The Somerset County Park Commission Horticulture Department invites the public to the 18th annual “Garden Party” featuring garden lectures and music from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 15.
The Garden Party will be held in the Perennial Garden at the Colonial Park Gardens, Parking Lot F. Admission is free with donations kindly accepted.
The schedule for the afternoon is as follows:
11:30 to 12:15pm “Plant It and They will Come: Creating a Bird-Friendly Landscape.” Lecture by Kim Eierman, an Environmental
Horticulturalist specializing in ecological landscapes and native plants.
12:45 to 1:30 P.M. “The Plant Storyteller.” An eclectic discussion on topics ranging from luna moth caterpillars to poisonous plants by Edith Wallace, botanist extraordinaire and “Lilac Lady” for the NJ Botanical Gardens,
2:00 P.M. Guided tour of the garden
3:00 P.M. Program ends
Daisy Gardens will feature specialty plants and garden sculptures for sale.
Live classical music throughout the event will be provided by the New Jersey Youth Symphony String Quartet. Visitors are invited to bring chairs and blankets to enjoy the music.
Complimentary refreshments will be available.
Sponsors include Storr Tractor Company, Messinas, Four Seasons Nursery & Landscape Company; Wegmans Food Market; ShopRite of Somerset, and Sunrise Creek Deli & Grocery
For information, call 732-873-2459 ext. 21 or the NJ Relay Service at 711 for individuals with a hearing or speech impairment.
The five-acre Perennial Garden was established in 1976 as a lilac collection, evolving over the decades into a garden that provides year-round horticultural interest. In spring, the garden comes alive with the colors and fragrances of daffodils, lilacs, daphnes, and pinks. Late spring and summer bring added color and form to the garden. Irises, peonies, roses, lilies, and coreopsis bloom among the many perennials and shrubs. In autumn, asters, ornamental grasses and butterfly bushes reach their peak bloom.
Evergreens and winterberry hollies provide interest well into the winter months. Amid green lawns and beds of colorful perennials, bulbs, trees, and shrubs, lies the focal point of the garden, the gazebo.
The Perennial Garden is open daily from sunrise to sunset and is managed and maintained by the Horticulture Department of the Somerset County Park Commission.
Information on this event and other Somerset County Park Commission activities may be found on the Internet at www.somersetcountyparks.org.