Come See the Arboretum
Don Schmidt the “Dean of Green” is planning on leading 3 tree walks again this spring. The tree walks will be held on Friday April 23rd, at 4:30 Saturday May 1 at 11:00 and Sunday May 9th at 1:00. All tree walks will begin at the Sassafras Grove seating area located just west of Hovey Hall on the Illinois State Quad. What we see on the walk will be dependent on the weather and Don’s mood that day. The walks take about an hour and are lots of fun. Come out for a great day in the spring sunshine and learn a little something about the magnificent trees in our collection. Learn why Illinois State was designated “A Tree Campus USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation.
All walks will begin in the Sassafrass Grove seating area just west of Hovey Hall on the ISU Quad. All of the tree walks are guided by Illinois State University's Biological Sciences' horticulturalist Don “The Dean of Green” Schmidt.
During these walks, you will be able to see tree parts overlooked by the untrained eye. You might see the male and female flowers of oak trees, smell the oil of winter green in birch bark, find rubber growing in trees and see the oldest tree in Normal.
Further tree walk information is available by calling Don Schmidt at 438-3800.
Plant SaleThe Fell Arboretum annual plant sale is normally held the first Saturday in May. In 2008, the venue changed and the sale is now held in the south end of In-Exchange, which is located on School Street, off of Beaufort.
Plenty of parking is available at our new site and in the event of inclement weather, the sale will be moved into the lower level of the parking garage and customers will be able to park in the deck.
The annual plant sale is Fell Arboretum’s biggest and most exciting event, generating money which is used to support the Arboretum’s projects such as additional gardens, seating areas, and tree plantings.
This sale is the only place that you will find unique native prairie plants, woodland wildflowers, the newest varieties of annuals, old heirloom tomatoes and some wonderfully odd trees. Knowledgeable University staff and students can provide customers with answers to all of their plant and gardening questions. A scheduled tree walk is usually available to those customers that would like to participate.
We thank all of our past customers for their continued support and we hope that you will spread the work to your friends and make our annual sale a huge success!
Further plant sale information is available by calling Don Schmidt (438-3800) or Darcy Loy (438-2081).
