Last week was a vacation week for me and as usual, I spent some time “smelling the roses”. Although I am surrounded by plants at work, I

 like to visit public display gardens and arboretums when I’m on vacation. These gardens showcase the local flora in beautifully landscaped

gardens with botanical labels and cultural information. 

We are fortunate to live within a day’s drive of many premier

 botanical gardens and arboretums.

Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, New York Botanical Gardens, and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens are popular destinations for plant lovers. And there are many excellent gardens to visit in New Jersey.Local arboretums and botanical gardens are great places to learn about the plants that we should be growing in our home landscapes. Most of them offer educational seminars throughout the year and many maintain libraries filled with publications on plants, gardening, and related topics. 

The Somerset County Park Commission maintains two different gardens open to the public. Colonial Park on Metlars Road in Somerset offers a variety of gardens of interest to the homeowner. The most popular is the Rudolph W. Van der Goot Rose Garden. An official AARS display garden with over 3,000 roses representing 325 varieties, this garden is in bloom from late spring through fall. The park also features a 144- acre

arboretum planted with trees and shrubs that grow well in central New Jersey, both natives and non-natives. The five-acre Perennial Garden is devoted to flowering shrubs and perennials many that bloom in the summer. The Fragrance and Sensory Garden is designed for the visually or physically impaired, showing that plants can appeal to all of the senses. The Annual Garden Party takes place at the park on July 21,

 from 1 PM until 5 PM. This free event includes lectures, workshops, plants,

and refreshments. The horticultural staff will be on hand to answer

 your questions. The county’s other garden is located in Far Hills. The Leonard J.

 Buck Garden is one of the premier rock gardens in the Eastern United States.

Situated on a 33 acre wooded stream valley, the garden features alpine and woodland plants including azaleas, rhododendrons, ferns, and wildflowers. Peak bloom time is during the spring months, but there is always something in bloom at other times of the year. It is an excellent garden for learning about shade tolerant plants. Gardening seminars are offered throughout the year.

In Morris County, you will find New Jersey’s premier public garden, the Frelinghuysen Arboretum. This 127-acre property in Morristown maintains a collection of woody trees and shrubs, cultivated and labeled for educational and scientific purposes. There are many beautiful gardens that include native plants, herbs, perennials and roses, along with an education center.

The N.J. Botanical Garden, also known as Skylands, boasts one of the finest collections of plants in the state. Located in Ringwood, the

garden features wildflowers and annuals, formal gardens, woods, and an unusual collection of plants from around the world. Free garden tours

are offered on Sundays at 2 PM.

Rutgers Gardens is an arboretum and public garden At Rutgers University in New Brunswick. This is a learning center for how plants can be used in the created or natural landscape. There are several collections of interesting plants here, including evergreens, American hollies,shrubs, ornamental trees, drought tolerant plants, and a bamboo forest. Horticultural classes are available throughout the year. Of interest this time of year is the Donald B. Lacey Display Garden. This demonstration garden contains colorful annuals, tropicals, herbs, and

vegetables suitable for use in the home landscape. These gardens can be

seen at their peak during the annual open house on July 28 from 9 AM to 3 PM.

More information about each of these gardens and arboretums can be

obtained on-line, they all maintain websites. Or you can contact the

county park commissions to find out more about them and many others in

the state. Most of the websites provide histories of the properties, maps and plant lists of what will be in bloom during your visit.  

Beth Nardone, botanist, is a resident of Hillsborough and is the Nursery Manager at the Belle Mead Co-Op. Questions and comments can be sent to

bethtanical@patmedia.net