Saving the American Chestnut The Morris is on the list to receive some of the first Darling 58 offspring when they become available. The Chestnut Hill neighborhood in which Morris Arboretum & Gardens resides is named after the magnificent American chestnut ( Castanea dentata ) that once forested its knolls and slopes. We have photographs of several wizened old trees that graced our grounds prior to 1915, the year the last of our local trees succumbed to chestnut blight. Image View of American chestnut tree in English Park, spring 1911. In fact, tradition has it that Lydia Morris located our Step Fountain near a huge old chestnut as a memorial to her brother John because it was his favorite tree. Sadly, it died a year later. This virulent parasitic fungus ( Cryphonectria parasitica) was accidentally imported on Asian chestnuts brought into New York City in 1904 and began to spread like wildfire through native stands. The trees had virtually no immunity to the disease, and by 1940, there were practically no trees left through its native range from Maine to Mississippi. American chestnut was a remarkable tree, and the introduction of this disease was, in my opinion, the worst ecological disaster that has befallen our eastern forests since the arrival of European colonists. IMPORTANT STAPLE Chestnut is unusual for several reasons. It is both shade-tolerant and fast-growing, so it could become the dominant tree in both regenerating and old-growth forests. Early summer flowers produce copious quantities of pollen favored by bees and beetles. It produces large crops of highly nutritious nuts every year, unlike oaks, beeches, hickories and pines that might have a large crop only every third or four season. For this reason, it was an important staple for Indigenous peoples as well as myriad mammals and birds. Chestnut wood is very strong and highly decay-resistant, so it was a preferred species for timber framing, siding and fence posts. I worked for a time at the …

Volunteer Spotlight: A Miller's Tale Springfield Mills volunteer tells of lessons learned as the grandson and son of millers. Gino Caporizzo’s large, tanned hand pats a wood beam inside the historic Springfield Mills at Bloomfield Farm. The tour group he’s leading learns very quickly why he touches it so lovingly. “My father and grandfather were millers,” he says proudly, his accent hinting at his heritage in southern Italy. Caporizzo has been a volunteer guide and maintenance worker at Springfield Mills at Morris Arboretum & Gardens for about five years. But his kinship with mills goes back to before World War I with his grandfather, Luigi Caporizzo, who in his mid-20s became an apprentice at one of two grist mills in his hometown of Paternopoli in the province of Avellino, Campania. Image Gino Caporizzo leads a tour inside Springfield Mills. “When the war broke out, he went into the service, and when he came back he became a partner in the grist mill,” said Caporizzo. Powered by water from the nearby river, the mill ground wheat and corn for local residents. Once electricity became available, the mill was moved close to the center of town, but the millstone technology was still used to grind grains and corn as well as acorns for animal feed. Luigi Caporizzo’s typical workday started early in the morning. He labored at the mill until midday, then worked alongside his family on one of two farms they owned. As Gino Caporizzo takes visitors through the 1761 mill situated along the Wissahickon Creek, his thoughts aren’t far from his father and grandfather and their vocation that taught him so much. NEXT GENERATION “My dad, Mario, became an apprentice and a helper for his dad,” said Gino. “As a teenager, he would help his dad at the mill after school.” Caporizzo remembers both men as being close to 6 feet tall and able to lift burlap sacks of grains weighing more than 100 pounds with ease. During World War II, Mario Caporizzo fulfilled his military duties by working as …

Earth Month at the Morris Earth Month at the Morris Image Morris Arboretum & Gardens has nature-focused tours, talks, and events all April long! Family Activities Image Solar Eclipse Watch Party  Monday, April 8 • 2 pm Enjoy the gardens while experiencing the 2024 Solar Eclipse! We’ll make cereal box viewer for the kids, and other visitors will receive solar eclipse glasses.  Free with general admission .  Learn More Image Raptor Jawns: A Birds of Prey Close Encounter Wednesday, April 10 • 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Join us for this rich educational experience—an incredible encounter with live birds of prey! Members: $35 • Non-members: $40 Learn More Image Storytime Wednesday, April 17 • 10:30 am This month we’re reading  Oddbird  by Derk Desierto, a story about a bird who learns to celebrate themselves.  Free with general admission .  Learn More Image People, Plants & Penn Discussion Series Fostering Resiliency: Helping our Forests and Wildlife Respond to a Rapidly Changing Climate Thursday, April 18 • 12 – 1:30 PM Virtual. Advance registration required. Join Penn Alumni and the Morris Arboretum & Gardens for a free moderated panel about how a warming climate could determine the fate of our ecosystem and its millions of interconnected species. Moderated by Executive Director Bill Cullina, this panel discussion brings together forward-thinking experts from the University of Pennsylvania and beyond to shed light on strategies to foster resiliency among our native trees, birds, and mammals. Learn More & Register Image Private Gardens of Philadelphia Virtual Book Talk Thursday, April 25 • 7 pm Members: $30 • Non-members: $35 Author Nicole Juday will give us a look inside her gorgeous new book, Private Gardens of Philadelphia , highlighting 21 of our area’s rarely seen private gardens. In-Person Book Purchase & Signing Saturday, April 27 • 10 am Fee: $60 (includes a signed copy of the publication and Morris admission) Join us in person for a celebratory launch of the …

Production Arborist of the Year Congratulations to our Chief Arborist Peter Fixler, was awarded Production Arborist of the Year by the Penn-Del Chapter of the ISA at their annual symposium! Image Peter Fixler, Chief Arborist at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, holding his 2023 Production Arborist of the Year award. Chief Arborist Peter Fixler was awarded Production Arborist of the Year by the  Penn-Del Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture! Peter was awarded at Penn-Del ISA's 59 th  Annual Shade Tree Symposium in honor of the his contribution to advancing quality arboriculture through innovation, selflessness, and the promotion of safe work practices. Each year, Peter teaches the Morris's arboriculture   interns how to safely climb trees and trains them in current arboricultural practices—his work comprehensively reduces tree-related risk at the Morris Arboretum and Gardens and beyond. See Peter at work! Check out these videos and photos of Peter high up in the trees at the Morris: White Pine Removal → Northern Red Oak Removal → Image Penn-Del ISA 2023 Award Winners (L to R): Tom Bechtel of Heritage Lawn & Landscape Care - Arbor Day of Service Award; Sandy Feather of Penn State Extension Green Industry Team - John B. Ward Outstanding Person in Arboriculture; Aaron Greenberg of Laurel Hill Cemetery - Penn-Del ISA Award of Merit; Peter Fixler of Morris Arboretum & Gardens - Production Arborist of the Year.   Image Peter Fixler teaching a 2023 Morris intern how to safely climb trees.  Cynthia Schemmer, Digital Marketing Coordinator Courtesy of Penn-Del ISA Blog Image April 5, …

The Measured Magic of Molly the Witch The flowering of this peony is one of those sparkling moments in the garden that we look forward to each April. Image As horticulturists, some would say we speak in a foreign tongue…botanical Latin. Sometimes the botanical names are fun to say, as in the case of the dawn-redwood,  Metasequoia glyptostroboides . Once you learn how to pronounce this mouthful of letters, it just sort of rolls off the tongue rather liltingly—meh-tuh-suh-koy-uh glip-toe-stro-boy-deez. Then there are the plants with stupefyingly difficult names to pronounce, like Paeonia mlokosewitschii . Unless you are a native Polish speaker, it is difficult to enunciate the botanical name of the Caucasian peony. Most of us simply refer to this plant as Molly the Witch. As the common name suggests, this peony is native to the Caucasus regions. In her native range, Molly the Witch grows in open woodland meadows and at higher elevations. She is often found on rocky ground fighting it out with grasses, dog roses, and scrubby oaks. Despite the trying conditions in the wild, this plant is right at home in our Philadelphia garden. Here at the Morris we grow this plant in the Rose Garden in full sun, but it can also take part shade.  This peony is slow to grow, and it takes patience and persistence to really appreciate this plant. This beauty grows with methodical, measured persistence. The older the plant gets, the more flowers it produces. Over time the plant will form a large, mounded clump up to two feet tall and equally as wide. The patient gardener will be rewarded, as there is no better yellow-flowered peony than Molly the Witch. In early April this peony awakens and pushes its glaucous grey-green leaves into the sunlight. The sturdy, coarsely pinnate leaves stand at attention all by themselves without the need for the caging required of other herbaceous peonies. By late April, fat buds begin to appear atop the fully expanded leaves and open to reveal exquisite …

What's in Bloom: May What's in Bloom: May Image May at the Morris Image common sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus Widener Woods; Pennock Garden Striking burgundy flowers adorn these large shrubs. Native to the southeastern United States, Calycanthus floridus gets its common name from its flowers’ sweet, fruity fragrance. Image white fringetree Chionanthus virginicus Parking Lot Native to central and eastern United States, these medium-sized trees display showy, fragrant flowers with long, white, ribbon-like petals. In full bloom, the flowers give this tree a fluffy, cloud-like appearance. Image common pawpaw Asimina triloba Sculpture Garden Before producing leaves, this tree blooms with deep maroon flowers that attract its primary pollinators, flies and beetles. Native to the eastern United States, pawpaws are members of the custard-apple family, Annonaceae, which comprises of mostly tropical genera and species. Image American yellow-wood Cladrastis kentukea Log Cabin Long, wisteria-like flower clusters hang delicately off wide-spreading branches. A member of the pea family, Fabaceae, the individual flowers share similarities with those of eastern redbud ( Cercis canadensis ) and honeylocust ( Gleditsia tricanthos ). Image American columbine Aquilegia canadensis Native Azalea Collection; Key Fountain This charismatic native wildflower with its bright red and yellow flowers is a colorful addition to the garden. The long, tubular spurs at the end of each flower hold sweet nectar, attracting hummingbirds, their primary pollinator. Image Florida azalea Rhododendron austrinum Native Azalea Collection Native to the southeastern United States, these shrubs produce clusters of tubular, fragrant orange flowers prior to leafing out in late spring Image Peggy Martin rose Rosa ‘Peggy Martin’ Rose Garden This climbing rose is named after Peggy Martin, a prolific Louisiana gardener, and survived two weeks under 20 feet of saltwater after Hurricane Katrina. In full bloom, Peggy …