Explore a unique view of the Morris while walking up the gentle Magnolia Slope. Magnolias, dogwoods, and conifers are spread all across the entrance, greeting visitors. This rarely walked area captures the spring beauty of flowering trees contrasted with the majestic conifers. This tour is off path, and visitors are advised to wear walking or hiking shoes. Meet at the kiosk as you enter the Morris. Park to the left of the garden entrance. Free with general admission 

This tour focuses on evergreen and deciduous shrubs for the home gardener. Shrubs provide showy foliage, vibrant blooms to attract pollinators, and structures to be used as natural screens. Come and discover new and old-time favorite shrubs. Free with general admission. 

Members: $35 • Non-members: $40

Join Gayle E. Maloney Director of Horticulture Vince Marrocco to learn how to skillfully prune shrubs and small trees to achieve a natural shape and abundant flowering. After an in-door lecture, you will have the opportunity to see demonstrations designed to help you master pruning concepts and gain confidence. Formative pruning for young trees and proper pruning techniques for larger, older trees will be covered, as well as naturalistic techniques for creating attractive hedges and methods for reducing the size of overgrown shrubbery.

We will meet in the Welcome Center.  Please bring hand pruners and a small pruning saw to the class. 

Members: $35 • Non-members: $40

Let your imagination run wild as we create whimsical fairy houses together! We will use a combination of found natural materials, clay, and other special bits and bobs in this magical, hands-on experience for all ages. We will start indoors and use tools to construct our bases and create some one-of-a-kind accessories for our fairies. From there, you are free to join us in bringing your creations down to the enchanting Whimsical Woods and continuing to decorate with found natural materials! Each child should be registered as a participant.  

Plants in our region are facing new challenges to their survival, growth, and reproduction due to a variety of threats, including land use change, habitat loss, climate change, and more. Invited speakers will address new research in plant science that can help us understand the challenges at hand in our wetland and coastal regions, including mechanisms of plant resistance and adaptation, and possible solutions.

Speakers will include: 

Morgan Gostel, Director of Plant Science, Morris Arboretum & Gardens
LeeAnn Haaf, Director of Estuary Science, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
Dr. Jay Kelly, Co-Director, Center for Environmental Studies, Raritan Valley Community College
Erin Lacour, Biologist, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
Patrick Megonigal, Associate Director for Research, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Catherine Seavitt, Chair, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Pennsylvania

The program will be held in person at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens; live virtual attendance is also available. Please indicate ‘In-Person’ or ‘Virtual’ attendance at registration. Lunch is provided to all attendees.

In-person fee: $155
Students: $80
In-Person Registration →

Virtual fee: $125
Students: $80
Virtual Registration →

Members: $25 • Non-members: $30 

Come join us for an all-ages program all about fireflies, bats, and other creatures of the night! 

Did you know that fireflies are not flies, but are actually beetles? Or that our planet is home to over 2,200 firefly species, and that over 30 species can be found in PA? Or that “glow worms” are actually firefly larvae, and can be found lighting up the soil all around us at night if we only know where and how to look?   
  
In this program, we will explore the natural history of fireflies, ways of observing and telling them apart, and what we can do to make our gardens more “glowing.” Then, representatives from the Penn Vet Wildlife Futures Program will tell us about the work that they do to help our state’s wild species thrive, and about some of our nighttime neighbors that come out when the sun goes down!  

The program will conclude with a short night walk in the garden where we will look for these nocturnal neighbors, and see some light-flash conversations in person.  

One registration covers one adult and one child. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Additional adults will require additional registration.  

Members: $25 • Non-members: $30 

Most people are familiar with the innumerable benefits of living trees, but even after their death, trees provide vital habitat, shelter, and food for wildlife. And beyond their ecological benefits, stumps, branches, and other parts of felled trees can be beautiful garden elements, too! Join Morris Horticulturist Trevor Schulte to learn how dead and dying trees still teem with life, and how deadwood branches and other parts of felled trees are used at the Morris in our garden designs. After a brief indoor presentation, we will walk through the garden with Trevor. We will visit the Morris Stumpery, view some of the snags that the Morris has left standing for the benefit of wildlife, and look at some of the deadwood elements in various garden displays throughout the grounds.  

Completion of this course fulfills an elective requirement for the Ecological Horticulture Certificate Program. This class has been approved for 1.5 CEUsf or ISA, NJ BTE and LA-CES certifications. 

Members: $30 • Non-members: $35 

From introduced exotics to nursery remnants to rare native species, there is a good diversity of plants within Wissahickon Valley Park. Join Morris Urban Forestry Consultant Andrew Conboy for a walk along Forbidden Drive to point out and discuss interesting trees, shrubs, and wildflowers along the way. He will teach you how to identify these plants, discuss their ecological value, and point out various galls and other wildlife that can be found using these plants.  

We will meet at the start of Forbidden Drive at the end of Northwestern Avenue. Parking is available along Northwestern Ave. Please wear good walking shoes and bring a drink.