This is a don’t-miss-it week for a walk in the East Woods at The Morton Arboretum to enjoy woodland wildflowers at their best! Many other trees and shrubs are in bloom, along with sweeps of daffodils and Virginia bluebells, gardens with bright tulips, and vistas that include redbuds and the first blooms of flowering crabapples.
In the areas around the Visitor Center you can enjoy the lavender-and-dark-purple blooms of saucer magnolia along with beds of colorful tulips and daffodils. A number of kinds of viburnum shrubs have fragrant white flowers, including fragrant viburnum, Manchurian viburnum, Burkwood’s viburnum, Korean spice viburnum, and fragrant snowball viburnum. Flowering quince shrubs have blooms in white, pink, or red. The season of bloom is nearing its end for white-flowering serviceberry trees.
Among the flowers along the ground (in addition to those tulips), hellebores (Christmas- and Lenten-roses) are still in flower with fruits beginning to form, while blue Virginia bluebell flowers have opened. Periwinkle and its cultivars are also blooming in blue. A Ussurian pear tree near Parking Lot 1 is in full bloom, while Ohio buckeye trees have large clusters of yellow-green flowers.
On the East Side
Near Parking Lot 2, look for the white flowers of pearlbush, yellow flowers on Ohio buckeye, lavender blooms on redbud, a patch of yellow Tahiti daffodils, and catkins on ironwood and swamp white oak. Near Parking Lot 3 you can see purple-lavender saucer magnolias and yellow-flowered Elizabeth magnolia. Near Parking Lot 4, white-flowering pears are in full bloom, with crabapples beginning their spring display around Crabapple Lake. Near Parking Lot 5 a number of kinds of magnolia trees are in bloom, in shades that include lavender-purple, yellow, and white. Nearby are sweeps of yellow, orange, and white daffodils, including the Carlton, Delibes, Flower Parade, Las Vegas, Mount Hood, and Tahiti cultivars. Near Parking Lot 6, Ohio buckeyes have large yellow-green flower clusters, while nearby red buckeyes have dark red blooms.
In the East Woods between parking lots 8 and 16, many spring ephemeral wildflowers are in bloom. Look for white Dutchman’s breeches, spring beauty, toothwort, trout lily, rue-anemone, false rue-anemone, bloodroot, and violets. You’ll also see blue violets and woodland phlox as well as Virginia bluebells in abundance. Yellow wildflowers include American trout lily, Celandine-poppy, and bellwort. Small trees and shrubs blooming in the understory of the woods include lavender-flowering redbud and white-flowering wild plum.
At Parking Lot 14 is a splendid display of daffodils including the Jetfire, Pipit, and Quail cultivars, along with blue Siberian squill. Among the blooming trees are green-flowered sugar maple and white-flowered wild plum. Near Parking Lot 16, daffodils in bloom include Barrett Browning and Brackenhurst. Dark maroon flower buds will soon open on pawpaw trees. Look for white-flowering pears near Parking Lot 17.
On the West Side
West of Parking Lot 19, just through the underpass from the East Side and over the river, crabapples are beginning to bloom in white and pink. In the distance, pink and yellow magnolias can be seen flowering along Joy Path. Near Parking Lot 20, yellow and white daffodils are blooming among the trees. Around the Thornhill Education Center (Parking Lot 21), including the Fragrance Garden and Joy Path, a variety of viburnums are blooming with delightful fragrance. There are many other colorful flowers to enjoy including daffodils, Siberian squill, magnolias, winter honeysuckle, periwinkle, and pachysandra.
In Daffodil Glade (parking lots 22 and 23), daffodils are in bloom among the oak trees along with scattered clumps of violets. The Schulenberg Prairie is beginning to green up and the prairie’s bloom season is just getting underway. Look for elongating catkins on the trees in the Birch Collection. Pear trees are in full white bloom in Godshalk Meadow near Parking Lot 33.
Along the Alternate Route (parking lots 26 through 29, look for swaths of naturalized daffodils among the trees in Sargent’s Glade (Parking Lot 26). Skunk-cabbage blooms and leaves can be seen along Willoway Brook west of the Lake Marmo dam. Virginia bluebells are beginning to bloom north of Lake Marmo, as are white-blooming large witch-alders. The redbud trees by the lake are just beginning to come into bloom. Catkins are elongating on ancient ironwood trees.
Make the most of warm weather to get outside at the Arboretum and revel in the color of its collections, gardens, and woodlands. Spring is here in its full beauty!
