This week brings daffodils and wildflowers to The Morton Arboretum, as spring bloom continues to be about 1 to 2 weeks earlier than average. Warming temperatures have brought out many daffodils, especially in Daffodil Glade (Parking Lot 22) and along the West Side Alternate Route (parking lots 26–28). You’ll spot the cheerful yellow of daffodils in many locations at the Arboretum, including the area near the Visitor Center (Parking Lot 1) and near parking lots 2, 5, 14, 16, 20, and 21.
On the East Side
In the central area near the Visitor Center (Parking Lot 1) you can find fragrant honeysuckle with white blooms. There are also more white magnolia trees in flower, along with the lavender-purple flowers of a saucer magnolia. Hellebores (Christmas and Lenten-roses) still have showy yellow and purple flowers in the Ground Cover Garden and elsewhere, although these perennial plants, which have been blooming for weeks, are beginning to set seeds. Low-growing periwinkle in the Ground Cover Garden has blue flowers, and the first trout lilies have opened their bell-like blooms.
Fragrant viburnum continues blooming in white and pink. Various cultivars of flowering quince are starting to bloom in white, pink, or red. White flowers are just beginning to emerge from the buds of serviceberries. A Ussurian pear tree near Parking Lot 1 is in full bloom.
Near Parking Lot 2, look for silvery catkins of blue-leaved willow in full bloom, a patch of yellow daffodils of the Tahiti cultivar, and expanding catkins of ironwood trees. Near Parking Lot 3, star magnolia and northern Japanese magnolias are at the end of their white bloom, while other magnolia species are beginning to have lavender flowers. White flowering pear trees are in full bloom near Parking Lot 4.
Near Parking Lot 5, white and lavender-purple magnolias are in full bloom. Nearby daffodils are in shades of yellow, orange, and white, including the Carlton, Delibes, Flower Parade, Las Vegas, Mount Hood, and Tahiti cultivars. Near Parking Lot 6, flower and leaf buds are opening on Ohio buckeye trees.
In the East Woods between parking lots 8 and 16, spring ephemeral wildflowers are beginning to open. Along the trail and by the roadside, look for white Dutchman’s breeches, white to lavender hepatica, white spring beauty (look very closely to see the faint pink stripes), white toothwort, both white and yellow trout lilies, white rue-anemone, white false rue-anemone, white bloodroot, blue Virginia bluebells, and white and blue violets. The green leaves carpeting the forest floor in areas in the East Woods are those of false mermaid.
At Parking Lot 14, more cultivars of daffodils—Jetfire, Pipit, and Quail—are blooming alongside blue Siberian squill. Near Parking Lot 16, Barrett Browning and Brackenhurst daffodils are in full bloom. White-flowering pear trees are in bloom near Parking Lot 17, and white-flowering star magnolia trees west of Parking Lot 18.
On the West Side
From Parking Lot 19, look west to see white- and pink-flowering magnolias in full bloom near Joy Path. To see them up close, walk down Joy Path from the Thornhill Education Center (Parking Lot 21). Yellow daffodils are in full bloom along the road near Parking Lot 20. The area near the Thornhill Education Center (Parking Lot 21), including the Fragrance Garden and Joy Path, include blooming daffodils, Siberian squill, magnolias, winter honeysuckle, periwinkle, pachysandra, and fragrant viburnum.
In Daffodil Glade (parking lots 22 and 23), look for a grand daffodil display in full bloom, with scattered clumps of blue Siberian squill for contrast. The Schulenberg Prairie (Parking Lot 25) is beginning to green up, and leaves are opening on the trees in the Birch Collection. Pear trees are in full white flower near Parking Lot 33 in Godshalk Meadow.
Along the Alternate Route (parking lots 26 through 28), there is more to see. Near Parking Lot 26, look for a great sweep of yellow daffodils and blue Siberian squill. Blue-flowering Virginia bluebells are starting to bloom north of Lake Marmo (near Parking Lot 27), and catkins are elongating on ancient ironwood trees south of the lake. Along WIlloway Brook at the west end of Lake Marmo (Parking Lot 28), you can see skunk-cabbage blooms and leaves.
As the weather grows warmer, get out into The Morton Arboretum’s collections, gardens, and woodlands. Spring has arrived!
