The Home Garden Club of Morristown, NJ

“FASHIONABLY LATE” GARDEN TOUR

Back by popular demand, the “Fashionably Late” garden tour will be presented by the Home Garden Club of Morristown on Saturday, September 17, 2011. Five memorable gardens in the Morristown / Chester area will be open for a self-guided tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets are priced at $25 and must be purchased in advance. Proceeds will benefit the gardens at Acorn Hall, a 19th century landmark and headquarters of the Morris County Historical Society. Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy and learn from…..

….a decorator’s English-style perennial garden and 18th century Georgian house with enclosed rose garden featuring 250 heirloom and David Austin roses, espaliered apple and pear trees, and choice evergreens that create privacy in an in-town location.

….an 1890’s carriage house in Morris Township anchoring a four-season garden of sweeping curves and hidden spaces. Enjoy a small pond, a place for sun lovers and shade dwellers, and a patio bursting with brightly colored tropicals.

….a garden viewable from every window and door of a classic contemporary ranch with a Frank Lloyd Wright feeling in Harding Township, featuring English style double perennial borders, a Japanese dry stream garden and a bog garden with an interesting bridge; the only fall opening of this garden featured in the Garden Conservancy’s spring Open Days schedule.

….a plant collector’s haven on two acres of meadow and wood, with over 300 varieties of perennials, shrubs and trees, including many Acer palmatum and viburnum.

…a hillside garden of surprising views and formal garden rooms, stone terraces, water features, whimsical structures, and a large potager, with meandering paths through woodlands of towering native tulip poplars, ash, beech and oaks and a growing collection of special viburnum, camellia and crape myrtle.

To reserve your tour, click on the form at right and send with your check (payable to “Home Garden Club of Morristown”) to Home Garden Club, 22 Crestwood Drive, Madison, NJ 07940. Deadline for receipt of checks is Friday, September 9th.

You will receive your ticket, which will include a map and driving directions, by mail approximately one week prior to the tour. Any questions, call 973-520-8112 or 908-879-0232, or contact ilonachester@gmail.com.

Anyone wishing to purchase tickets the day of the tour can purchase them for $25.00 at the following garden tour locations:

22 Crestwood Drive, Madison, 07940

Heading north on Park Avenue, turn left onto Crestwood Drive, just after the Exxon station. Parking is available on both sides of the street.

31 Hillside Road, Chester, 07930

Heading west on Route 24/Main Street in Chester, turn right onto Hillside Road (the Public House is on the right). Number 31 is the second house on the left surrounded by a wooden fence. There is no street parking. Park at the Congregational Church across the street.

About the Club

The Home Garden Club of Morristown, NJ was founded in 1925 and, since then, has recorded a history rich in community activity and service. The Club's purpose is to encourage the study of horticulture, to create and maintain civic beauty and to practice responsible conservation.

The Club has been a charter member of The Garden Club of NJ (check their new website) since 1926 and is also a member of The National Council of State Garden Clubs. It is affiliated with The Friends of Frelinghuysen Arboretum and The Morris County Historical Society.

Aside from its involvement with many civic projects such as the design and maintenance of the gardens at Acorn Hall (seen on the right), the Club also holds monthly meetings which include an educational program, workshop or tour on garden or related subjects.

Club Projects

Holiday Wreaths

A holiday tradition since 1930, Club members meet in late November for a festive wreath-making workshop. Beautiful Club-made wreaths of unusual greens from Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Watnong Nursery and Club members grace various historic houses and civic buildings in Morristown, including the front door of Washington's Headquarters.

Lyons Veterans Hospital

This Garden Club of NJ Garden Service Program also began in 1930. Flower arrangements are made and distributed to patients at the hospital, as well as for the day room and Chapel.

Gardens at Acorn Hall

Acorn Hall, a 150-year-old Victorian home in Morristown, is the meeting place of the Morris County Historical Society. Mary Crane Hone presented her ancestral home, Acorn Hall, with 5.8 acres of land, to the Society in 1971, the 25th anniversary of the Historical Society. Under the chairmanship of Mrs. Harold Scaff, then President of the Club, members began a continuing project to re-establish the long-neglected Victorian garden. The garden was first designed in 1971 by Alice Kollar. In 1996 a new herb garden was designed by a current Club member and landscape designer, Ruth Palace. Funding for much of the work was provided by a grant from Shell Oil Co. Under the direction of Nancy Soward, the gardens are maintained by Club members.

Flower Arrangements at Joint Free Library

The Club started its custom of supplying the Morristown Library with a weekly flower arrangement, plant or horticultural specimen, properly labeled, in April, 1933.

Community Outreach

Many years ago, members chose to contribute to the holiday festivities of needy children in lieu of exchanging gifts among themselves. This very successful annual campaign accumulates enough funds to purchase many beautiful gifts that are then distributed by the Division of Youth and Family Services. In recent
years the club has targeted its gifts to an age group that is often overlooked during the holidays, teenagers.

Membership

If you are interested in joining this active and enjoyable group, click on the Join button above to get more information.