Club offering tour of private gardens

The Allentown Garden Club on June 16 is holding its first fund-raiser, a tour of 12 private gardens in Upper Freehold and Allentown.

By: Ken Weingartner
   ALLENTOWN — The members of the Allentown Garden Club are going on tour — and the community is invited.
   The club on June 16 is holding its first fund-raiser, a tour of 12 private gardens in Upper Freehold and Allentown. The event will begin 10 a.m. at Keris Tree Farm on Route 524 just north of Allentown. The tour will be held rain or shine.
   Debbie Aniano, a spokeswoman for the club, said for privacy reasons the locations of most of the gardens are being kept secret until the day of the tour. She said participants in the tour will receive a map and fact sheets about each garden when they arrive at Keris Tree Farm.
   "Our mission is to promote gardening," Ms. Aniano said. "This plays nicely into that. This allows us to help educate the general public."
   Ms. Aniano said nursery owners Richard and Heidi Hesselein will open their property to tour participants. The house on the property dates back to the 1700s. Franklinia, Metasequoia and Joseph Rock Peony can be found on the property, in addition to hundreds of perennials.
   Tour participants also can expect to see numerous varieties of magnolias, flowering shrubs, ornamentals and annuals.
   "There’s going to be a lot going on," Ms. Aniano said.
   There are more than two dozen members in the garden club, which had ceased operation a number of years ago, but was rekindled last year. The club runs a regular speakers series and is becoming more active in community projects, such as planting perennials at the Allentown Public Library.
   "We have a very active membership," Ms. Aniano said. "It’s a good group of people. It allows us to do projects like this."
   Ms. Aniano said she has been involved in gardening "seriously" for 10 years. She focuses on growing lilies and irises.
   "I came out to one of the club’s programs and found everyone to be very nice," Ms. Aniano said. "I’ve learned a lot. The number of professionals who have shared their knowledge with us is great. You never know everything. You learn something new every day."
   Ms. Aniano said the club has done well to attract new members. She said members have renewed their membership at a 95 percent rate.
   "People are getting what they want out of the club," Ms. Aniano said. "And we get new members every single meeting."
   Tickets for the garden tour are $8 if purchased in advance, $10 the day of the tour. Children’s tickets are $5.
   Advance tickets are available at Walter’s Pharmacy, La Piazza Restaurant and the Village Stitchery in Allentown, or may be purchased by mail by sending a check payable to the Allentown Garden Club and self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Allentown Garden Club, P.O. Box 74, Allentown, N.J. 08501.