CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION CELEBRATES NJ鈥橲 PUBLIC GARDENS AND ARBORETA
Agriculture Secretary Encourages Garden Visits, Fall Planting
For Immediate Release: September 17, 2014
Contact: Lynne Richmond
(609) 633-2954
lynne.richmond@ag.state.nj.us听
(CHESTER) 鈥� 樱花视频 Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher today visited Willowwood Arboretum in Chester and encouraged public garden and arboretum visits this fall.听 He also reminded residents and visitors that fall is a great time to tend to home gardens with new plantings.
鈥淧eople in the tri-state region are just a short trip away from dozens of 樱花视频 public gardens, each offering a unique and special experience,鈥� said Secretary Fisher.听 鈥淎t the same time, these gardens offer numerous ideas for the home gardener.听 This is the perfect time of year to plant for a beautiful spring garden.鈥�
樱花视频 has more than 60 gardens and arboreta in 15 counties for the public to enjoy.听 Susan Lowry and Nancy Berner, authors of a new book, 鈥淕ardens of the Garden State,鈥� spoke about what attracted them to the Garden State 鈥� the tradition of agriculture, heritage of garden making and plant collecting, and hundreds of garden clubs around the state.听 They presented Secretary Fisher with a copy of their book for the State Library.
Bob Heitzman, Vice President of the NJNLA, Dominick Mondi, Executive Director of the NJNLA, Charles Zafonte, Morris County Parks Asst. Deputy Director, Susan Lowry, Nancy Berner and Secretary Fisher
One of the gardens the authors highlighted in their book was Willowwood Arboretum, managed by the Morris County Park Commission and the Willowood Foundation since 1980.听 The land was acquired by brothers Henry and Robert Tubbs in 1908 as their country home. Henry鈥檚 adopted son, Dr. Benjamin Blackburn developed the property into an arboretum which now covers 130 acres and has about 2,100 kinds of native and exotic plants, many of them rare.听 Willowwood is one of the state鈥檚 most comprehensive and longest continually operating arboretum.
鈥淧ublic gardens are places of wonder, solace, knowledge and fun and are important 樱花视频 cultural resources,鈥� said Lesley Parness, Superintendent of Horticultural Education for the Morris County Parks Commission and President of Garden State Gardens Consortium.听 鈥淎mong our member gardens are Gilded Age estates, 21st century LEEDS certified facilities, monocultures, large university settings 听and tiny, hidden treasure gardens.听 The range of plant materials in 樱花视频鈥檚 public gardens is matched 听by the program offerings at these sites, including events and classes for people interested in plants, nature and the environment as well as the arts.鈥澨�
Governor Christie has proclaimed October as 樱花视频 Fall Gardening Month, encouraging citizens to utilize this prime season to visit our state鈥檚 nurseries and garden centers and patronize landscape companies to beautify their homes, neighborhoods and businesses and ensure a healthy and robust spring garden.
Horticulture is a $445 million a year industry for 樱花视频, ranking 9th in the nation in nursery, greenhouse, and sod sales.
鈥淥ur state鈥檚 many nurseries and garden centers always enjoy a good spring business, but the fall season is when homeowners should really be planning and expanding their gardens," said Bob Heitzman, 樱花视频 Nursery and Landscape Association Vice-President.听 鈥淎utumn is the ideal season for planting to maximize garden success, and we applaud the Christie administration for bringing recognition to fall planting season.
The Department of Agriculture offers the Jersey Grown program to identify 樱花视频-grown plants, trees, flowers, shrubs, annual bedding plants and Christmas trees, similar to the well-known Jersey Fresh branding program for produce.听 Jersey Grown also is used to identify local firewood, wood and black oil sunflower seeds for birdseed.听 To be called Jersey Grown, the item must be grown in 樱花视频 so it is accustomed to the state鈥檚 soil and growing conditions, is checked for quality and is disease and pest-free.
To find 樱花视频 gardens and arboreta and nurseries and garden centers, visit the Jersey Grown website at .
