I’ve mentioned the Morton Arboretum a number of times in the past on this blog; it’s an oasis of nature amid the suburban sprawl that makes up most of DuPage County, west of Chicago. It’s the place I’ve photographed the most over the years and though I know the property quite well there’s almost always a surprise of one sort or another when I visit.

Redbud Meadow, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
I only had one opportunity to photograph at the Arboretum this spring–and even that single visit was truncated as the wind ultimately picked up and it began to rain. But I had 2-3 hours on the ground before the weather turned inclement and, with the benefit of a quick drive-thru scouting session a couple of days earlier, knew right where to go.

Redbud Isolate, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
There are some magnificent stands of redbud in the Arboretum and if you catch them at the right time…yowza. I’m often away during the time that the redbud peaks in northeast Illinois but this year I was in town and that’s what captured my attention when I scouted the location. I presume you can see why.

Redbud Cluster, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
In addition to the copious redbud, there are several mature dogwood trees in the Arb. Dogwood blossoms are, as I’m sure many of you know, quite delicate and their peak is frequently after the redbud has virtually leafed out, but this year, for whatever reason, both sets of trees were at peak at the same time, much to my delight.

Dogwood Delight Black & White, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois

Dogwood Delight, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois

Dogwood Delight, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
On the south side of Lake Marmo, on the Arboretum’s West Side, there’s one spot where redbud and dogwood adjoin. The combination is one of my very favorites and I’ve only had one opportunity to capture flowering redbud and dogwood together–at Oconoluftee, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Only once until late April of this year, that is, at the Arb.

Dogwood & Redbud, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
While a steady breeze kept the reflections from being glass-like–a common experience in these parts during the spring–I still felt that a few across-the-water shots of Lake Marmo redbuds were warranted.

Redbud Reflections, Lake Marmo, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois

Redbud Reflections, Lake Marmo, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
It was an impressive bloom in the upper Midwest this spring, at least partly because of how wet it was. So wet, in fact, that after several days of hard rain right at the end of April I squeezed in some time one day to run out to Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks in north-central Illinois. My experience with the ephemeral waterfalls at the former will be the principal subject of my next post.

Redbud Isolate, Lake Marmo, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois
[ Smiles ] Trees have a way of looking great in spring!
By: Renard Moreau on June 5, 2017
at 8:47 am
Indeed they do.
By: kerryl29 on June 5, 2017
at 8:56 am
Utterly lovely and captured so well (as usual)! 🙂
By: Gunta on June 5, 2017
at 10:19 pm
Thanks, Gunta!
By: kerryl29 on June 5, 2017
at 10:23 pm
Lovely shots..
By: Jovanne Amolat on June 6, 2017
at 1:27 am
Thank you!
By: kerryl29 on June 6, 2017
at 9:22 am
Kerry, you did justice to these lovely trees, one of my favorites. The water reflections are beautiful; I don’t think I’ve ever seen redbuds along water before – they tend to be a woodland tree. The trees themselves are magnificent – wow!
By: composerinthegarden on June 8, 2017
at 12:00 am
Thanks, Lynn. The redbud bloom was really impressive at the arboretum this year.
I’m aware of a few other places where redbud lies near water–in several spots in the Smokies (along the Little River Road in particular); in Illinois Canyon at Starved Rock State Park and Matthiessen Lake at Matthiessen State Park in north-central Illinois; near Delaware Lake at Ft. Harrison State Park in central Indiana, and at a few spots along the Merced River in Yosemite Valley to name several. But, to your point, all of these are in or on the edge of wooded areas themselves (i.e. the water part of the scenario seems to be incidental).
By: kerryl29 on June 8, 2017
at 9:00 am
Hi kerry , i was just browsing articles in nature and i had to stop by, to look at these beautiful colorful pictures of tress…. they are so colorful
By: Sunitha cherukupally on June 9, 2017
at 1:00 am
Thanks very much, both for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment.
By: kerryl29 on June 9, 2017
at 8:58 am
The redbuds are lovely. In combination with the dogwoods they are really special. I’m glad you had the opportunity to spend some time at the Arboretum.
By: EllenK on June 9, 2017
at 9:24 am
Thanks, Ellen!
By: kerryl29 on June 9, 2017
at 3:03 pm
I’ve never seen anything like this. Our redbuds are nice, but they’re always small, and unpredictable, and short in their bloom time. And of course we don’t have dogwoods; you have to go to east Texas for that, and even there I’ve never seen particularly impressive stands. What I have seen are dogwoods and azaleas in Mississippi: the colors were the same, at least.
I especially like the next-to-last, because of the glimpse of solid white behind the redbuds. Combined with the reflections, it seems to be the very essence of spring: light, ephemeral, and very, very lovely.
By: shoreacres on June 17, 2017
at 7:25 pm
Thanks very much!
The redbud in this part of the world can be really impressive when it peaks in a good bloom year. When you get a cluster of mature redbuds (as exist at the arboretum), it can be exceptionally impressive.
This is really far north for dogwoods, and this is the nicest dogwood bloom I can ever remember at the arboretum. Historically, the best dogwood I’ve ever seen has been in the Smokies. I caught an extremely good bloom there in 2008 and it was remarkable. But when I was at Yosemite last month I was amazed at how nice the dogwood was there. (Examples coming in future posts.)
By: kerryl29 on June 17, 2017
at 7:44 pm
Beautiful Spring images. Just love the redbud reflections.
By: Carol Smith on June 23, 2017
at 12:11 pm
Thanks, Carol!
By: kerryl29 on June 23, 2017
at 3:38 pm
.
The redbud in this part of the world can be really impressive when it peaks in a good bloom year.
By: kenneth on July 4, 2017
at 5:17 am
Indeed!
By: kerryl29 on July 4, 2017
at 10:24 am
.
This is really far north for dogwoods, and this is the nicest dogwood bloom I can ever remember at the arboretum.
By: aristobulonietoalcaraz on July 11, 2017
at 6:51 am
Agreed–on both counts. It’s rare to see dogwoods as far north as northeast Illinois and this was as extensive and healthy a dogwood bloom as I’ve ever seen at the Arb.
By: kerryl29 on July 11, 2017
at 9:18 am
The redbud in this part of the world can be really impressive when it peaks in a good bloom year.
This is really far north for dogwoods, and this is the nicest dogwood bloom I can ever remember at the arboretum.
By: Harold's on July 24, 2017
at 6:44 am
Thanks.
By: kerryl29 on July 24, 2017
at 7:46 am
The redbud in this part of the world can be really impressive when it peaks in a good bloom year.
I especially like the next-to-last, because of the glimpse of solid white behind the redbuds.
By: ardalionanguiano on July 28, 2017
at 6:35 am
Thanks!
By: kerryl29 on July 28, 2017
at 10:58 am
[…] readers of this blog have seen regular references to the Morton Arboretum, my go-to location for photography when I’m at my Chicago area base. The arboretum is a […]
By: Back and Forth | Lightscapes Nature Photography Blog on September 21, 2020
at 9:44 am