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 . … Planned …

Swan Pond Swan Pond Image Image Designed and installed in 1905 by John Morris, the Swan Pond is an artificial lake that was created by damming the East Brook, which naturally flows through the Morris. The idea for the Swan Pond likely came from the popular 18th century landscape design style of the English romantic landscape which often included a classical temple reflected at water’s edge. Sculpted of white marble, it was modeled after the plans of Vitruvious, an Augustan student of architecture. Records from that time period indicate that the Morrises purchased a pair of swans in 1923 for $82.50. The Swan Pond is the year-round home of the Morris’s beloved swan sisters, Flora and Fauna. … Swan Pond …

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 …

Winter Blooms at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens Vince Marrocco, the Gayle E. Maloney Director of Horticulture at the Morris Arboretum & Garden, spoke with Penn Today about vibrant early blooms that defy the cold. Image Winter at Morris Arboretum & Gardens is a unique experience of vibrant early blooms that defy the cold. Despite the chilly weather, plants like wintersweet, witchhazel, and snowdrops bring a splash of color to the landscape. These plants have unique adaptations that allow them to thrive in winter, such as waxy petals that prevent freezing and colors that attract early pollinators. Learn more about these vibrant plants and their fascinating adaptations in the full article on Penn Today  in which Vince Marrocco, the Gayle E. Maloney Director of Horticulture at the Morris Arboretum & Garden, goes into detail about these early blooms. Experience Early Blooms at the Morris Image Witchhazel Tour Saturday, February 8 • 11 am Saturday, February 22 • 11 am Free with general admission Take a tour of one of the largest collections of witchhazels in the country, where an experienced guide will show you the many varieties of these delightful winter beauties that add surprising bursts of color and fragrance to the winter landscape.  Learn More Image Garden Highlights January – March Weekends: 1:00 pm March – December Weekdays: 10:30 am • Weekends: 1:00 pm Free with general admission Our knowledgeable guides will design a tour around the interests of the attendees. Every tour is different so come back as many times as you’d like. Learn More Image Signs of Spring Saturday, March 22 • 10 am Free with general admission Ready to explore the arrival of spring’s beauty? Signs of spring pop up with tree buds, spring ephemerals, early cherries, and dogwoods. This tour uncovers the delight of a new season. Learn More Image Walking with the Seasons Five Mondays, February 3, 17; March 3, 17, 31  • 11 am – 12:30 pm   Members: $25 • Non-members: $30 Join us for a curated set of …

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, 2022 … Summer of Swings Extended to October …

Natural Areas Natural Areas Image Image Today, the Morris's natural areas in the lower meadows look almost as they did when the property was the Morrises’ estate. In the early 1900s, John Morris drained the area and installed a tile field for grazing cattle. Over the years, sections of the tile field broke down, making the area marshy from underground springs and groundwater. The combination of water and soil types made the location perfect for the development of a wetland. After receiving funds from federal and state agencies, local foundations and generous individuals, restoration of the pre-existing wetland took place in 2002. The new construction included both shallow areas for vegetation as well as several deep holes to accommodate the overwintering of fish and amphibians. To encourage birds, waterfowl and mammals to inhabit the area, bluebird, kestrel, wood duck and bat boxes were installed. The Morris’s wetland is now a thriving example of an ecosystem that supports an abundance of native plant life, as well as year-round and migratory bird populations. You can contact Ryan Drake, McCausland Natural Areas Manager at rdrake@upenn.edu.     Take a self-guided tour of the Wetland. The wetland and its floodplain encompass about 35 acres of the Morris. Find native plants, keep an eye out for belted kingfishers and blue herons, and learn about the history of the wetland dating back to 1717.  Take the Tour … Natural …