Explore the Grounds

Four Seasons Garden

All year long, a little gem of a garden provides a visual treat in front of the Thornhill Education Center at The Morton Arboretum.

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All year long, a little gem of a garden provides a visual treat in front of the Thornhill Education Center at The Morton Arboretum.

Planted in 1994, the 2,000-square-foot formal garden contains more than 70 kinds of plants. Gardeners looking for variety and interest in their yards through all four seasons will want to visit often and take notes.

The outer beds are filled with perennials and shrubs that offer an ever-changing show of flowers, foliage, and fruits, plus their dramatic winter forms. Plantings in the small circular bed in the center change with the seasons. During the growing season, the bed holds colorful annuals. In snowy dormancy, it’s dressed up with winter greens and bright branches.

The array of notable plants includes Chinese white-stemmed raspberry (Rubus cockburnianus), globe blue spruce (Picea pungens ‘Globosa’), and Tennessee coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis).

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