Spring blooms are continuing to open at The Morton Arboretum in seasonable weather.
On the East Side, you can find many trees and shrubs in flower in the central areas near Parking Lot 1. Cornelian-cherry and Japanese Cornel dogwoods as well as forsythia are blooming in yellow. Fragrant honeysuckle is just starting to open white blooms, and some magnolias also have white flowers. Fragrant viburnum is blooming with white and pink, while boxwood and spicebush have sweet-smelling green flowers.
Along the ground, hellebores (Christmas and Lenten-roses) have blooms in shades of light purple, yellow, and pink, and periwinkle is opening its purple flowers. Early daffodils are blooming along the entrance road and near the Visitor Center and the Administration and Research Center. Dark blue Siberian squill and paler glory-of-the-snow are in bloom in the Ground Cover Garden and in some lawn areas.
In the Arboretum’s tree collections, Cornelian-cherry and Japanese Cornel dogwoods have bright yellow blooms, as does forsythia. Spicebush is blooming in green. Early magnolias in the Magnolia Collection (Parking Lot 5) and in the China Collection (Parking Lot 17) have white blooms. Willow catkins are blooming in the Midwest Collection (Parking Lot 2) and in the China Collection. The native American elm has begun to set seed while other species of elms are starting to bloom.
Light lavender snow crocus is in full bloom on the hill above Parking Lot 14.
In the woodlands, Virginia bluebell leaves are up about 6 to 8 inches, a sign of glorious blue flowers to come. In the East Woods, very early spring beauty plants are starting to flower, and sharp-lobed hepatica is blooming near Parking Lot 11. Areas with a carpet of green leaves poking up through the leaf litter are blooms of false mermaid. Violets are sprouting.
On the Arboretum’s West Side, early magnolia trees blooming along Joy Path (Parking Lot 21) are visible from Parking Lot 19. Dark blue Siberian squill is flowering along the path. Scattered early yellow daffodils have come into flower near Parking Lot 20 and in Daffodil Glade (Parking Lot 22).
Along the alternate route to Lake Marmo (parking lots 26 through 28), garden crocus are blooming in white, blue, lavender, and yellow, along with scattered early daffodils.
Skunk-cabbage is still in flower along Willoway Brook, west of Lake Marmo and south of the dam (Parking Lot 28). Willow catkins may be seen along the East Branch of the DuPage River (Parking Lot 31) and near the wetland by the Europe Collection (Parking Lot 19).
Spring weather may be cool, but so are our spring-blooming plants! Get out to the Arboretum and watch our collections, gardens, landscapes, and woodlands as they wake up from winter.
