Buck Garden Receives $70,000 Donation

Somerset County's Leonard J. Buck Garden, located at 11 Layton Road in Far Hills, on the border of has received a $70,000 donation from The Friends of Earthly Delights, an all-volunteer group of designers, architects, horticulturists, garden writers, and gardeners working in alliance with the Land Conservancy of New Jersey to benefit the state's public parks and gardens.

The donation was presented earlier this month to Somerset County Park Foundation, which operates Buck Garden. The funds represent the organization's first-ever gift, and are proceeds from an Earthly Delights event last spring at which visitors shopped for items from distinguished vendors of rare plants and distinctive garden antiques.

The funds will be applied to engineering costs for removing silt from the pond at  Buck Garden. Desiltation of the pond is necessary to remove the residual materials from years of rainwater run-off that now are beginning to fill the ponds and prevent the growth of natural plant materials and fish, according to the park commission.

The presentation of the donation was made to Somerset County Freeholder and Somerset County Park Foundation Board member Peter Palmer and Rocque Dameo, Chairman of the Somerset County Park Foundation. The check was presented by representatives of the Friends of Earthly Delights including Nancy Buck Pyne, honorary chairwoman; Andrea Filippone, creative director; Anita Shearan, treasurer; and Christina Guido, corresponding secretary. 

Buck Garden is a natural setting incorporating large rock outcroppings creating varying exposures and microclimates that enable different plant associations to thrive.Tucked among the rocks are rare and exotic rock garden plants. The wooded trails connecting the outcroppings are lined with wildflowers that have flourished and multiplied through the years. Various ferns grow throughout the garden grow various ferns.

Information on the garden and other Somerset County Park Commission activities may be found online.

Annual spring plant sale also coming up

The Leonard J. Buck Garden also will celebrate Earth Day and the return of spring by hosting the county park's 22nd annual Spring Plant Sale on Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29, 2012, at 11 Layton Road in Far Hills.

The event hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Buck Garden staff and volunteers from the Watnong Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society, the event co-sponsor, will present daily activities including a plant sale, garden lectures, and guided tours of the woodland garden and planted rock outcroppings.  

A variety of choice plants will be available including shade and sun perennials, wildflowers, herbs, and rock garden plants. Dwarf conifers, deer resistant plants, and woody plants will also be offered. Buck Garden staff and Watnong Chapter volunteers will be on hand to advise visitors about plants and gardening.  

Guest lectures alos will be held at the park's visitor center beginning at 1 p.m. each day.

On Saturday, Ruth Claus will present “Great Public Gardens of New Jersey.” Then, on Sunday, Connie Kallas will present “The Fragrant Garden.”  There is no charge for the lectures. 

For more information about this event contact the Leonard J. Buck Garden at 908-234-2677, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday to Friday 9:00 A.M.