Independence Day Holiday

The Sterling Morton Library will be closed Saturday-Monday, July 2-4, in celebration of Independence Day. We will reopen to the public on Tuesday, July 5th.

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday!

The Sterling Morton Library is typically open Tuesday – Friday from 9-5 and Saturday from 10-4.

Happy Arbor Day!

Arbor Day, this remarkable holiday founded in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton, celebrates the importance and wonder of trees. Trees help make a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world. Remember “every tree counts!” Learn how this event is celebrated at The Morton Arboretum. Happy day! Arbor Day is not like other holidays. Each of those reposes on the past, while Arbor Day proposes for the future. -- J. Sterling Morton

Articles of note in the Sterling Morton Library : October’s offerings

These are some recent articles that can be found within the journal collection of the Sterling Morton Library. Please visit the Library to discover the incredible botanical and horticultural resources that await you! If you are unable to visit the Library and interested in reviewing one of these articles, I would be delighted to help you at rhassert@mortonarb.org.

Alsop, Peter. Invasion of the longhorns. Smithsonian, v. 40, no. 8, p. 42-49.

Daum, Miriam C. Birding 101. Snowy Egret, v, 70, no. 2, p. 6-8.

Hu, Xin-Sheng, Fanliang He and Stephen P. Hubbell. Community differentiation on landscapes: drift, migration and speciation. Oikos, v. 118, no. 10, 1515-1523.

Krischan, Tom. A prairie home : return your lawn to its prairie roots with low-maintenance grasses and perennials. Northern Gardener, v. 137, no. 6, p. 32-35.

Loraine, Joan. Hunting the dog’s tooth : Erythroniums in the garden and in the wild. Hortus, no. 91, p. 26-36.

McGuire, A. David, et al. Sensitivity of the carbon cycle in the Arctic to climate change. Ecological Monographs, v. 79, no. 4, p. 523-555.

Mehtatalo, L. and J. Nyblom. Estimating forest attributes using observations of canopy heights: a model-based approach. Forest Science, v. 55, no. 5, p. 411-422.

Schreiber, Sebastian J. and James O. Lloyd-Smith. Invasion dynamics in spatially heterogeneous environments. The American Naturalist, v. 174, no. 4, p. 490-505.

Celebrate trees at The Morton Arboretum - Arbor Week, April 18-26!

At the Arboretum's upcoming celebration of trees, Arbor Week, the theme of One Tree Makes a Difference highlights the many contributions made by each and every tree. Trees contribute a host of benefits to our world -- from the basics like shelter, shade, oxygen and food -- to the sublime like enjoyment, enrichment and -- even inspiration! During this upcoming week there will be a whole raft of activities and events at the Arboretum exploring and celebrating trees including tree plantings, children’s activities and our renowned plant sale. For more information about these events, please visit: http://www.mortonarb.org

Arbor Day was originally founded in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton, father of the Arboretum’s founder – Joy. This remarkable celebration has grown to become an international holiday for trees. Celebrated in all fifty states and many different countries, this special day fosters tree planting and tree care. Within the collections of the Sterling Morton Library there are a number of resources focusing on the different aspects of tree care including selection, planting and maintenance -- and some resources that focus specifically on Arbor Day and the Morton Family’s contributions including:

The Arbor Day Lady by Mary L. Hellings - SD363.H4

Arbor Day Manual : an aid to preparing programs for Arbor Day exercises - SD363.S62

J. Sterling Morton by James Olson - CT9610.M6 O4 1972
A Man of Salt and Trees : the life of Joy Morton by James Ballowe – CT9610.M6B3

In our children’s collection:
Arbor Day by Diane Burns – J SD363 .B87

J. Sterling Morton : Arbor Day boy by Clyde Moore - J CT9610.M6 M6

In the Suzette Morton Davidson Special Collections:
Arbor Day : its history, observation, spirit and significance with practical selections on tree-planting and conservation, and a nature anthology, 1909.

Arbor Day: its history and observance, 1896.

Arbor Day, 1888.

From articles in selected journals:
Arbor Day in Flower & Garden, April 1990, v. 34, no. 2, p. 8.

Arbor Day : a Morton tradition by Richard Hootman in The Morton Arboretum Quarterly, v. 30, no. 1, p. 1-5.

The Man who started Arbor Day by Hal Borland in The Morton Arboretum Quarterly, v. 8, no. 1, p. 6-8.

Arbor Day : the first 100 years by H. J. Banker in American Forests, v. 78, no. 4, p. 8-11, 60-61.

At this special time of the year, we invite you to visit the Arboretum and the Sterling Morton Library and learn how one tree makes a difference!

Happy Arbor Week!

Winter Beauty

“At no other time of the year are tree forms more conspicuous. Against the whiteness of snow and the intensity of a blue winter sky, the bold patterns of sturdy trunk and intricate branch stand out most vividly, revealing characters of wide diversity. The graceful vase shaped American Elm, the rugged sturdiness of the Oaks, the flat-topped Thorns, the pyramidal spires of Poplars, and the Sugar Maple’s symmetrically rounded domes are but a few of the most familiar forms.”

I’m just in from a walk through the Arboretum’s east side and read this evocative description of winter on the grounds. Are you wondering if you missed this article in a recent issue of Seasons? Actually, this paragraph is part of a larger article written by E. Lowell Kammerer. The reference to the “graceful vase shaped American Elm” could be your first hint of this article's age. The article was actually published in February 1936 in the Bulletin of Popular Information (an early Arboretum publication) and prior to the dramatic loss of American elms in our community. The Sterling Morton Library has a complete set of all publications of The Morton Arboretum including:

• Bulletin of Popular Information
• The Morton Arboretum Quarterly
• Branches
• Events, News and Classes
• Seasons
• Annual Reports
• Other assorted publications
  

A trusty Library volunteer has been diligently indexing our publications to assist us in locating pertinent articles. I encourage you to stop by the Sterling Morton Library and explore our early Arboretum history and writings. Then, take a walk among the trees and revel in the winter beauty!

Lowell’s complete article published in 1936 can be found here.

Coming soon...

Our own Michael Stieber will be giving a lecture through The Morton Arboretum education program this month. Here is a description from the education brochure:

Order from Chaos - The Legacy of Carl Linnaeus
January 22, 2008 7-9 PM
Michael Stieber, Library Administrator and Reference Librarian, The Morton Arboretum

It is difficult to imagine a world in which the names of plants were muddled, messy, and confused. Just imagine the medical consequences of non-standard plant names. Carl Linnaeus (1707 - 1778) established the binomial system of genus and species, and with that changed our way of seeing the world. Michael will outline the original naming system Linnaeus proposed, based upon the number of stamens and pistils, and outline the lasting contribution to science made by this great botanist. Join us for wine and cheese after the presentation as we tour the new Linnaeus exhibit in the Sterling Morton Library.

You can register for this event here.