Three botanical artists — Joe Sweeney, Robby Schlesinger and Sharon Gross — will create live works inspired by the gardens, each illustrating a different aspect of the Arboretum’s trees. From three separate spaces in the formal gardens, their works-in-progress will create dynamic and visually rich storytelling that guests can watch take root in real time.

Watch the meticulous artistry of bonsai with Michael Persiano, a master in the art of bonsai tree design and cultivation. Michael will complete the styling of Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Kosteri’ — a true dwarf Hinoki with attractive bark and lush green foliage. The piece will be detailed, wired, and refined live during the event before becoming a special offering in the silent auction! Persiano’s work highlights the harmony of art and nature, revealing the beauty and resilience contained within miniature landscapes.

What is a garden?
It is beauty and meaning.
We find ourselves there.

A haiku poet with a vintage typewriter will compose your personalized story in haiku! Guests will be asked “What’s a personal tree memory, lesson or favorite?” Think loosely — a childhood memory, a tree you always return to, something you’ve learned from observing nature, or even a metaphorical connection. Guests will take their personal haiku home as keepsakes and a small selection of them will be read during brunch — listen for yours!

Join Gardens Manager Stephanie Bross in the Beech Grove to plant bulbs that will form a flower path in the meadow. This growing tradition, begun at Amber in Bloom in 2024, expands year by year — a gift to the Arboretum’s future gardens.

Mariana Bonfim, Managing Director of the Temple Ambler Field Station, will “read” tree rings like palm lines, sharing the history of the Ambler Arboretum’s trees through their patterns of growth and resilience. A tree's rings tell its life story, with each pair of light and dark bands representing one year's growth. Wide, light rings indicate a good year with plenty of sun and rain, while narrow, dark rings signal harder times like drought, or trauma. By reading these rings, Mariana brings these stories to life!

An acoustic guitar duo featuring Boyer College of Music and Dance alumnus Chris Dolhancryk will keep live music flowing throughout the gardens! Every 25 minutes, the music will pause for poetry readings, offering moments of reflection on trees and nature themes beneath the canopy. 

Featured readers will include Kathy Salisbury, Director of the Ambler Arboretum; Paul Buchanan, poet, 2025 Temple creative writing alumnus and current adjunct professor; and Gerald (Jerry) Burnsteel, beloved teacher in Temple’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Philadelphia Distilling, the first craft distillery in Pennsylvania since Prohibition, was founded in 2005. Known for creating premium spirits with big, bold flavors, they utilize hand-hammered copper pot stills and wooden fermentation vessels to ensure high-quality products. Ambler in Bloom will feature several botanical-forward signature cocktails crafted from their unique spirits.