Spring is here in all its glory, and the Nottingham Garden Club wants to show off much of the glory that Hamilton Township has to offer.
On Saturday, June 20 – the official final day of spring, in fact – the well-respected club is sponsoring its annual Nottingham Garden Tour. For $15, tour goers will be able to view the splendor of three public gardens and seven of the township’s private gardens at their home.
The cost of a ticket not only provides a day of bucolic beauty, but also goes toward raising funds for supporting the watershed. It helps youngsters experience nature by helping defer the cost of them attending two specific nature camps. This helps encourage children to become young nature enthusiasts who will become the future protectors of our air, water and land.
Or “the guardians of our fragile earth,” as club president Jay Derrico stated.
It is also beneficial for adults who may want to beautify the outside of their homes.
“The tour helps visitors get ideas for their own gardens,” Derrico said. “They have the opportunity to ask questions about gardening techniques, gardening problems and sharing eco-friendly gardening methods. As we share this info, we’re all contributing to a healthy environment.”
The Garden Tours began in the 1990s free of charge. Derrico said it was just a chance for members to share the beauty of their property.
“Flower shows were more common then; where members showed their expertise in growing flowers and plants,” the president noted.
The tour will begin at Sayen Gardens on the corner of Mercer Street and Hughes drives. On the day of the event, those taking the trek can pick up a direction booklet there, which will provide a map and street addresses of the participating gardens. Refreshments will be offered at four sites and plants will be on sale at the Abbott II House and Garden in Veterans Park.
While the community gardens – which NGC helps maintain – can be visited at any time, the private ones are only available to visit on tour day. Photos may be taken to provide ideas for gardens.
It is a self-guided journey taking place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (rain or shine) and visitors can go at their own pace. They will drive to each site and then be able to stroll through the grounds. Derrico’s ideas for what gardens might make a nice display come from her enthusiasm for garage sales.
“This is when I get to see many beautiful gardens,” she said. “I also ask to see their backyard designs. I look for the use of annuals and perennials, use of statuary water features and uniqueness of design. Then I ask them to share their garden with the community by having their garden on the tour.”
Not everyone leaps at the chance, of course. Some floriculturists feel it’s too much pressure to have their flowers ready at a specific time, some fret the visitors may damage the lawn and others worry about folks falling on their property.
“It took me two years to convince a certain couple to agree to the tour,” Derrico said. “I kept telling them it wasn’t fair for them not to share the beauty of their garden. When they finally agreed, they said they were so excited with how everything went so well.”
The tour offers a variety of flora – annual and perennial flowers, herbs and vegetables. Some offer woodland gardens, shade gardens and sun gardens.
There will be conversation at each stop, which the club feels is valuable since understanding local flora and fauna is crucial for maintaining ecological balance and biodiversity.
“For many years many non-native plants have been sold throughout New Jersey,” Derrico said. “Ecologists have finally realized this danger to our flora and fauna. New Jersey now enforces the law that only native plants be sold at garden centers. As a garden club, we also encourage the removal of invasive plants.”
In the NGC press release it states that the visits are to high quality “intense” gardens.
Asked what an intense garden is, Derrico deferred and instead discussed how the plots evolved.
“I don’t know where the word ‘intense’ came from,” she said, “but I would think that many gardeners started from a blank slate — from planting trees, to putting in different walkways, to creating arboretums, to including unique water features. Many gardens show the need of inviting pollinators to their gardens.”
And much of it will be on display for anyone wishing to take this worthwhile tour.
The Nottingham Garden Tour is Saturday June, 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets can be purchased for $15 that day in the ticket booth in the Sayen Gardens parking lot. Tickets will be sold from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. They may also be purchased in advance by calling Jay Derrico at 609-585-2456 or emailing derricojasenka@gmail.com. For further information visit nottinghamgardenclub.com.
