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.
