We had a great fieldtrip today. Above, from left to right, are Big John, me, Marv, Terry, Marianne, Janice and Jenny. This shot was taken at the Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL). Unfortunately Larry and Little Jerry couldn't make it. Larry did come in to work this morning to take care of watering and to facilitate our morning volunteers. The day started out with a bummer when I realized that I had forgotten my camera which is almost unheard of for any sort of visit to a garden. Marianne was kind enough to lend me hers at our first stop and my dad let me borrow his at the arboretum (more about that later). We left promptly at 6:45 am, arriving at Dale's ("Mr. Moss") residence in Waukesha, WI a little before 8 am. He gave us a wonderful tour of his 1 acre property and we stayed for about 1.5 hours. I'll post pictures of his place later in the week as I'll have to get the pictures off of Marianne's camera on Friday. We had visited Dale's garden over four years ago and it was again amazing and impressive. His garden looks like the Pacific Northwest in many areas with lush ferns, huge expanses of moss and lots of vivid colors and textures. He is extremely knowledgeable about plants too. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but aside from a fun visit, we've been picking Dale's brain on how to improve our moss garden and I think Janice has some good ideas (which primarily entail copying Dale). After departing Dale's, we had a 1.5 hour journey thru some horrendous construction to get to the Morton Arboretum. We met with Todd, Director of Horticulture, and he gave us a nice tour. My dad, John, is a volunteer at the arboretum in the research department and joined us for lunch and the tour. My dad did 35+ years with the U.S. Forest Service as a researcher and is a bonified tree hugger as well. It was great to see him and it was nice that he got to meet the crew (some for the first time). Below are Marv and Terry wandering thru the hedge garden.
With our 11:20 am arrival, we decided to eat lunch in their cafeteria (quite nice) and then moved on to a 2 hour tour from
Todd. He took us thru his garden areas of responsibility and talked quite a bit about his staff, equipment and how they operate. He also oversees their new children's ga
rden and some peripheral garden areas as well. Todd pointed out many of his favorite plants as we wandered thru and we met some of his staff. He was very cordial and we appreciate his valuable time and the professional courtesy. He also arranged for a tram ride thru the rest of their 1700 acres which was enjoyable and very informative. I should also mention that it was absolutely perfect in terms of weather with 75 degrees F and a slight breeze. To the left are my dad, Big John and Janice on the tram and to the right are Marianne adn Marv (resting his eyes and meditating...). Below is the gang (minus me) as they started in to the hedge garden (Todd is on the far right).
I usually visit the Morton Arboretum at least twice each year and was fortunate to spend many hours there this past May
to get spring pictures and enjoy the arboretum. It was nice to come back in late summer and I enjoyed seeing the Children's Garden in full swing prior to the start of school in that area. It was extremely busy but nice to see kids outside enjoying the garden. See to the left and right (r
espectively) for Jenny and Janice who couldn't resist going thru the rope bridges in the tree walk area. This garden looked great considering the daily wear and tear and overall, I was very impressed with everything we saw. After our tram ride, we hit the road, returning home at 5 pm. It was a relatively long trip but I think enjoyed by everyone. At the bottom are some additional shots of the arboretum including a very applicable quote. Go visit if you haven't been or haven't been there recently!
We had a great fieldtrip today. Above, from left to right, are Big John, me, Marv, Terry, Marianne, Janice and Jenny. This shot was taken at the Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL). Unfortunately Larry and Little Jerry couldn't make it. Larry did come in to work this morning to take care of watering and to facilitate our morning volunteers. The day started out with a bummer when I realized that I had forgotten my camera which is almost unheard of for any sort of visit to a garden. Marianne was kind enough to lend me hers at our first stop and my dad let me borrow his at the arboretum (more about that later). We left promptly at 6:45 am, arriving at Dale's ("Mr. Moss") residence in Waukesha, WI a little before 8 am. He gave us a wonderful tour of his 1 acre property and we stayed for about 1.5 hours. I'll post pictures of his place later in the week as I'll have to get the pictures off of Marianne's camera on Friday. We had visited Dale's garden over four years ago and it was again amazing and impressive. His garden looks like the Pacific Northwest in many areas with lush ferns, huge expanses of moss and lots of vivid colors and textures. He is extremely knowledgeable about plants too. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but aside from a fun visit, we've been picking Dale's brain on how to improve our moss garden and I think Janice has some good ideas (which primarily entail copying Dale). After departing Dale's, we had a 1.5 hour journey thru some horrendous construction to get to the Morton Arboretum. We met with Todd, Director of Horticulture, and he gave us a nice tour. My dad, John, is a volunteer at the arboretum in the research department and joined us for lunch and the tour. My dad did 35+ years with the U.S. Forest Service as a researcher and is a bonified tree hugger as well. It was great to see him and it was nice that he got to meet the crew (some for the first time). Below are Marv and Terry wandering thru the hedge garden.
With our 11:20 am arrival, we decided to eat lunch in their cafeteria (quite nice) and then moved on to a 2 hour tour from
Todd. He took us thru his garden areas of responsibility and talked quite a bit about his staff, equipment and how they operate. He also oversees their new children's ga
rden and some peripheral garden areas as well. Todd pointed out many of his favorite plants as we wandered thru and we met some of his staff. He was very cordial and we appreciate his valuable time and the professional courtesy. He also arranged for a tram ride thru the rest of their 1700 acres which was enjoyable and very informative. I should also mention that it was absolutely perfect in terms of weather with 75 degrees F and a slight breeze. To the left are my dad, Big John and Janice on the tram and to the right are Marianne adn Marv (resting his eyes and meditating...). Below is the gang (minus me) as they started in to the hedge garden (Todd is on the far right). 
to get spring pictures and enjoy the arboretum. It was nice to come back in late summer and I enjoyed seeing the Children's Garden in full swing prior to the start of school in that area. It was extremely busy but nice to see kids outside enjoying the garden. See to the left and right (r
espectively) for Jenny and Janice who couldn't resist going thru the rope bridges in the tree walk area. This garden looked great considering the daily wear and tear and overall, I was very impressed with everything we saw. After our tram ride, we hit the road, returning home at 5 pm. It was a relatively long trip but I think enjoyed by everyone. At the bottom are some additional shots of the arboretum including a very applicable quote. Go visit if you haven't been or haven't been there recently!
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