Morton Arboretum Breaks Ground On New Grand Garden

LISLE, IL — The Morton Arboretum expects to begin work this month on its Grand Garden, a 2-acre garden and gathering space that it plans to open in September 2022 during its centennial celebration.

The Grand Garden will be a re-imagination of the Arboretum’s Hedge Garden, which was created in 1934 and featured a variety of shrubs arranged as formal hedges – popular in home landscapes at that time, according to a news release from Morton Arboretum. It is designed to honor the earlier garden in a transformed setting.

The Arboretum marked the beginning of the project with a ground-breaking ceremony on June 30 that was attended by donors and their families, along with members of the Arboretum's Board of Trustees and Board of Advisors, said Tari Marshall, the Arboretum's head of public relations and social media.

"The Grand Garden will become a new centerpiece of the Arboretum guest experience – it will be a must-see destination," President and CEO Gerard T. Donnelly, Ph.D., said in a statement. "It will appeal to the public's appetite for beauty and experience, with colorful plantings, delightful water features and spaces designed for celebration and joy in a gorgeous outdoor landscape garden."

The garden will stretch 255 yards and be made up of three main spaces – the Centennial Plaza, the Celebration Garden, and the Joy of Plants Garden.

Centennial Plaza will welcome guests to the center of the long Garden, Marshall said. It will be a gathering place with a seat wall and a gateway to the events lawn.

"The circular, paved, accessible space will be surrounded by abundant mixed plantings, pergolas for shade, and beautiful, soothing pools of water," Marshall said.

To the east of Centennial Plaza will be The Celebration Garden, made up of white flowering, silver-leaved, and multicolored shrubs and perennials, Marshall said. The garden beds will border a celebration space with a central lawn for seating, a terrace for wedding ceremonies and other events, water features and a view of the Arboretum's Four Columns.

The Joy of Plants Garden will be located between the Centennial Plaza and the Administration and Research Center, Marshall said. It will be comprised of a collection of garden rooms, seating areas, and a central lawn.

"This area will be lushly planted for color, beauty, and enjoyment throughout the different seasons," Marshall said.

The garden will cost $15 million to create, according to the news release, and overall fundraising for the project has exceeded $12.6 million to date.

Capital costs and endowment funding for its care and maintenance will be covered through philanthropic donations from Doris Christopher, Anna and Susannah Ball, and the Hamill Family Foundation – all of whom gave seven-figure donations to the project. Christopher is founder and chairman of Pampered Chef, while Anna Ball is president and CEO of Ball Horticultural Company and serves on the Arboretum's Board of Trustees.

"I am delighted to be among those who support this new garden during what is a milestone moment in the Arboretum's history," Christopher said in a statement. "The beauty, charm and immersive experience this garden will offer appealed to me, as I know it will to the members and visitors who will enjoy it long into the future."

The Grand Garden is among several of the Arboretum's plans for its centennial celebration next year. Additional plans include an initiative to plant more than 1,000 trees throughout the seven-county Chicago region, the news release said, as well as special events and educational programs.

"The regional forest is vital to the health and well-being of communities, as it currently provides $416 million in annual ecosystem services," Donnelly said. "For the next century and beyond, the Arboretum’s centennial tree plantings will provide essential benefits to people, such as clean air, improved health, stormwater management, shade and natural beauty."

The Arboretum was established in 1922 by Morton Salt Company executive Joy Morton. It is a nonprofit organization that aims to plant and protect trees.