By Jeff Ostroth
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
As the days get longer and the spring weather gets nicer, many at Cedar Crest enjoy taking an after-dinner stroll along the walking paths that wind around this 62-plus community in Pompton Plains, N.J.
Quite often, their walks will take them to the Community Gardens, where they can sit and enjoy the natural beauty. “This is not only a place for doing our garden activity,” says Ed Boehme, the president ofthe Cedar Crest Garden Club. “It’s also for mingling with neighbors. It’s a nice place to visit.”
Jack Fisher
, the Garden Club’s past president, agrees. “We have benches around, so it’s a very delightful place and naturally people come and sit and enjoy the evening air,” he says.
Mindful that the gardens are a benefit to the entire community, Ed says he encourages those who have gardens to plant an assortment of flowers as well as vegetables. “The overall appearance of the area is important to me and I think to the people of Cedar Crest as well,” he says.
Garden Squares
The Community Gardens consists of 94 lots, or “squares,” as they’re called, measuring eight by eight feet and set off in wood frames.
Ed, who moved to Cedar Crest from West Paterson when the campus opened in 2001, says his garden is “ideal for me and I think most of the other gardeners here.” Although it’s not as large as the garden he had previously, he sees it as part of his overall downsizing of a house that had become too big. The garden square “enables us to stay in touch with gardening, yet it’s not over-stressful,” says Ed.
Besides, he adds, “We have over a hundred different activities here, so most people are involved in many things besides gardening.”