It’s A Bloomin’ Nice Day At The Morton Arboretum

Harbingers Of Spring Starting To Show

LISLE, IL (March 6, 2009) – A few of the first signs of spring are beginning to peek out at The Morton Arboretum.

Just today, visitors to the Arboretum’s May Watts Reading Garden at the Sterling Morton Library eyed the beautiful yellow flower of winter aconite. Nearby, delicate white snowdrops made their first appearance.

“This is the most exciting time of year, after a long winter, to see these first signs of life,” says Arboretum Assistant Director of Collections and curator, Kunso Kim.

In the Children’s Garden, the fuzzy “flowers” of pussy willow are welcoming visitors, while the small sedum leaves have begun to appear.

Already, fragrant, lovely witch-hazels are in full bloom. These include the lovely yellow flowers of the vernal witch-hazel, and the red blooms of a red variety of vernal witch-hazels. “Sometime, I can catch a hint of their fragrance from a distance,” Kim says.

Under sunny skies with temperatures vaulting into the 60s, one can see four-inch-long leaves of daffodils rising above the mulched beds near the administration building’s entrance walkway.

Poised to join the springtime scene any day now are the tiny “catkins” – pollinating flowers of birch, hazelnut, alder and forsythia.

Plants respond to cues or triggers, such as longer daylight and warmer temperatures, when sending out new growth for spring.

During this spring, the Arboretum plans a major expansion of the Witch-Hazel Dells collection, located on the Arboretum’s West Side. Dozens of exciting, new witch-hazel plants will be planted in that area–many with exceptionally-long petals–that are in full bloom in Quonset huts. These cultivars are bright yellow, golden yellow, orangy yellow, and red. Those among the Hamamelis x intermedia varieties feature names such as ‘Angelly,’ ‘Livia,’ ‘Orange Peel,’ ‘Aurora,’ ‘Barnstedt Gold,’ ‘Palida,’ and ‘Kohankie Red.’

Unless otherwise specified, all Arboretum events and destinations including the Children’s Garden are free with Arboretum admission. The 2009 rates are:

$11/adult, ($7 on Wednesday), ages 18-64
$10/senior, ($6 on Wednesday), ages 65 and over
$8/child ($5 on Wednesday), ages 2-17
Under age 2 is free
Parking is free

The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized 1,700-acre outdoor museum with collections of 4,117 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. Central Time or sunset, whichever is earlier. The Children's Garden is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., March through October, and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., November through February. Visit www.mortonarb.org, click About, and then Press Room, or call to learn more.

Media Contact: Gina Tedesco, 630-725-2103, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it