Rest and Be Thankful

Fall is the season that invites us to slow down and find a quiet spot to be reflective. It’s a great time to visit places that renew our souls and give us energy, and what better place than the Arboretum for such retreats?

All along the paths here, and more importantly off the paths, are countless places to sit and be awed by nature. To me, forests are sacred places, so to revel among trees always brings me great joy. That’s why I always visit Out on a Limb first, just being in the treetops gives me such a sense of wonder!

At the Arboretum, I can sit among a grove of trees, next to a rhythmic fountain, overlooking a sweeping meadow, or near a flower garden or art installation. All of these sites offer their own special joy. Among my favorite places, here are some of the best:

The Orange Balustrade, which features a cathedral inspired arbor, giant sequoias, a hillside covered with cypress trees, and a rustic waterfall trickling down the hillside. I sit here in the quiet and take in a peaceful view of meadows, hills, trees and shrubs of every size and dimension. Whether I spend ten minutes or a day here, I always leave renewed. It’s magnificent.  

The Katsura Tree. Down the hillside from the Orange Balustrade is a tree so spectacular that the Arboretum staff selected it as the most noteworthy tree in their collection. I sit on the shaded bench here and just marvel at what nature designed.

Mercury Loggia. Across the trail from the statue and fountain in this more secluded spot, is a bench that wraps clear around a tree. With beautiful views from each seat, I can meditate and find solace in any direction!

Along the Wissahickon, near the Inside Out rock sculpture, is a bench engraved Rest and Be Thankful. I invite you to do just that. Find a spot that speaks to your soul, then just sit and be still. Let all your senses take in everything around you, and find peace. Come visit, and find your own special place of renewal.  

Article contributed by Barry Becker, Guest Garden Blogger for Morris Arboretum.

Weekend Picks: June in Bloom

This weekend, it's all about the June blooms! The gardens are looking lush and full of color, especially our Rose Garden. The Rose Garden, created in 1888, is one of the oldest features of the estate and was originally a flower garden with a marble fountain as a central feature, with four quadrants containing boxed-edged walks in between. The addition of the summer house and Italianate balustrades 20 years later made this a truly special garden feature.

Summer house seen in the far corner of the rose garden. Photo: Paul W. Meyer

Rose Garden with Pansies, Urn and Pavilion circa 1924. Photo: Gleason, Herbert W. / Morris Arboretum Archives

Giant allium (seen here, purple flowers) add whimsy to the landscape. Photo: Paul W. Meyer

Photo: Stephanie McNabb

Photo: Stephanie McNabb

Magnificent Magnolias

Morris Arboretum has 166 magnolia plants representing 79 different kinds of magnolias planted in the public garden (35 additional plants which include 7 additional kinds of magnolias are on the Bloomfield Farm side).

Interested in adding magnolias to your garden? The start of April is a good time to select and plant magnolias. A favorite variety is a butter-yellow flowering variety called Magnolia Elizabeth. This relatively new hybrid does best in full sun but tolerates light shade. It grows fast and will eventually become a big shade tree. Other brighter yellow forms will soon be coming on the market but the paler forms combine better with the other pink and lavender magnolias.

Magnolia Elizabeth was bred to bloom later than most magnolias and therefore is more likely to miss a late frost which sometimes kills the flowers.

Magnolias are available from better garden centers and from specialty mail order nurseries.

Photo: Paul Meyer

Photo: Judy Miller

Photo: Judy Miller

5 Heralds of Spring

Happy First Day of Spring!
Signs of the season are popping up everywhere around the Arboretum. Here are a few of our favorite surefire signs of spring. How many have you spotted?

1. Crocus tommasinianus (crocus) and Galanthus (snow drops)

Photo: Paul Meyer

2. Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite)

Photo: Paul Meyer

 3. Robins

Photo: Susan Marshall

4. Hellebores

Photo: Paul Meyer

5.  Willows

Photo: Paul Meyer

An Unwanted Garden Invader

Phytolacca americana

Over the past couple months you may have noticed a large, shrubby plant with reddish stems and beautiful purple-black berries. What you are seeing is Common Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana. Although I often find it attractive, pokeweed is generally considered an unwanted garden invader.

Pokeweed is a native herbaceous perennial. It can grow one to three meters tall and resembles a small tree. The large, thick stems are smooth and upright, while the leaves are alternate, egg-shaped and pale green. Pokeweed is supported by a large fleshy taproot that persists through the winter after the succulent stems have died back.  Pokeweed flowers are small and white and give way to conspicuous green berries that ripen to a deep purple-black color. Even though the fruit may look tempting, don’t eat it! All parts of the pokeweed plant are poisonous, including the berries.

In natural areas, pokeweed is an important wildlife plant. Berry-eating birds, such as Northern Mockingbirds, American Robins and Cedar Waxwings, load up on pokeweed berries. Many mammals including gray fox, raccoons, and white-footed mice enjoy the fall fruit as well. Both birds and mammals are directly responsible for the spread of pokeweed seeds. Despite pokeweed’s wildlife benefits, it is generally considered a weed in the cultivated landscape. Pokeweed grows very quickly and will shade out desirable bedding plants if it is allowed to grow. In many cases, pokeweed is not an aesthetically pleasing addition to a garden bed.

Pokeweed is fairly easy to control once you have identified it. The plant can be destroyed simply by digging up the taproot with a spade or soil knife. If possible, try to remove plants before they form fruit. Otherwise, the animals in your area will help spread this weed throughout your yard. Although it is probably too late to stop the spread of seeds this year, keep an eye out for new plants in the spring. In the meantime, happy weeding!

Photos by Emma Erler

Deep in the Weeds, Photography by Rob Cardillo

If you haven't stopped by the Visitor Center in a while, there is a striking new addition to the Upper Gallery you won't want to miss. Deep in the Weeds is a colorful, vibrant exhibit from Philadelphia photographer, Rob Cardillo.

Like people, plants are prone to mingling. Reaching for the sun, embracing tendrils, crossing stems, they're woven into tapestries of shifting textures and colors. In roadside weed patches, native plant communities and even well-tended garden beds, Rob Cardillo has framed nuanced gestures between twig and leaf, petal and pod, creating layered images with a photosynthetic pulse. Through his lens, we see abstract beauty in the interplay of shapes, color and light, yet the images remain fully grounded and invite us to commune with nature's silent social network.

Rob Cardillo has professionally photographed plants, gardens and the people that tend them for over twenty years.  His work appears regularly in Horticulture, Country Gardens, Organic Gardening, The New York Times and many other magazines, books and advertisements. To see Rob Cardillo’s work visit www.robcardillo.com. 

Deep in the Weeds, photography by Rob Cardillo
On display beginning February 3 -  Opening Reception March 17, 1:00 - 3:00pm
Located in the Upper Gallery at Widener Visitor Center
Free with admission.

Wonderful Witchhazels!

It's about this time of year when most of us have had quite enough of bleak winter weather and are longing for the vibrancy of spring. It seems nature has a way of knowing this and provides a mid-winter reprieve: colorful, sweetly-scented witchhazels!

Join us Sunday, February 17 from 1:00 - 3:00pm for our annual Witchhazel is Your Favorite family event, a day of outdoor fun and garden exploration! Follow the prepared scavenger hunt map to discover the many varieties of witchhazels growing at the Morris Arboretum. Ranging in color from yellow and orange to pink and red, witchhazels are some of the first harbingers of spring, and the Arboretum’s witchhazel collection is unparalleled in the area. The scavenger hunt invites visitors to compare the different varieties’ beautiful flowers and take in their heady scent. After the hunt, visitors can stop back at the Visitor Center to make a fun craft. This event is free with regular admission and registration is not required.

Download the scavenger hunt map (also available at the Visitor Center): http://bit.ly/14UBeTs

Don't Forget: Kids under 17 visit Free in February!

---

Can't get enough of witchhazels? Register for an exclusive, inside look at the collection with Morris Arboretum Director of Horticulture, Anthony Aiello.

An Inside Look at the Witchhazel Collection 
March 2, 1:00 - 3:00pm Register Today

---

Jump-Start Your Spring Planting


"And so ye faithful, there is no shadow to see

An early Spring for you and me." -Punxsutawney Phil

What better way to jump-start your garden plans than by attending one of our many Spring course offerings. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or an eager novice, there's something for everyone! Below are a few course highlights.  Click here to see our full offering of classes.

Planting Design for the Home Landscape  
with John Shandra, Registered Landscape Architect
Five Wednesdays: March 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17 
• 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Register Now

Topics include: site analysis, developing functional diagrams, and considerations of color, form, and texture in the garden.

---

American Idols: Native Plants to Love
with Catherine Renzi, Owner, Yellow Springs Farm Native Plant Nursery
Saturday, March 16 
• 10:00a.m. - 12:00 noon 
Register Now

Learn about great native plants for your garden. They require less maintenance, do not need watering (except during establishment), chemical pesticides and fertilizers, or frequent cutting back.

---

Three Seasons of Outrageous Color from Perennials 

with Kerry Ann Mendez, Garden Designer and Owner of Perennially Yours

Friday, March 22 
• 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. 
Register Now

Discover spectacular perennials for sun and shade that will brighten your landscape from spring through fall.

---

Great Hardy Native Ferns

with Gregg Tepper, Director of Horticulture, Mt. Cuba Center
Wednesday, March 27
 • 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Register Now

Gregg will discuss native fern identification, growth habits, as well as culture, and point out the many redeeming qualities that make ferns a pleasure to grow and show in the garden.

---

Rhododendrons for Your Landscape
with Karel Bernady, American Rhododendron Society 
Saturday, May 18 
• 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Register Now

In this class you will learn what a rhododendron is and how to choose plants that will do well in our area and how to care for them once they are planted.

Crafting Holiday Cheer

by Stephen Pyne, Martha J. Wallace Plant Propagation Intern

It is a very special time of year… that time between Thanksgiving and the winter holidays… that time when Morris Arboretum’s horticultural staff gets together and makes Holiday Wreaths!

The Arboretum gives hand-decorated wreaths and swags as special gifts and it is quite a process to put them together.  We gather material from all over the Arboretum, trim, and prepare it for mounting on the wreath. Anyone who has worked around a holly can imagine just how prickly it is to wrap individual leaves onto a wooden pick. Our natural ornaments range from pine to Platycarya cones, magnolia leaves to boxwood branches.  Once we have enough material assembled, we start on the wreaths.  It is not a quick process, nor is it without some pain, but it is very rewarding.  Every year that I have done this project, I am amazed at the beauty of the finished wreaths and the creativity that goes into making them.


Morris Arboretum also has a variety of Continuing Education classes for holiday decorating.
Register for our upcoming Holiday Table-top Tree Workshop on December 13.

Up On the Roof

Autumn is the loveliest season on the intensive green roof, in the aerial gardener's opinion. The grasses have matured, displaying seed heads that dance in the slightest breeze, held high above tawny foliage. Rhus aromatica 'Gro-Low' glows crimson and copper, igniting the roof with fiery splashes. Keen eyed observers may spot standard dwarf iris cultivars blooming, such as citrine 'Prince Pele'. Spiky yuccas sport yellow and green striped foliage, striking a pose even after their September blooms have faded.

Bloomfield Farm Day presents a rare opportunity for the public to view the green roof. Free with admission, the roof will be the backdrop to this fun-filled day celebrating agricultural history, including demonstrations, animals, and live music. The Horticulture Center and historic Springfield Mills will also be open for tours. Find out more on our website.

Article by Louise Clarke, aerial gardener.
Photos by Louise Clarke (top) and Rebekah Armstrong (bottom).

Fall Color Favorites at Morris Arboretum

Autumn is one of the most popular times to visit the Morris Arboretum and visitors enjoy the vibrant display of color throughout the garden. Mid-October is a great time to begin your fall color wanderings through the gardens, returning whenever you can into November.

Be sure to explore some of our visitor and staff favorites:

• From Widener Visitor Center towards Gates Hall, between the small parking lot and the Orange Balustrade you will find Acer palmatum ‘Heptalobum’, one of the most outstanding Japanese maples for red fall color.  Continuing from there toward Gates Hall, you will see the incredible golden foliage of Princeton Gold Chinese witchhazel (Hamamelis mollis ‘Princeton Gold’).

• At the bottom of the Holly Slope, tucked behind the signature katsura-tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum), are several broad-leaved evergreens.  These are Camellia oleifera (tea-oil camellia), with its beautiful white flowers, and Camellia sinensis, the plant from which tea is made, with its small white flowers. 

• Around the corner from the Holly Slope is one of the most interesting plants for fall color, used as a hedge surrounding the Long Fountain, Lindera salicifolia (one of the Asian spicebushes).  This plant colors very late in the fall turning a variety of reds, yellows, and oranges, before the leaves fade to russet and persist through the winter.  

• Downstream from the Swan Pond, along the East Brook are several plants of a native shrub, southern blackhaw viburnum (Viburnum rufidulum) with burgundy-colored leaves and bright blue fruits that are attractive to birds. Behind these stands the majestic Engler beech (Fagus engleriana) with its russet-red fall color and leaves that also persist into winter.

• Surrounding the Engler beech are a number of small trees, including Stewartia pseduocamellia (Japanese stewartia) with beautiful bark, white flowers in June, and rich red-orange fall color; nearby is Parrotia persica (Persian parrotia) a medium-sized tree also with beautiful bark and leaves that start out with deep purple color before turning a mix of yellows, oranges, and reds. 

• Finally, along the path near the Mercury Loggia is a concentration of witchhazels, including Sandra vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis ‘Sandra’), noteworthy for its red fall foliage.

These are just a few of the autumn gems on display at the Arboretum, with many more awaiting your discovery. Take the time to explore the Morris Arboretum this fall – you will probably see some old friends and no doubt discover some new favorites!

Acer palmatum 'Heptalobum'

Camellia sinensis

Fagus engleriana

Hamamelis mollis 'Princeton Gold'

Hamamelis vernalis 'Sandra'

Lampyridae Live at Morris Arboretum

Bob Gutowski, Director of Public Programs
Predaceous, bioluminescent lavrvae lurk beneath the yellow-flowered dogwood, magnificent magnolias and narcissus multitudes on the first day of Spring.   Lamprydiae thrive at the Morris Arboretum.  You have seen them as adults, nocturnal summer fliers - the fireflies.  

  

I found this creature under a large hemlock (Tsuga canadense) in the collection.  It measured nearly one inch, had six legs and eleven segments.  I sent pictures to my "go to" source for insect ID http://www.bugguide.net/. A quick reponse told me it is an unidentified firefly (Lampridae) larvae.
About three dozen firefly species occur in Pennsylvania, with at least a few here at the Morris Arboretum. Perhaps this is the larvae of the state insect of Pennsylvania, Photuris pennsylvanica. 


I found lots of good Firefly information on Wikipedia:

... Fireflies hibernate over winter during the larval stage, some species for several years. Some do this by burrowing underground, while others find places on or under the bark of trees. They emerge in the spring. After several weeks of feeding, they pupate for 1 to 2.5 weeks and emerge as adults. The larvae of most species are specialized predators and feed on other larvae, terrestrial snails, and slugs. One such species is Alecton discoidalis which is found in Cuba. Some are so specialized that they have grooved mandibles that deliver digestive fluids directly to their prey. Adult diet varies. Some are predatory, while others feed on plant pollen or nectar.

... Female Photuris fireflies are known for mimicking the mating flashes of other "lightning bugs" for the sole purpose of predation. Target males are attracted to what appears to be a suitable mate, and are then eaten. For this reason the Photuris species are sometimes referred to as "femme fatale fireflies."