Celebrating beautiful gardens and their benefits
By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
Gardening is serious business at Cedar Crest in Pompton Plains, N.J.
Each spring, nearly 70 people there get their hands dirty seeding, weeding, and pruning. The result—summer bounty. Juicy, red New Jersey tomatoes now weigh down the vines and colorful geraniums, roses, and lilies perfume the air.
Winner’s delight
This summer, the Cedar Crest Garden Club held its first annual “Best Overall Garden Square” contest for gardeners who grow a mixture of flowers and vegetables. This marks the first year that the three-year-old club has recognized residents for their work. With 94 garden squares, the nonpartisan judges had a tough decision to make.
Dolores and John Miller’s colorful mixture of tomato plants, burgeoning geraniums, marigolds, a miniature Peach Drift rosebush, basil, mint, and pastel impatiens caught the judges’ eyes.
“I do think we have one of the five prettiest gardens. It especially looks nice with the red geraniums and pink impatiens,” Dolores Miller says.
The Garden Club presented her with a sign indicating “The Winner,” which she proudly displays at the front of her garden area.
A place called home
Resident Donald Bauch says most people grow flowers, but nearly everyone has a Jersey tomato plant. “We’re all very proud of the New Jersey tomato. If you don’t go to heaven when you taste it, you haven’t tasted a real Jersey tomato.”
By offering garden beds, Cedar Crest ensures that after making the move from their houses, people can continue to enjoy beautiful gardens and tables full of fresh Jersey tomatoes—and other fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The Grounds Department provides the resources that gardeners like Bauch and the Millers need. “We provide tools, topsoil, mulch, water, and one free tilling per year,” says Alan Gold, grounds supervisor.