Blog

While bewitchingly befitting for ArBOOretum Month, we assure you the deadwood in our gardens is not simply decor: We incorporate wood from felled trees into our gardens not only as a natural way to add interest, but also to attract biodiversity and support the ecosystem.

Morris Arboretum & Gardens' Urban Forestry Consultants, in conversation with the Office of the University Architect and Operations & Maintenance departments, determined it's time to remove six declining honeylocusts (Gleditsia triacanthos) along the oldest pedestrian walk on Penn's campus, and are developing a plan for the reuse of the wood and the planting of new trees in their place.

The lead arborist at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens discusses his interest in tree work, how trees benefit the planet, the tallest tree he has climbed, current research at Morris, and its impact in America and beyond.

Over 80 percent of flowering plants and about a third of our food plants depend on bees for pollination.

For this year's Bees, Butterflies & Blooms: A Pollinator Paradise exhibition, we are reimagining the 2008 sculptural installation by the late artist Gary G. Miller, bringing these giant poppies back to delight a new generation of visitors.

Compton Horticulturist Jen Monico brings back sunset color theme for historic Alice & J. Liddon Pennock Flower Walk.

Our staff shared their favorite hidden gems that visitors might miss on an average visit.

For the last several decades, our majestic cedar of Lebanon trees (Cedrus libani) have struggled to survive our changing weather. In 1887, when John and Lydia started their Compton Estate, Lebanon cedar was considered a well-adapted plant for the Philadelphia region and was often planted as a featured specimen. We have had several Lebanon cedars in our collection, but only two remain from the original garden.