Thursday, May 11, 2017

Park Commission Supports Public Garden Day Legislation


The Somerset County Park Commission is in full support of the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly Resolution proclaiming the first Friday in June each year as “New Jersey Public Garden and Arboretum Day.”

The joint legislative resolution was written by Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Somerset Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex) and Assemblymen Jack Ciattarelli and Andrew Zwicker.

“As a longtime advocate of environmental protection and historical preservation, I have dedicated much of my time in public service to ensuring our children and grandchildren can continue to call New Jersey the ‘Garden State,’” Senator Bateman said. “It is our hope that recognizing New Jersey Public Gardens and Arboretum Day will encourage our residents to visit these treasured institutions, and experience firsthand the lasting positive impact they have had on our state.  I and my colleagues Assemblymen Ciatterelli and Zwicker are pleased to have sponsored this resolution.”

New Jersey Public Gardens and Arboretum Day will take place annually on the first Friday in June, as a special day designed to promote awareness of the Garden State’s public gardens and arboreta.

“The Horticulture staff at the Somerset County Park Commission is in full support of the efforts of the Senator and Assemblymen,” commented Jim Avens, Manager of Horticulture. “We are proud of the most exquisite gardens in New Jersey and are pleased that our elected officials are working to bring attention to our efforts.”

Leonard J. Buck Garden, located at 11 Layton Road in Far Hills, is a naturalistic setting incorporating large rock outcroppings creating varying exposures and microclimates that enable different plant associations to thrive. Tucked among the rocks are rare and exotic rock garden plants. The wooded trails connecting the outcroppings are lined with beautiful wild flowers that have flourished and multiplied through the years.

Throughout the garden grow various ferns. At the base of the valley walls, azaleas and rhododendrons produce a colorful display in May and early June. The Buck Garden's peak bloom is in spring, when favorite wildflowers, diminutive alpines, and delicate azaleas all compete for attention, but there is something interesting in bloom almost every week of the year.

The Colonial Park Gardens in Franklin Township include the one-acre Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden, a formal display garden, comprising plantings with over 3,000 roses of 325 varieties.  The garden is at its peak of color and fragrance from late spring into autumn.

The Perennial Garden is a beautiful five-acre garden with a gazebo that provides year-round interest and color from its collection of flowering shrubs, bulbs, perennials, and annuals.

The 144-acre Arboretum provides displays of flowering trees, evergreens, shade trees, dwarf conifers, and flowering shrubs.  This includes the three-acre Shrub Collection which showcases plants that grow well in central NJ and are is designed to give year-round interest by using flowering shrubs; trees; perennials; and ornamental grasses; and the areas surrounding the Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden and the Perennial Garden.

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