Penn Glee Club

This past Saturday, we lucked out and had a temporary break in the freezing cold temperatures, just in time for a fun visit from the University of Pennsylvania’s Glee Club!  

25 members of the Glee Club, led by director Erik Nordgren, spread holiday cheer throughout the garden with their festive singing.  They started out with a 30-minute concert on the steps of the Pennock Garden (complete with hot chocolate and cider) and then went on to sing around other parts of the Arboretum, including the Summer Palace and Out on a Limb.  It was a really fun time for everyone who got to hear them, and they covered a great range of songs, including all of the classic Christmas tunes and even a Chanukah song, sung entirely in Hebrew!  

There was a great turnout—over 100 people—and the concert provided a perfect opportunity for folks to also check out our popular Holiday Garden Railway exhibit, open through January 2^nd.

The Arboretum was happy to host the Penn Glee Club – they are a very talented group of young men and you could tell that they were enjoying the experience as much as our visitors enjoyed their singing.  In between their sets, the guys could be found exploring the Summer Palace and bouncing up and down on the Squirrel Scramble on Out on a Limb.  All in all, it was a great winter afternoon and we look forward to the Penn Glee Club concert becoming an annual holiday tradition here at the Arboretum.

Come vist the Fernery this winter!

So, its cold outside!  And if you are like me, you don't want to sit inside all winter just because it is cold.  Come out to visit us and take a walk - it is very peaceful here in the winter - and not cold in all parts of the garden.  The fernery here at Morris Arboretum provides a nice place to stop and warm up between Out on a Limb and the Holiday Garden Railway.  I think that the fernery is a really neat little space to see some different plants, look for the dinosaur, watch the fish and warm up a bit.

The Dorrance H. Hamilton Fernery is the only remaining freestanding Victorian fernery in North America.  The Fernery documents a time when Victorians were consumed with ferns and glasshouses.  It was designed by the original owner and namesake of the Arboretum, John Morris.

Holiday Garden Railway

Check out this great video of kids enjoying the Holiday Garden Railway from Pete Mazzaccaro of chestnutlocal.com.  He recently took his three-year-old son to see the Garden Railway exhibit here at Morris Arboretum who, as the video shows, thoroughly enjoyed the decorated trains running through a quarter mile of track and holiday themed buildings.  Check out his article at this link

I love the fact that children and adults alike get a huge kick out of watching the trains (and geese swans) scoot along the track and the way this exhibit not only entertains but also connects multiple generations.




Here are a few more pictures of some of the miniature buildings that are all dressed up for the holidays.  The Holiday Garden Railway will be open through January 2nd (closed Dec 24, 25 and Jan 1).