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Pop-Up Event: Winter Bark Walk at The Barnes Arboretum in Merion, PA
The Barnes Arboretum at Saint Joseph's University
50 Lapsley Lane
Merion, PA 19066

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Friday, February 20, 2026, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM EDT
Category: Pop-Up Events

 Winter Bark Walk at The Barnes Arboretum

Put on your warm coat and walking shoes and join us for a tree-mendous wintertime tour of The Barnes Arboretum. On this tour we will visit a diverse range of trees, each providing winter interest with their peeling, flaking, or furrowed bark. We'll talk about what makes each tree special and visit a few of the arboretum’s many State Champion Trees.
The Barnes Arboretum at Saint Joseph’s University, a 12-acre arboretum astonishingly diverse for its size, is home to more than 2,500 taxa of woody and herbaceous plants, many rare. The peony, lilac, and fern collections, which date from the early 1900s, are important genetic resources for conservation and study, and an herbarium contains more than 10,000 specimens that supplement teaching and research.
In 1922, when Dr. Albert C. Barnes and his wife, Laura Leggett Barnes, purchased the property, it already housed a collection of specimen trees that its previous owner, Captain Joseph Lapsley Wilson, had started assembling in the 1880s. While Dr. Barnes concentrated on his art collection, Laura Barnes devoted herself to the arboretum. As we’ll learn on this tour, one of Laura Barnes' keen interests was the magnificence of exfoliating bark on display during the winter months. Laura Barnes' legacy lives on in the beauty of the landscape and in the horticulture school* that she founded in 1940.

*As you may already know, many of our very knowledgeable HPS members have completed the Barnes Horticulture Certificate Program, while others have been, or currently are, instructors in this program.

Restrooms are available in the service building.

Tour attendees may arrive early or stay after the tour to further explore the arboretum. Check the arboretum’s website for their winter hours.

In the event of heavy rain (or snow), the rain/snow date is Friday, February 27, 2026.

This is a Members Only event and is limited to 25 participants. Registration is required. $15 per attendee. Only guests who are on the same membership as the registrant are permitted to attend.

Registration will open January 7th. Registration closes February 18th.

Click here if you would like to become a member of HPS/MAG before registering for this event.

Parking directions will be sent to all registrants in their confirmation email. A list of nearby lunchtime dining options will also be provided.

Guests are encouraged to take photos for personal use and to post them on social media. The arboretum can be found on Instagram: @barnesarboretumsju.

HPS Contact: Laura Axel at [email protected]