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Members Enjoy a Unique Opportunity |
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Sunday June 28, was a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at a side of The Morton Arboretum that most visitors never get to see. It was the second annual Member Open House! Members and their guests enjoyed special tours, mini-classes, engaging artistic demonstrations, entertainment, food and more. Everyone had a chance to talk with the scientists, arborists, educators and horticulturists who make the Arboretum a special place with a special purpose: to make our world greener, healthier, and more beautiful.
In addition, there was free ice cream from Edy’s, lemonade, wine tasting from Bonterra Vineyards, a sampling of the summer’s Theatre-Hikes with costumed actors, and behind-the-scenes tours with one-of-a-kind artifacts on display.
Arboretum guides took guests on tours of the Arboretum herbarium, with 176,000 dried plant specimens, including a wild hybrid buckeye from a seed that George Washington collected in 1784; a fern that Clarence Hemingway collected in 1891 just eight years before his famous child, Ernest, was born; and three willow specimens from 1824 the oldest in our herbarium. Other guides led guests to the state-of-the-art glass greenhouses.
Four special tram tours took visitors on hour-long trips to the China Collection, Schulenberg Prairie, wetlands and the tree breeding nursery. Experts in the Collections Department explained the importance of tree breeding, living collections, and natural areas management work at the Arboretum.
In addition, guests were able to chat with our Community Trees Advocate about how the Arboretum helps homeowners and municipalities on various tree issues. Visitors were also able to speak with experts from our Plant Clinic who were on hand to help diagnose tree or shrub problems and to recommend solutions. Members of our horticulture staff presented several very popular demonstrations on container gardening.
We’d love to hear about your experiences at this year’s Member Open House. Post your comments now!
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June 25th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
The Arboretum is a wonderful place to go to get away from things and renew one’s spirit. However, the special events are TOO well attended, and I believe that crowds destroy the very reason for going.
June 29th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
received from S. Stallings on 6.28.09:
I wanted to thank The Morton Arboretum for a wonderful afternoon during today’s member open house!
First I want to thank the Scientists demonstrating plant knowledge and artistry associated with preserving specimen likeness, the explanation of DNA tracking and intelligently explaining how to Tell a Tree’s Age. I only wish the day was longer to have met with them all.
Special thanks for East side tram tour “How New Trees are Created” as well as the “Greenhouses and Quonset Hut Tour.” Sadly, due to the overflow of parking to the West side, I wasn’t able to participate in any of the Sterling Morton Library events. Next year.
I visit at least eight times a month and this afternoon answered many questions I have puzzled over during my hikes rain, snow and shine.
Thanks to all of the many volunteers and sponsors who helped make this event possible.
June 29th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
submitted by V. Simaytis on 6.28.09:
I just got back from doing the Member Open House tram tours, and I have to thank you for scheduling me. They were a blast!
Here’s a couple of tidbits of information that I picked up that I thought might be worthwhile sharing with others:
First from Kunso Kim …
1. There are 70 different species of elms at the Arboretum
2. There are two different types of magnolias. One type blooms before the leaves come out. The other blooms either with the leaves or after the leaves come out. The second group is, of course, hardier here because they are not as likely to be damaged by a late frost.
3. I’ve always wondered how people eat ginkgo fruit and Kunso explained it today. You remove the outer coating and heat the nut in the microwave until it pops open and then you can eat the nut “meat” inside.
5. Dawn Redwoods are an endangered tree and Kunso says we should all plant one in our yards! Of course he also said we should all plant magnolias, elms and ginkgos, too!
Next, from Kurt Dreisilker…
1. When Ray Schulenberg started the prairie, they started off with 90 species. Today there are more than 500 species and that 500 also includes the plants in the savana.
2. There are 13 species of milkweed in the prairie and one of them, Meade’s milkweed, is a federally endangered species. Last year was the first year that it produced seed pods so the Arboretum is actively propagating them now.
Thanks again for giving me this opportunity. It was so much fun and you can schedule me for tours like those anytime!
June 30th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Friends gave us tickets to the open house that they weren’t able to use. We took our girls and had a blast! Everything ran so smoothly.
My husband and I kept remarking what a beautiful and clean place the Arboretum is, and there’s so much to do!
When I walked out of the ladies’ room with the girls, my husband was over at the Membership Desk signing us up. We can’t wait to come back.
Thanks for everything.
July 1st, 2009 at 10:40 am
Posted on behalf of
Michael Stieber, Ph.D.
Library Administrator & Reference Librarian
Sterling Morton Library
The Member Open House was a great success this year in the library. We found people wanted to talk about the new Darwin exhibit. Rita Hassert created a great display of unusual items from the special collections – tiny books (one from 1555), the 1491 edition of Pliny’s Natural History, a Japanese glass stencil, an 18th-century fold-out book with paintings of the Buddha on Pipal leaves from China, among others.
People enjoyed getting an opportunity to “see behind the scenes.” Arlene Widrevitz put out wonderful materials from the print collection and the circulating book collection – all focused on wood engraving and their prints. Arlene also demonstrated cutting a wood block that she was doing for a print she plans to make from an iris in her garden. She reported that she had a great time interacting with visitors.
Jim Ballowe and a representative from The Arboretum Store were almost non-stop engaged with people about the new Joy Morton biography authored by Jim. They even sold some books that Jim signed. Jim said that he lost his voice by the end of the day!
We had nearly 100 entries for the book raffle; a guest from Chicago won. Nancy Faller (on vacation then) had prepared raffle materials and a great give-away – several different-colored bookmarks with the image from the original bookplate of Joy Morton.
The guitar and flute duo provided music in the May Watts Garden that was extremely well received and members and guest enjoyed the wine sampling.