The Morris Arboretum and Gardens at the University of Pennsylvania

Andrew and I arrived in the Philadelphia area a few days before the Fling officially kicked off, so I was able to visit the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, which was not part of the Fling itinerary.I knew of this garden because I'd watched a Hardy Fern Foundation webinar hosted by Kyra Matin (propagator at the garden) as she toured attendees through the garden's fernery. I'll cover the fernery later in the week, today we'll be touring the rest of the garden, which was a great first stop for my whirlwind visit to "America's Garden Capital".

This is the view after you enter the garden and drive up to the parking area. As with all of the Pennsylvania area it was so very very green!

...and old! This is the building that now serves as the arboretum's George D. Widener Visitor Center, it first served as the gardener's cottage, carriage house and stables—built by Theophilus P. Chandler, Jr. in 1888.
Their "Out on a Limb" tree canopy walk was fun..."a bird’s eye view of the forest from 50 feet up".

The Squirrel Scramble; "a huge hammock-like net where you can look down to the ground far below through the rope netting". No, I did not partake of the Squirrel Scramble.

Onward, to the Rose Garden, which really was much more than just a rose garden...
I was torn between using this photo which showed the whole charming corner...
And this one that was cropped to remove the green rods with chain to keep people out of the fountain.
Fabulous dark foliage, maybe a hibiscus? *It's black cotton plant, Gossypium herbaceum ‘Nigra’, thanks Roger for the name!*A bud...
These were fun, although I can't imagine moving them out in the spring and back in each autumn.

Echium pom-poms.
See, so much more than roses!

Here's where we jump ahead in my visit, skipping over the hour and a half I spent with the ferns. You'll see all that later, but now we're on the other side of the garden, where I used the restroom, and appreciated this painted wall.
So far as I can tell this part of the garden doesn't have a name, but I loved the structure.
As well as the planter boxes and plantings.
Although (sadly) the opuntia had been damaged. Hopefully by critters and not people.
The depiction of tree roots stopped me in my tracks.
Then I read the signage. It's always a shock to see just how shallow tree roots are, and how far they travel.

The Pennock Flower Walk...


Senna didymobotrya, aka popcorn cassia 
A bit short (and wide) to be called a rill, but I loved it just the same.

The Orange Balustrade...

This structure immediately reminded me of part of the "Out on a Limb" tree canopy walk. I was going to suggest you page back up to that photo, but instead...
Here it is again. Coincidence?
Now that's a rill! 
This final view reminded me a little of Wave Hill in NYC. Come back on Wednesday for FERNS!