Signature Gardens Signature Gardens Image Rose Garden Image Photo: Rob Cardillo The Rose Garden was created in 1888 and is one of the oldest features of the Morris estate. Originally comprised of fruits, vegetables, flowers, a few roses, and a specimen chestnut tree, Lydia Morris transformed this mixed garden into a Rose Garden in 1924. Once a monoculture of roses, today the Rose Garden contains a mix of roses, perennials, annuals and woody plants with height elements and garden ornaments added to create a look reminiscent of the Victorian era.   English Park Image Photo: Rob Cardillo John Morris created the English  Park around 1912, filling it mainly with plants from China. In keeping with English tradition, the area provides light and open vistas of the surrounding landscape. Today, the English Park is marked by gently rolling lawns bordered by significant collections of maples, witchhazels, dogwoods, cherries, and stewartias. One of the most noticeable features of the English Park which remains today is the Step Fountain. The fountain was commissioned by Lydia Morris in 1916 in honor of her brother John who had died shortly before. In 1988, the Step Fountain underwent a restoration and the sculpture “After B.K.S. Iyengar” was installed. Rock Wall Garden Image The Rock Wall Garden was built in 1924, about the same time the area was changed into a Rose Garden. The six-foot-high wall is made of Wissahickon schist, and is filled with a variety of perennials. It is a sunny, south-facing location, with well-drained, cool cracks, providing conditions similar to those in alpine regions. Plants with short stems, dense, tough or hairy foliage and those with long fibrous roots or taproots grow well in this environment. The wall provides a unique display for colorful cascading plants in early spring. The Alice & J. Liddon Pennock Flower Walk Image A garden of vibrant color and texture, the Alice and J. Liddon Pennock Flower Walk represents the realization of a dream …

Whimsical Woods Whimsical Woods Image Visit our Whimsical Woods, the Morris’s reimagined garden space specifically for children! The fun includes the Willow Wander, a 40’ long, 6’ high tunnel made of living willow, as well as a Fairy Garden that invites visitors to use materials found in the natural world to create their own enchanted fairy houses. Additional events and programs like scavenger hunts and story times will be scheduled throughout the year.  Image Fairy Garden The Fairy Garden invites visitors to use materials found in the natural world to create their own enchanted fairy houses.  Image Willow Wander Willow Wander is a 40’ long, 6’ high tunnel made of living willow that visitors are encouraged to walk-through and explore.  Image Picnicking Nestled underneath a tree between the Fairy Woods and Willow Wander is a table and stools for lunch and snack time.  …

Outside the School Halls and Within the Garden Walls Kevin Hennigan and Jo Schirling, both 2024 graduates of Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School, spent every Tuesday and Thursday of their senior year interning at the Morris—and they did everything, from decimating pests and diseases in the greenhouse to assisting Plant Science by using satellite technology. Image Jo Schirling and Kevin Hennigan, 2024 graduates of Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School who interned at the Morris during their senior year. “Quercus!” “Magnolia!” “Acer and Ilex! Oh, and I learned how to not bump into branches!” These are a few of the responses from our high school interns to the question, “What did you learn during your internship?” High school internships at Morris Arboretum & Gardens are all about getting outside the school halls and within the garden walls. Kevin Hennigan and Jo Schirling, both 2024 graduates of Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School, spent every Tuesday and Thursday of their senior year interning at the Morris. Some days they decimated pests and diseases in the greenhouse. Other days they loaded trucks with debris tossed down from the trees by our arborists. They created a scavenger hunt for the Education department, took phone calls in reception, greeted visitors at the entrance kiosk. Many, many days they assisted Plant Science, using satellite technology to take geolocation “points” in the garden as part of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens Plant Collection and Management Project . The internships are part of our ongoing outreach to public and charter schools in northwest Philadelphia. Along with field trips and summer workforce development programs, Morris is a host site for students in Lankenau’s Agriculture Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) internship program. And what did they learn? In addition to being able to identify trees by their scientific names, Kevin and Jo both acknowledge picking up soft skills like understanding …

Summer of Dinos: Photo Contest Take part in our Summer of Dinos photo contest for a chance to win a family membership to the Morris Arboretum & Gardens! TyrannoMorris Rex wants his photo taken with YOU! This 25-foot dinosaur somehow avoided extinction  and  traveled 66 million years into the future for Summer of Dinos! Capture this amazing moment with yourself, family, and friends in our  photo contest for a chance to win a family membership to the Morris Arboretum & Gardens and a feature on our social media! Image HOW TO ENTER Visit the Morris and take a photo with TyrannoMorris Rex. Post it on your Instagram or Facebook feed, tag @morrisarboretum, and include the hashtag #summerofdinos. Note: Your account must be set to public to enter so we can see your post. THE PRIZES The winner will receive a family membership for one year. The winning photo will be featured on our Instagram and Facebook pages with credit. THE DETAILS Contest runs from July 1 – July 31, 2024 Winners will be announced on Friday, August 2, and notified via direct message, as well as tagged in the winner announce post across Instagram and Facebook. JUDGING Contest entries will be judged by a jury of three highly specialized Morris employees with impeccable photographic taste, otherwise known as the Marketing Department, on the following criteria: Creativity (50%) – Points for originality and fun! Representation of Morris Arboretum & Garden (25%) – Points for showcasing the unique sense of place that can only be found within our gardens. Photo (25%) – Points for aesthetic appeal, including balanced color and lighting. CONTEST RULES All entries must tag and follow @morrisarboretum and include the hashtag #summerofdinos Submissions will not be accepted after the July 31 deadline. All photos must be original work, taken by the entrants. By entering the Summer of Dinos photo contest, entrants agree that photos submitted can be used by the Morris on our social media pages with photographer credit. …

Planned Giving Planned Giving Image Planned gifts enable donors to make significant gifts to the Morris Arboretum & Gardens in ways that complement their financial planning. Such gifts provide for endowments, new or renovated landscapes and gardens, and new programs critical to the Morris’s mission. Planned gifts may help donors reduce or eliminate capital gains or estate taxes, obtain significant income tax deductions and/or provide annual income. Bequests Bequests or gifts made by will are one of the Morris’s most important sources of individual support. Bequests can be made in the form of a specific gift of cash, securities or other property, or a percentage of the remainder of an estate. Retirement assets or life insurance may be included in a bequest. Life Income Gifts These planned gifts may generate immediate tax deductions and may also provide lifelong income to the donor while naming the Morris Arboretum & Gardens as the beneficiary of the gift. From the simplest form of gift annuity to more complex forms of charitable trusts, planned gifts can help provide for individual needs and for the future of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens. The Lydia Morris Legacy Society Once you have informed the Morris Arboretum & Gardens in writing of your intention to name the Morris as a beneficiary of a planned gift, you are invited to become a member of the Lydia Morris Legacy Society. You will be invited to special Morris events held for donors; your planned gift will be acknowledged in the Impact Report. For more information please contact: Mira Zergani, Director of Development at mzergani@upenn.edu …

Arboretum Archives: Connecting Events Across Time and Space Call it a passion, a service, or a fever—our Archive volunteers' often routine, sometimes remarkable work ties the Morris’s past to the present to the future.  Some people claim that those who hang out in archives risk getting “archive fever,” an unexplained syndrome that can occur when an object from the past, say a stash of wartime correspondence, shows up in a box of administration papers. Or maybe the object is a tattered map on a basement shelf. Perhaps it’s a box of old tiles in a cabinet drawer. These are the raw materials from which the history of Morris Arboretum & Gardens is made and a small group of intrepid Archives volunteers has the privilege of handling them each week. Image Graham Brent and Nathan Anderson peruse a contents list for a file drawer Sometimes, raw materials reveal things we never knew before. Archive fever can spike when we instantly recognize the significance of an object and we rush to tell everyone of the new finding. It’s a eureka moment on the third floor of Gates Hall and our excitement can be heard by folks downstairs.  Other times, fever doesn’t take hold until we’ve assigned the object an accession number, cataloged it in PastPerfect (the archives software program), and composed the description. Only then do we begin to understand that the correspondence, the map, the tiles have changed our assumptions of the Morris’s past. Image Judy Casale prepares a document for accession by carefully removing a rusty staple. Image Nathan Anderson prepares a map for storage and preservation. Take object number 2004.1.44GN for instance. I got a serious case of archive fever from this one. The object is a glass plate negative of a sitting room on the second floor of Compton. Lovely room, interesting furnishings, nice drapes. Then my eyes land on the decorative tiles surrounding the fireplace. And thus begins one of my first projects as an Archives volunteer—track down the tiles. My …

Summer of Swings Extended to October 2! If you didn't get a chance to experience the Morris Arboretum from the high up on a swing, you're in luck—by popular demand ,  Summer of Swings   has been extended through October 2!  Image If you didn't get a chance to experience the Morris Arboretum from the high up on a swing, you're in luck—by popular demand ,  Summer of Swings   has been extended through October 2! Admire the changing leaves, learn about  Galilieo's Law of the Pendulum , and play our  HIGH SPY  activity to explore your surroundings and discover something new! Thanks to everyone who entered the  Summer of Swings  Photo Contest . We received an astounding amount of entries, and we're so impressed with the talent and creativity our visitors expressed from both behind and in front of the camera. We are so pleased to announce Elizabeth Encarnacion as the winner! Her photo hits all the marks: originality, a unique view of the Arboretum, and the joy of swings. Congratulations, Elizabeth—we look forward to featuring your photo on our website and seeing you at the Arboretum with your prize membership!  Blog Image September 1, …

Groundbreaking in 2025 for New Garden Railway Train Shed The Garden Railway train shed "tent" to be replaced with a design inspired by historic Chestnut Hill train station. The Garden Railway will have a new look in spring 2025—the nearby train shed “tent” will be replaced with a structure featuring a playful design inspired by the landmark Chestnut Hill West Station newsstand on Germantown Avenue, complete with crooked fascia. The new train shed will provide more space, storage, and better shelter to trainmasters Bruce Morrell and his grandson, Josh Faia, and the staff and volunteers who help keep the trains running. Executive Director Bill Cullina says it will enhance the guest experience, increase accessibility, and celebrate the past while embracing the future. Image The landmark Chestnut Hill West Station newsstand on Germantown Avenue is the inspiration for the new Garden Railway train shed.  “It’s a really cool project because it solves a functional need of replacing the old canvas tent that’s there now,” said Cullina. “It’s also a celebration of the history of trains and Chestnut Hill, and how trains were so formative to the development of Chestnut Hill and the community.” Cullina said while it’s not a scale replica of the newsstand, it will have the same Victorian details—the green, tan, and red paint scheme, and the iconic and charming crooked roofline. There will be an enclosed space outfitted with benchtops, lighting, and shelving to store the extra trains and equipment. An L-shaped 8-foot-deep porch with seating will provide visitors with shelter from the weather and a great spot to watch the goings-on in the garden. Image The current tent shelters the train masters and equipment for the Garden Railway. The new structure comes by way of a $300,000 commitment by longtime Morris members Radclyffe “Mike” Thompson and his wife, Maria Thompson, who has been newly elected to the Advisory Board. Their gift will also establish an endowment to ensure ongoing …