Kris Bachtell, The Morton Arboretum’s vice president of collections and horticulture, strolls through one of the center’s Quonset huts where plants are being readied for the Arbor Day Plant Sale. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
By Stefano Esposito | Chicago Sun*Times
The long, low-slung hut without windows and a gun-metal gray door with only the number “12″ to identify it, looks like it might hold a closely guarded military secret.
Military? No. A secret? Yes, sort of — at least until April 24.
Kris Bachtell opens the door, and inside are hundreds upon hundreds of plants — in startling colors: a metallic purple and a neon-bright chartreuse. In another hut, a plant with a yellow-and-peach flower that resembles the most delicate origami creation.
The coral bell shrubs and the paper-like barrenwort are among the approximately 36,000 mostly perennial plants that The Morton Aboretum will have on sale during its annual three-day Arbor Day Plant Sale. Billed as “one of the largest seasonal plant sales in the Chicago region,” the arboretum is offering their plant “geniuses” for gardeners who might need a little advice.
Morton Arboretum Arbor Day Plant Sale
When: April 24 – 26
Where: Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle
Tickets: $32 (includes general admission and a $15 purchase voucher)
Info: mortonarb.org
For now, the plants are maturing in 10 Quonset huts. They’ll soon be hauled out on carts to a 38,000-square-foot facility for the sale, which runs April 24-26.
The plants are all designed to handle Chicago weather, including about 30 varieties of tomatoes.
Bachtell, Morton’s vice president of collections and horticulture, and Sharon Yiesla, Morton’s plant knowledge specialist, took a Chicago Sun-Times reporter and photographer on a recent preview tour.
Purple Heuchera, or coral bells, are part of the Arbor Day Plant Sale at The Morton Arboretum. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Read more here.
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