Unforgettable Spring Blossoms At The Morton Arboretum

Daffodils Highlight The Early Season Beauty

LISLE, IL (April 13, 2006) – It’s time once again for April’s tree and plant “fashion show,” which never seems to disappoint. Beautiful daffodils are gently swaying in the springtime breeze at The Morton Arboretum’s Daffodil Glade, and other daffodils are accenting the landscape with their yellow blooms around the Thornhill Education Center. Winter is long gone, but 'Ice Follies' daffodils are putting on a show in the Visitor Center forecourt.

“Spring is on a roll with this warmer weather,” says Ed Hedborn, botanist and “Color Scout” at The Morton Arboretum. “There’s more to see with each passing day,” he says.

Spring’s “coming out party” at the Arboretum brings us so many eye-popping reds, yellows, purples, greens and oranges. But, not to worry: Mother Earth – the designer with the ultimate good taste – never lets her colors clash.

Bright sun has coaxed forsythia’s showy yellow blooms to come out in the Ground Cover Garden, as well as Siberian squill’s dark blue petals. If you close your eyes and take a whiff, that’s the lovely scent of fragrant viburnum wafting from the small, pale pink or white tubular blossoms.

The stunning, red maples in the Children’s Garden are no less awesome than the European larches, with their ruby reds and lime greens. White-flowered magnolias along the path from Thornhill are in full bloom.

In woodland areas, early wildflowers are peeking out. Spring beauty, with its small, star-like pink blossoms, dots the woodland landscape.  Also making its springtime entrance is sharp-lobed hepatica, from the buttercup family, featuring lavender, blue, pink or white flowers. It can be found along the road near the East Side Main Loop Trail crossing. Bloodroot is in full spring glory, showing us her white flowers with yellow centers.

Alders and golden weeping willow near Godshalk Meadow are also in full bloom.

The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized 1,700-acre outdoor museum with collections of more than 3,700 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world. The Arboretum's beautiful natural landscapes, gardens, research and education programs, and year-round family activities support its mission – the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world. Conveniently located at I-88 and Rte. 53 in Lisle, Illinois, the Arboretum is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (CDT) and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CST). The Children's Garden is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CDT) and 9:30 to 4 p.m. (CST). Visit www.mortonarb.org or call 630/968-0074 to learn more.

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