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).

Getting a birds-eye view of the fall colors

Watch this clip of Morris Arboretum's Paul Meyer talking about changing fall colors and Out on a Limb this fall in the story by Peter Crimmins of WHYY.

Read more at WHYY.com by clicking here.

Talk Philly's Pat Ciarrocchi visits Morris Arboretum

Watch another great news clip with Talk Philly's Pat Ciarrocchi talking with Bob Gutowski from the Morris Arboretum.  Pat takes us to the new exhibit, Out on a Limb, part of the Tree Adventure where we learn more about trees and our interaction with them

The grand prize winner for this year's Scarecrow Design Contest is …..

The grand prize winner for this year is …..

Who you gonna call?  CROWBUSTERS!

The top five Scarecrows for this year were:

1.       Who you gonna call?  CROWBUSTERS!

2.       Tuppence a bag

3.       Eight-Legged Scarecrow

4.       Strawroom Dancer

5.       Dracula’s Bride

With more than 2500 votes cast, this year’s Scarecrow Design contest was thrilling.  Visitors and designers alike lent to this air of excitement and we at the Arboretum are delighted about the ever growing popularity of the contest!  Thank you designers for all your hard work and your fabulous Scarecrows!  We can’t wait to see what you’ll create next year.  

Last week to see the Scarecrows!

For the last three years, Morris Arboretum has held the Scarecrow Design Contest right before Halloween.   Families create a scarecrow, give it a creative name and enter it into the competition.

 
I love the Scarecrow Design Contest and Scarecrow Walk .  Not only does the contest begin when the leafs start changing colors and the weather cools down (my favorite season), but the Scarecrows are always so creatively and wonderfully built.  Kids, beaming with pride after the family fun activity of building the Scarecrows, drop off their creation with their parents here at the Morris Arboretum and inevitably ask "Do you think we are going to win?"  It is not up to me but there are some great Scarecrows that I think are serious contenders!

This year, we have around thirty scarecrows that are displayed along "Scarecrow Walk" also known as the Oak Allée.  All are welcome to come and stroll down Scarecrow Walk and vote for their favorite Scarecrow.  The winner will be chosen based on the results on the voting.

The scarecrows are only on display until October 17 so come out before then to vote on your favorite. 

You can see all the Scarecrows on our website