Let It Grow
By Tammy Thornton
Sweltering temperatures didn’t stop The Little Gardens Club of Atlantic City from blooming brightly during their 25th summer garden tour, held Sunday, July 14. Attendees of the self-guided tour were able to walk through nine different gardens in Absecon, Northfield, Linwood, Egg Harbor Township and Mays Landing. Each garden was a botanical treat, brimming with inspirational ideas that visitors could dream about implementing in their own gardens.
Currently celebrating its 102nd anniversary, The Little Gardens Club of Atlantic City takes its name from the start of the club in 1922, when families with large estates in the Philadelphia and Main Line areas would visit their summer homes at the Jersey Shore and considered these properties their “little gardens.” One hundred years later, the garden club welcomes residents from a variety of towns in Atlantic County.
Beginning at the Linwood Arboretum, the tour allowed attendees to view a slideshow of the progress of the arboretum. Among the wide variety of trees and plants found at the arboretum, the “Bog” contains a large collection of carnivorous plants such as sundews and pitcher plants. After enjoying the arboretum, visitors could choose their path to the other eight stops on the tour.
Ticket holders could wander freely into the unveiled secret gardens of each of these hosts, admiring the hard work and labor of love that went into these creative outlets. Most of the hosts were found in their gardens eager to answer questions, describe their plants, and offer gardening tips.
While each private garden on the tour had memorable moments, a fan-favorite was the incredible garden of Bill and Marilyn Stewart. As soon as you enter their backyard garden through the gate of the elaborate brick walls, you know you are in for a treat. A winding rock-lined path leads through the woodland garden and opens up to more formal gardens including vignettes with statuaries, a koi pond, and a grape arbor. This single garden, which has graced the covers of Better Homes and Gardens magazine as well as Women’s Day and Garden and Deck magazine, was worth the price of admission all by itself.
Elaine Herron’s garden in Egg Harbor Township was also a delight. Upon entering the garden, cookies and refreshing watermelon water greeted weather-weary visitors under a grape-laden arbor. The vast garden featured a creative and visually pleasing “bug hotel” and a large pond with cascading water. A toy wooden sailboat gently swayed on the peaceful pond, while giant 30-year-old koi swam happily nearby. The red barn potting shed in the midst of the garden would have been enough to make any gardener jealous if it weren’t for Herron’s calm and sweet demeanor. Despite the long day in the heat, she graciously answered questions about the garden even to the point of finding a paint can to let an attendee know which color she used to paint her deck furniture.
Last on the tour, Stephanie Brower’s Absecon garden was worth the drive to see her Craftsman-style home surrounded by pollinator plants that attract wildlife, including her “pet” mallards that flew in to visit during the tour. “Every plant in my yard has a story. Even ‘volunteers’ that have popped up have led to a history lesson on the former glory of this property on which another ‘gardening lady’ once lived,” said Brower.
Janet Longo, co-chair of the garden club estimates that approximately 400 people attended this year’s garden tour, including the President of the Garden Club of Charleston, South Carolina. Proceeds from the Little Gardens Club tour benefit civic and environmental groups such as Linwood Arboretum, South Jersey Native Plant Society, Ocean Heights Presbyterian Church Community Garden, Egg Harbor Township Teaching Garden, Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association, Pinelands, Preservation Alliance, Reeds Road Farm, and Discovery House. The garden club meets throughout the year and also holds various bus trips. In October, they plan to take a group bus trip to Pennsbury Manor. If you know of an amazing garden that should be considered for next year’s tour, contact Janet Longo at: (609) 226-6596.
Tammy Thornton lives with her husband, children, and crazy pets while enjoying a life of gardening, cooking, and going to the beach.
