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| Home Garden of the Master Gardeners Dennis & Kathleen McNamara |
This is the second year for this local, robust, multi-media,
artful garden event.
Given that Superstorm Sandy smote the town of Keyport since
the inaugural garden walk event, that’s saying a lot.
So no surprise that a bit of spring rain - as compared to Sandy - will not dampen
tomorrow’s walk.
No way.
Rain or shine, the Keyport GardenWalk (KGW) is brimming with
more than 40 gardens to visit – from vegetable gardens to fairie gardens,
cottage gardens and aptly named, “We’re still here” garden – along with nearly
10 seminars on compelling and topical subjects, including post-Sandy plant and
shrub care, xeriscaping, herbal libations and garden art.
The Keyport GardenWalk is to offer a weekend filled with more than a wheelbarrow full of all kinds of personal gardens, made all the more remarkable by the fact that Superstorm Sandy rendered this shore community a one-two punch.
Keyport suffered badly as a result of Sandy’s fury.
There was no getting around it.
So rather than pretend that life is back to normal –
whatever that is – Keyport citizens and garden lovers pivoted.
They took all of the heartache into account and made it part
of this year’s program.
After all, it’s now part of the town’s illustrious history.
Speaking of history, Keyporters may be Jersey strong but
perhaps a tad too modest.
The introduction history to Keyport is the first aha!
The KGW brochure kicks off with “A bit of introduction to the town so many of us call home…
The Kearny Family
settled in Keyport in 1714. In 1830, the Kearny Plantation was auctioned off
and Keyport was established. For most of the 19th century Keyport
was a major shipping and ship building center.
In the early 20th
century the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company introduced many aviation firsts,
namely, the first international airline.”
I had to read that twice and then again to my husband.
The home of the first international airline? Seriously, no one knows this. We drive past the Airport cinema plaza and
sometimes wondered about the moniker ….
Besides the bust-your-buttons bragging rights this
historical high offers, the commercial enterprise and the ship building probably
also help explain the moneyed Victorian homes and dedication to fine gardening
found there.
I will have to ask an Historical Society expert about this
on the Garden Walk…
Plus don't you think the town is ahem, "missing the boat" in terms of tourism? They could claim the shipbuilding past a la Colonial Williambsburg.
Plus don't you think the town is ahem, "missing the boat" in terms of tourism? They could claim the shipbuilding past a la Colonial Williambsburg.
Reading the advanced copy of the Keyport GardenWalk brochure
– I was immediately struck how the cover art looked like a Frieda
Kahlo-inspired piece.
The ink-black background and intensified female facial head is
adorned with a mane of electric green hair and leaf décolletage, along with
ruby red lips and cornflower blue eyes and like-colored blossoms nesting as a
May crown. And make-up that would make Estee Lauder weep!
The happy, flower lady cover art and official Keyport
GardenWalk poster is rendered by local resident, Judy O’Connor.
According to the Keyport Garden Walk literature, “O’Connor was one of hundreds of senior
citizens evacuated to a temporary shelter set up at the Keyport Central School
the night Hurricane Sandy hit Keyport.
KGW poster contest Chairperson, Diane Calabrese, said, “the quality and
variety of artwork submitted for the contest exceeded our highest
expectations. Once we made our selection
and discovered the artist was one of the Sandy evacuees it was particularly
meaningful. Ms. O’Connor said, “One of
my neighbors slipped information on the poster contest under my door and said
‘Judy, you should do this.’ “I’m glad I
did,” she added.
Further, as supplied by KGW:
Keyport Gardens Bloom after Hurricane Sandy
It is hard to
believe only six months after Hurricane Sandy, Keyport’s popular GardenWalk
will take place on June 8th and 9th with even more
gardens than last year’s event that brought 1,600 visitors to the borough on
the Raritan Bay.
According to Keyport
Garden Club President, Lois Farina Reilly, "The morning after Sandy hit,
most of us in Keyport were in a state of shock, along with much of the Jersey
Shore.
Our residents and
businesses then did what Keyport people do; they banded together, regrouped and
began to cleanup and rebuild. And the Keyport Garden Club moved forward with
plans for the second annual Keyport GardenWalk.”
Hurricane Sandy,
ironically, (I should say, poignantly) plays a role in this year’s KGW. The popular horticultural seminars offered at
the KGW needed a new venue as Sandy destroyed the Keyport Historical Society’s
Steamboat Dock Museum and the magnificent Arts Society of Keyport.
“The Keyport Borough
administration and elected officials have been so supportive and offered the
use of the Council Chambers in Borough Hall for our KGW seminars this year,”
reported Keyport GardenWalk Chairperson, Clare Skeen. “In fact, one of our seminars is about the
effects of saltwater on plants and shrubs.
It is a timely topic that should be popular with our visitors.”
The Keyport
GardenWalk is a free, self-guided walking and biking tour of 41 public and
private gardens in Keyport. “In addition
to touring the gardens, visitors will enjoy live music, horticultural seminars,
and pedicab rides – all free,” said Skeen.
“On Saturday the
8th, we will have two talented musical groups – Frank Patrouch and friends and
The Savannah Hat Company perform.”
En plein air artists
from all over New Jersey will also be on hand painting in various public and
private venues,” Skeen added.
“Uncle Louie G’s
Italian Ices and Ice Cream is celebrating their one-year anniversary in town
and arranged for London Fogg, a popular NY band specializing in British
Invasion/60’s music to play in the Keyport mini-park on Sunday the 9th,
“ she explained.
“The mission of
Keyport GardenWalk is to inspire, educate and motivate visitors to go back to
their own towns and improve their home landscapes and public spaces.
Offering
horticultural seminars is a key component to fulfilling that mission,” said
Skeen.
Seminar Schedule:
Saturday – June
8th
10:00AM – Steven
Kristoph of Steven Kristoph Nursery – “Hurricane Sandy and saltwater damage to
your plants and shrubs”
1:30PM – “Garden Art
for Beginners – 101” – Trinity Restaurant*
2:30PM – Megan Paska
of The Homestead at Seven Arrows Farm East – “Succession planting and
increasing yield from your vegetable garden”.
Sunday – June 9th
10:00AM - Arleen
Swart of Sea Grass Design and Landscape – “Xeriscaping – plant selection to
reduce the need for supplemental water in your landscape design”
2:30PM – Ken McPeek
– General Manager of Seasons Matter Inc.– “Utilizing rain water run-off and
sump pump discharge in your landscape”
3:30PM – “Herbal
Libations” – Trinity Restaurant*
*Garden Art for
Beginners – 101” and ”Herbal Libations” will be held at Trinity Restaurant - 84 Broad Street. All other seminars will be held in the
Council Chambers at Keyport Borough Hall – 70 West Front Street.
The seminars are free and all are welcome – please
pre-register by emailing info@keyportgardenwalk.org.
“Keyport GardenWalk
is so successful because of the generosity of our residents and sponsors. It is quite remarkable a town the size of
Keyport is able to showcase 41 gardens and attract visitors from all over the tri-state
area. We are only able to offer KGW as a
free event because of our wonderful sponsors.”
Event Sponsors: Reedy International and The Garden Club of
New Jersey, Inc.
Major Sponsors: Pine Belt Nissan of Keyport, Sea Grass Design
and Landscape LLC
Keyport Bayfront
Business Cooperative (KBBC) and Trinity Restaurant
Supporters: NY/NJ Baykeeper, Espresso Joe’s and Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ices and Ice
Cream
Contributors: Apollo Sewer & Plumbing, Check Electrical
Corporation, Sovereign Santander Bank – Keyport Branch, Keyport Spanish American
Club and Dearborn Market.
“We applaud these
businesses and organizations for embracing our mission – Keyport GardenWalk
would not happen without their generosity and support,” said Skeen.
Keyport Garden Club
President Reilly summed it up by saying “On June 8th and 9th we will once again
open our town to folks from far and near, and prove to them, and to ourselves,
that something like Sandy will not stop gardeners from bringing beauty to their
surroundings; we will continue to bloom!"
For more information
about Keyport GardenWalk, June 8th and 9th – 11:00AM –
3:00PM please contact Clare Skeen – 732-687-9519.
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