The Morton Arb

Trees & Gardens

Use our Interactive Collections Map and our Plant Collections Map to identify where plants are located on our grounds.

Explore our Plant Database

Integrated data of The Morton Arboretum's living collections, herbarium, interactive collections map, and photographs. Search database

How Plants are Named
The words in the scientific name of a plant all mean something. Learn how plants get such interesting names. Click here

How To Read a Plant Label at the Arboretum

Gardens

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May T. Watts Reading Garden

May T. Watts Reading Garden at The Morton Arboretum

This intimate little garden, named in honor of May Theilgaard Watts, a long-time Arboretum educator, ecologist, and environmentalist. The May Watts Reading Garden is open 7 days a week. The garden can be entered from the Sterling Morton Library in the Administration & Research Center or on Sundays & Mondays, when the Library is closed, can be entered through the entrance gate on the north side. The garden was designed originally by Mrs. Watts and librarian Mary Moulton, and contains intriguing plants that are new and/or unusual. This quiet garden, tucked away from the main visitor areas, is ideal for reading or browsing through one of the library's many fine books or reading one of your own.

Examples of noteworthy plants in the May T. Watts Reading Garden are May T. Watts hosta (Hosta 'May T. Watts'), dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), and orange meadowbrite™ coneflower (Echinacea 'Art's Pride').