Seeing Trees in a Different Light at The Morton Arboretum – Chicago

Christmas Illuminations transformed the 1700 acre arboretum into a garden of interactive color and shadows. The exhibit highlighted the beauty of trees in winter The colors, textures, the concepts, and the scope were breathtaking. The blues were bluer, the pinks -more vibrant, colors and textures were ever-changing. There were lit crystal chandeliers hanging in a grove of fir trees!! The illuminations were further enhanced by the brilliance of the full moon in the chilly night sky.

**Meadow Lake where the floating lights respond to wind gusts**

**Crystal** **Chandeliers and columns illuminate the “Crystal Promenade”** **amid a forest of fir trees**

A “wall” of towering pines were the backdrop for a “techno” laser show projecting textures and colors from plaids to stripes, snow falling to strobe lights, to simply brilliant tree trunks. Suddenly, the light would “roll up” a dark screen and reveal a plaid texture with ever-increasing lines and forms.

**“Tree Fascination,” Laser Display at the grove of Eastern and Scots Pine Trees** – **“Techno Trees”**

To thwart the cold of the Chicago December night, there were fire pits strategically placed throughout the displays. The aroma of toasting marshmallows was mouthwatering . The fire’s glow cast mysterious and magical shadows. While lights illuminated the trees and plants, the full moon outshone and outwitted the brightest of displays. As the evening progressed, the night haze dispersed the light of the moon to illuminate even the tallest branches.

The paved walkways were dark. The lawns were speckled with lights and shadows. Visitors spoke in hushed toned while they strolled and observed. Light displays beckoned and amazed. Rather than wrapping trunks and branches in miles of string lights, most display used interactive lights to illuminate the structures and textures of the trees and plants to “tell their magical” story. Something exciting awaited at each twist and turn.

The Arboretum was developed by Joy Morton of the Morton Salt fortune in 1922. Morton was 65 when the project began. The mission of The Morton Arboretum is “…to collect and study trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world, to display them across naturally beautiful landscapes for people to study and enjoy, and to learn to grow them in ways that enhances our environment.” Learn more.

Photography of these magnificent displays hardly captures much more than color. Words and pictures alone cannot present the experience of the details; of the feel of the cold air and the warmth of the fire pits; the brilliant hues; and the dynamic displays that are at once white then magenta, then green. A spectacular sensory experience.