Fragrance And Sensory Garden Tour Set For Colonial Park

“Sense & Scents-Ability: The Exotic World of Herbs and Spices” is scheduled for Saturday, August 5, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.at the Colonial Park Fragrance and Sensory Garden. Photo: Somerset County Park Commission.

The Somerset County Park Commission Colonial Park Gardens will welcome visitors to tour the Fragrance and Sensory Garden and enjoy a lecture by David Hyde of Well-Sweep Herb Farm.

“Sense and Scents-Ability – The Exotic World of Herbs & Spices” is scheduled for Saturday, August 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A guided tour at 11 a.m. will feature information on the many plants that highlight the beautiful garden. Participants will see, smell, touch, and taste summer herbs. Following the tour, the noon lecture will focus on the fascinating world of herbs, their unusual fragrances and flavors, the lore and history of common and unusual herbs, and how easy herbs are to cultivate and enjoy.

Participants are asked to meet at the entrance of the Colonial Park Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden/Fragrance & Sensory Garden, Parking Lot A, Mettlers Road, Somerset New Jersey.

Admission is free and donations are appreciated. For information, call 732 873-2459 ext. 21 or visit www.somersetcountyparks.org.

The Fragrance and Sensory Garden is located at the western portion of the Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden. Designed to be of special interest to visitors who are visually or physically impaired, the garden demonstrates how plants can appeal to all of the senses. The sunken garden is surrounded by a stone wall and raised beds, enabling visitors to easily reach out and touch the plants. The stone capping at the top of the wall will guide the visually impaired. Many of the herbs are identified with printed labels as well as Braille.

Popular with adults and children for its interactive nature, visitors are invited to touch and smell the herbs. Culinary and fragrant herbs including basils, mints, and geraniums are displayed within reach. The fragrances of lavender, daphne, and sweet autumn clematis perfume the air. Textured plants such as the rubbery sedum, spiky blue fescue, and downy lamb’s ear delight the sense of touch. Behind the herbs is a backdrop of annuals and perennials that provide color throughout the season.

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