(Photos by Ryan Morrill)
The best and brightest of what’s growing and showing on Long Beach Island was on full display during the Garden Club of LBI’s annual Outdoor Living and Garden Tour on Thursday, June 25. Ticketholders enjoyed two public and five private gardens, numerous vendors, a garden market, and a VIP lunch at Birdy’s Café in Harvey Cedars.
A pollinator garden in Barnegat Light had an environmental tips table dedicated to sharing waste prevention information.
“One of our initiatives is preventing plastic in the environment so that none of it ends up in the ocean,” according to Helen Comba, a member of the club’s environmental committee. “We also want to share about composting.”
To minimize waste, rather than hand out paper flyers, posters showed QR codes to scan for information, such as various types of native plants which could be planted at home, a recipe for weed killer, and facts on pollination.
“Some of our members made sculptures and art using trash from beaches. We suggest collecting silverware and napkins and want to make people aware of the ‘Skip the Stuff’ law. You never need to use plasticware, and it should be kept inside to prevent it from getting into the ocean,” Comba said.
New Jersey’s “Skip the Stuff” law, set to take effect Aug. 1, prohibits restaurants and other food services from providing single-use utensils and condiment packets unless requested.
“The garden was made during the first year of COVID,” according to Bonnie Brodman, chair of the pollinator garden. “Every perennial came from a club member. Everything blooms food for larvae, butterflies and birds. We have a bee bath, honeysuckle, roses, lantanas, a bird bath, blanket flowers, milkweed for monarch butterfly larvae, dill, parsley, an occupied birdhouse, a goldfinch feeder, which is the state bird, and others. Everything here feeds pollinators. We also have Mexican sunflowers, perennial sunflowers, hydrangeas, which were a gift from our landscaper, as well as our tree, and benches that were gifts from our members. We actually dug the shell pathways ourselves with our husbands with pickaxes.”
Brodman shared how many insects and birds are now in competition with humans due to an increasing loss of habitat and pesticide usage.
“The monarchs have milkweed to stop predators because it’s poisonous,” she said. “There’s not enough for them, though.”
She advises gardeners to keep pollinators in mind when they prepare their own gardens.
“All pollinators love flowers,” she said. “Plant flowers in between non-flowering evergreen shrubs.”
Bee Happy Apiary had a table at the garden selling various types of honey from local fields.
“All of the different flavors come from different fields,” Jon VanMeter said. “Some are in Harvey Cedars, Manahawkin and Sassafras Farm. It’s pure raw honey with no pasteurization.”
His partner, Max Palaza, listed the flavors: rosemary, lemon ginger, orange blossom, vanilla bean and ghost pepper.
The other public garden on the tour was the Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens in at the Barnegat Light Museum in Barnegat Light, where garden club member Carol Thim talked about the gardens’ history.
“This was originally a one-room schoolhouse, but it closed in the 1960s. It became overgrown, and Edith Duff Gwinn and Frances Selover decided to clean it up. The garden club helped them in 1968.”
Thim said the upkeep is a labor of love. “We work in all different kinds of weather. There is a real synergy between us and the museum. There is a native plant garden, a drought-tolerant garden, an herb garden, and we have many more. We have a large variety of native and non-native plants, and we add more each year. There is a tri-color willow, which I think is an outstanding plant, in the fountain garden.”
Throughout the garden were paintings from local artists and Cricket Luker, the owner of Wildflowers Collective. Members of the Ocean County Master Composting Program, including Margaret Deleon-Rivera, Maureen Price and Ann Bagdon, taught visitors about the benefits of recycling and composting, with a worm bin on display to show how indoor composting works.
Residents can pick up free compost every day at the county’s two recycling centers, Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free compost workshops are also available, Deleon-Rivera said.
The home in Loveladies had a vegetable garden filled with herbs such as dill, parsley, lemon balm, sage, arugula and stevia. Pine Shores Art Association artists were stationed at multiple gardens to paint the scenery. One, Lois Mullen, worked on capturing the details of her surroundings in watercolor. Zina Brown from PotteryTherapy in Somers Point showcased her pottery, “inspired by nature, gardens and sea life.”
A home in Brant Beach had a hot tub, outdoor kitchen, fireplace, gazebo and lounge area with a television surrounded by hydrangeas and other flowers. Tina Berman from The Mod Hatter in Beach Haven sold various hats and bags.
“We focus on good sun hats for gardeners that offer sun protection but still look fashionable, with natural straw and SPF coverage,” she noted.
A bayfront home in Brant Beach featured a large balcony, a pool, an outdoor kitchen, living room, fire pit and hot tub.
“There is Hollywood juniper, rugosa roses, lacecap hydrangeas, St. John’s wort and a porthole door entrance,” club member Nancy Sternberger said.
In Beach Haven, a big attraction was a large fountain with a dolphin sculpture, combined pickleball and basketball court, infinity pool and small putting green. The Garden Market was taking place there, manned by Jacqi and Quinn Lahm.
“We want to place an emphasis on plants not seen at a garden center. We sold out of kokedama, or Japanese moss balls, really quick,” Quinn said.
“We have native pollinators, organic herbs, and water plants for birdbaths,” Jacqi added. “We want to focus on native plants to teach people and bring back pollinators.”
Selling garden tools, decorations and equipment was Genevieve Cunningham.
“We have vintage garden items, tools, succulent plants, garden books, outdoor living goods and home goods,” she said. “Our vintage watering cans went quickly. The market used to be called Green Elephant, but we changed it so it’s more niche now and geared to outdoor items and garden living. We’re trying to make it more elevated.”
At another Beach Haven property, club member Debra Cowles explained the homeowner had brought plants from her previous home and rescued a French rose from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
“This is truly a Master Gardener’s garden,” she said. “It’s natural but well curated.”
Sharon Branda and Elaine Biddulph with the Master Gardeners of Ocean County shared information about native plants, tick identification and tips on coastal gardening. Club member Rachael Teutul sold women’s clothing and books from Oliver Anne Boutique in Ship Bottom.
“Our club’s mission is to further in every way an interest in gardening and an improvement in planting, conservation and beautification of LBI,” according to publicity chair Gillian Rozicer. “We give a total of $20,000 in local scholarships to high schoolers studying horticulture, scientific studies and conservation. We support seven local initiatives involved in the environment, like ReClam the Bay and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. Sixteen women organized the club in 1957, and it was originally started to promote tree and shrub planting, but membership has grown to over 200 members.”
— Brianna Nuzzo
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