Celebrate Public Gardens Day at Morton Arboretum
To celebrate National Public Gardens Day on Friday, May 12, the Morton Arboretum in Lisle is offering reduced admission and special events highlighting the importance of public gardens.
Admission on that day will be $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for youth ages 2-17 at the outdoor museum, 4100 Route 53.
Among the special events:
• Ground Cover Garden Walk at 10 a.m. The arboretum's ground cover garden features more than 350 different plants. Visitors can explore those that grow alongside the winding pathways, including seasonal highlights such as the Virginia bluebells of spring.
This tour and others throughout National Public Gardens Day provide an opportunity to learn about the arboretum's grounds from the horticulturists who plant and maintain the landscapes.
• Wheel of Curios - Trees from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Try your hand at some tree-trivia questions for the chance to win a prize.
• Plant Clinic from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Get expert tree and plant advice at the arboretum's plant clinic. Trained staff and volunteers are available to help with tree and plant selection, identifying and coping with pests and diseases, and other concerns.
• Acorn Express Adventures at 11 a.m. Hop aboard the arboretum tram to explore the grounds and make a craft in this family-friendly offering.
• Garden Story Time at 11 a.m. Visit the Children's Garden to hear a nature story told aloud.
• Toad-ally Tadpoles from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Can you guess what tadpoles turn into? Children can check out pictures of toads, learn fun facts and make a craft in this self-guided, hands-on discovery activity.
• Tour of Arbor Court and Meadow Lake at noon. Join a horticulturist-led tour through the arboretum's courtyard featuring lush container gardens. Then head to Meadow Lake, which is encircled by colorful native plants and trees.
• Tour of the Children's Garden at 1 p.m. Learn about the trees and plants that fill the Children's Garden from an arboretum expert. Discover the perennials, shrubs and ornamental grasses that beautify the four-acre space and would be right at home in a backyard garden.
• Vehicle-free Biking from 5:30 p.m. to sunset. Enjoy the arboretum's nine miles of roads free of cars.
Visitors also can celebrate National Public Gardens Day by taking in all the bloom and color throughout the arboretum, especially in the Flowering Trees Collection, the Crabapple Collection and Daffodil Glade. All offerings, with the exception of Acorn Express Adventures, are free with arboretum admission.
National Public Gardens Day is sponsored by the American Public Gardens Association.
For details, visit mortonarb.org.
If you go
What: National Public Gardens Day
When: 7 a.m. to sunset, Friday, May 12
Where: Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle
Cost: $9 adults, $8 seniors, $6 children ages 2-17
Info: mortonarb.org