hemlock Taken Out by Snowstorm The tree will get a second life on the woodland trail to the Wetland. Image The weeping hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis f. pendula ​​​​​​) that was brought down by the February 13, 2024 snow storm. Photo by Vince Marrocco. This past winter at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens was not very “wintery” by most accounts. Yes, there was some cold and a few snowstorms, but it was  relatively  un-winterlike. However, this was a winter of some discontent. In particular, the biggest discontent was the snowstorm of February 13. This quick-moving storm brought with it about 5 inches of wet snow, but it also brought down the venerable old weeping hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis f. pendula ) near the Swan Pond. This was a legacy tree from the Morris era, most likely purchased by John from Parson & Sons Co. nursery in Flushing, New York. It grew at the Swan Pond almost since the Arboretum’s inception, until that fateful day in February. This tree was remarkable not only for its size and prominence but also because of the unique history it represented. ONCE ABUNDANT Eastern hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis ) was once a mainstay of the woodland flora throughout Pennsylvania. These long-lived, majestic conifers thrived across the state and were a significant component of William Penn’s wooded domain. In fact, hemlock trees were such an integral part of the flora throughout Pennsylvania that it was named the official state tree in 1931. Eastern hemlocks thrive in cool moist environments and often grow in dense shade on north facing slopes. They can grow slowly in adverse conditions, or rapidly in the right environment. Historically, this species was abundant in the Wissahickon gorge in cool ravines. The story of our weeping hemlock does not start in Pennsylvania, but along the Lower Hudson River Valley in New York. It was here near the estate of General Joseph Howland that our story begins. Joseph Howland was a well-heeled member of society. His …

Press Release: Morris Arboretum & Gardens Announces 2024 Honorees For Annual Moonlight & Roses Gala April 23, 2024 Philadelphia, PA—Morris Arboretum & Gardens will celebrate its 43rd Moonlight & Roses gala on Friday, June 7, 2024 at 6 pm . The event provides a beautiful forum in which to recognize excellence and leadership in environmental stewardship. This year’s honorees are Joseph Manko , founding partner of Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox LLP, and global media and technology company Comcast NBCUniversal | Environment .  The gala, held in the Morris’s stunning Rose Garden, directly supports the Morris’s work as a renowned public garden and as a center for plant-science research and educational programming for all ages. Chairing the 2024 event is Ruth Chang, vice chair of Whitpain Township’s Environmental Advisory Council. Tickets for the gala are on sale now. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact Kristen Casalenuovo at kcasal@upenn.edu. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit MorrisArboretumGala.org. Meet the 2024 Honorees 2024 Individual Honoree Joseph Manko A pioneer in environmental law, Joe Manko is a founding partner of Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox LLP. Prior to founding the firm in 1989, Joe founded and chaired the Image Joe Manko environmental department at Wolf, Block, Schorr, and Solis-Cohen. From 1973 to 1975, he served as regional counsel for the EPA. He is the past chair of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, former vice chair of the State Water Law Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and past chair of the environmental law committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Joe served on Pennsylvania’s 21st Century Environment Commission and chaired the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) from 2003 to 2012. He co-chaired Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s Sustainability Advisory Board from 2008 to 2015. Joe spent 18 years teaching environmental law courses at the …

The Measured Magic of Molly the Witch The flowering of this peony is one of those sparkling moments in the garden that we look forward to each April. Image As horticulturists, some would say we speak in a foreign tongue…botanical Latin. Sometimes the botanical names are fun to say, as in the case of the dawn-redwood,  Metasequoia glyptostroboides . Once you learn how to pronounce this mouthful of letters, it just sort of rolls off the tongue rather liltingly—meh-tuh-suh-koy-uh glip-toe-stro-boy-deez. Then there are the plants with stupefyingly difficult names to pronounce, like Paeonia mlokosewitschii . Unless you are a native Polish speaker, it is difficult to enunciate the botanical name of the Caucasian peony. Most of us simply refer to this plant as Molly the Witch. As the common name suggests, this peony is native to the Caucasus regions. In her native range, Molly the Witch grows in open woodland meadows and at higher elevations. She is often found on rocky ground fighting it out with grasses, dog roses, and scrubby oaks. Despite the trying conditions in the wild, this plant is right at home in our Philadelphia garden. Here at the Morris we grow this plant in the Rose Garden in full sun, but it can also take part shade.  This peony is slow to grow, and it takes patience and persistence to really appreciate this plant. This beauty grows with methodical, measured persistence. The older the plant gets, the more flowers it produces. Over time the plant will form a large, mounded clump up to two feet tall and equally as wide. The patient gardener will be rewarded, as there is no better yellow-flowered peony than Molly the Witch. In early April this peony awakens and pushes its glaucous grey-green leaves into the sunlight. The sturdy, coarsely pinnate leaves stand at attention all by themselves without the need for the caging required of other herbaceous peonies. By late April, fat buds begin to appear atop the fully expanded leaves and open to reveal exquisite …

What's in Bloom: May What's in Bloom: May Image May at the Morris Image common sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus Widener Woods; Pennock Garden Striking burgundy flowers adorn these large shrubs. Native to the southeastern United States, Calycanthus floridus gets its common name from its flowers’ sweet, fruity fragrance. Image white fringetree Chionanthus virginicus Parking Lot Native to central and eastern United States, these medium-sized trees display showy, fragrant flowers with long, white, ribbon-like petals. In full bloom, the flowers give this tree a fluffy, cloud-like appearance. Image common pawpaw Asimina triloba Sculpture Garden Before producing leaves, this tree blooms with deep maroon flowers that attract its primary pollinators, flies and beetles. Native to the eastern United States, pawpaws are members of the custard-apple family, Annonaceae, which comprises of mostly tropical genera and species. Image American yellow-wood Cladrastis kentukea Log Cabin Long, wisteria-like flower clusters hang delicately off wide-spreading branches. A member of the pea family, Fabaceae, the individual flowers share similarities with those of eastern redbud ( Cercis canadensis ) and honeylocust ( Gleditsia tricanthos ). Image American columbine Aquilegia canadensis Native Azalea Collection; Key Fountain This charismatic native wildflower with its bright red and yellow flowers is a colorful addition to the garden. The long, tubular spurs at the end of each flower hold sweet nectar, attracting hummingbirds, their primary pollinator. Image Florida azalea Rhododendron austrinum Native Azalea Collection Native to the southeastern United States, these shrubs produce clusters of tubular, fragrant orange flowers prior to leafing out in late spring Image Peggy Martin rose Rosa ‘Peggy Martin’ Rose Garden This climbing rose is named after Peggy Martin, a prolific Louisiana gardener, and survived two weeks under 20 feet of saltwater after Hurricane Katrina. In full bloom, Peggy …