Morton Arboretum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, covers 1,700 acres (6.9 Square kilometres) and is made up of gardens of various plant types and collections of trees from specific taxonomical and geographical areas. It includes some native woodland forest preserves and a restored Illinois prairie. The Arboretum has over 4,000 different species of trees, shrubs and other woody plants from around the globe. In all, there are over 185,000 catalogued plants. The Arboretum has 14 miles (23 km) of hiking trails and nine miles (14 km) of roadways.
The Arboretum features a four-acre interactive "Children's Garden" and a one-acre "Maze Garden." Other special landscaped areas include the Fragrance Garden, Ground Cover Garden and Hedge Garden. The Schulenberg Prairie is one of the largest restored prairies in the Chicago suburban area.
The Arboretum offers a year-round education program for children and adults in several areas including Horticulture, Natural History, Botanical Art, Nature Photography and Ornithology.
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[edit] History
The arboretum was established on 14 December 1922 by Joy Morton, owner of the Morton Salt Company. Joy Morton's Thornhill Estate, established in 1910, formed the basis of the Arbortum's original area. Mr. Morton's father Julius Sterling Morton was the founder of Arbor Day.
[edit] Sterling Morton Library
Designed by noted Chicago architect Harry Weese, the Sterling Morton Library [[1]] constructed in 1963, is located on the east side of The Morton Arboretum adjacent to the Administration Building. Built to house the many resources of the Arboretum, this building honors the memory of Sterling Morton, son of founder, Joy Morton.
The Library’s current holdings include over 25,000 volumes of books and magazines, as well as tens of thousands of non-book items including prints, original art, letters, photographs, landscape plans and drawings. The collections focus on plant sciences, especially on trees and shrubs, gardening and landscape design, ecology with a special interest in Midwestern prairie, savanna, woodland, and wetland ecosystems, natural history and its art and illustration, both art history and techniques. Animal subjects include birds, mammals, and insects. Works abound on the history of plant exploration, and biographies of botanists, horticulturists, and botanical artists. The library’s historic and current nursery catalogs will assist homeowners in finding sources for plants of interest.
Join us in the Library from March 25-August 15, 2008 as we explore That Amazing Insect World, presented in conjunction with The Arboretum's exciting new outdoor exhibition, David Rogers' Big Bugs[2]. With artwork and rare books from our rich collections, this exhibit will whet your appetite for learning more about the insect world. Additional resources about insects can be found within the Library.
The Library's Suzette Morton Davidson Special Collections contains books, artwork, historic nursery catalogs, landscape drawings, photographs, letters, maps and institutional documents. Papers, photographs, manuscripts and other documents of May T. Watts, Jens Jensen, Marshall Johnson, O.C. Simonds and Donald Culross Peattie are also part of the Special Collections.
The Sterling Morton Library is a member of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) [3].
[edit] See also
- Chicago Botanic Garden
- List of botanical gardens in the United States
- North American Plant Collections Consortium
[edit] External links
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