Secret Gardens

Discover Lambertville’s ‘Hidden Gardens’ on the 10th annual garden tour, as well as two other verdant oases.

By: Ilene Dube
   Twelve years ago, Marjorie Meriam was strolling the tree-lined streets of Lambertville when she became intrigued by what goes on behind those Italianate and French Second Empire-style architectural gems. "When I walked around looking for gardens, I found they were truly hidden," she says over a cup of coffee at Peg’s on Union Street.
   The faces of purple and yellow pansies can be seen bobbing in window boxes outside of the recently refurbished breakfast-and-lunch spot. "I had just joined the Kalmia Club and become a certified Master Gardener," says the Titusville resident who formerly ran programs about herbs at restoration sites and festivals. "The Kalmia Club, like other clubs, is always looking for fundraisers, so I came up with the idea for a garden tour.
   Now in its 10th year, the club’s Hidden Gardens of Lambertville Tour is scheduled for June 10 and will include 10 gardens ranging from formal to eclectic, with stone paths, rose-covered pergolas and a pond filled with colorful koi.
   Rita and Eric Pfenninger have lived in their home since 1979. Seven years ago they expanded their outdoor oasis into adjacent property. The garden blends sunny areas and shade, with a 60-foot blue spruce helping to keep it cool during the steamy days of summer.
   The spruce started as a Christmas tree — the couple has five children, now grown — and had to be hauled in and out in a tub, says Mr. Pfenninger. When it became too large to handle, they planted it in the ground.
   Over the years they have removed an above-ground swimming pool and tall weeds in order to carve out space for a fountain, a birdbath, perennials and an herb and vegetable garden. Free from deer, rabbits and groundhogs, the coreopsis, echinacea, phlox and black-eyed Susan, as well as eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and green beans, flourish.
   "We do have cats, squirrels and bees," adds Ms. Pfenninger. "The cats leave us little ‘gifts.’" Soil-enriching clover feels good underfoot and attracts the bees that pollinate the vegetables. A swallowtail fluttered around a peony bud during a recent visit. "We live out here in the summer," she says as her husband props open the umbrella. In fact one of their sons was married under the arbor the separates the shady area from the sunny side.
   Just next door, Heidi and Michael Dalzell have carved out their own little niche. The psychotherapist and editor of a medical journal bought their house three years ago but spent the first year working on the indoors. They saved several thousand dollars by excavating the hole for a two-tiered pond themselves, rather than hiring a contractor, says Mr. Dalzell. When they added the koi, the fish were three-inches long but have since grown to a foot or more.
   "It’s Heidi’s cooking," jokes Mr. Dalzell. The koi actually eat koi pellets. When young they are a brownish tinge but take on an orange coloration as they mature. Related to goldfish, koi are from Japan and China, and in Japanese the name koi means carp, the dull gray fish. Koi have been bred for their bright colors, although in nature those colors would attract the attention of their predators and lead to their extinction. The fish food Mr. and Ms. Dalzell feed the koi help enhance their colors.
   Koi can live up to about 30 years, and grow to 24 inches, according to Ms. Dalzell, but many adapt to the size of the pond. Predators include cats, birds and foxes. The Dalzells have built the pond deep enough to protect the fish that, in winter, live under the ice.
   Once they could be sure their koi were safe, the Dalzells discovered the plants they had added to the pond were under attack. "We watched a $20 water lily disappear in 48 hours, so we had to research koi-resistant plants," says Mr. Dalzell. Cat tails and water iris have proved successful.
   A 100-year-plus silver maple tree shades the pond and yard, so shade lovers like Mayapple, fern, ivy and andromeda flourish in the moist-smelling environment. There’s just enough sun filtering through for a tall lilac bush to bloom in spring. A cedar fence provides privacy, but to break up the wall effect, the Dalzells have decorated it with garden art.
   Does the couple have time to relax in this outdoor retreat? "Now that we’ve spent all spring working on it, we hope to," says Mr. Dalzell. A heat lamp for cool spring nights and speakers on the deck help create a perch from where the Dalzells can look out at their Eden.
   Old-time folk and blues duo Bliggins and Goines will perform at Mary Sheridan Park, adjacent to the Kalmia Clubhouse, during the tour. Truman Goines is a Lambertville resident, and the group sings about the Sourland Mountains, the rocky wilderness between Somerville, Hopewell and Lambertville.
   Driving in her Subaru with a carnation in a stainless steel mug in the cup holder, Ms. Meriam recounts the days when Ladybird Johnson came through Lambertville and declared it a "poverty pocket."
   "The stores had closed, windows were covered and you could buy a house for $6,000," she says. "It was sad. Local businesses like the Union Camp bag company went down. But then it started to come back, people began fixing up houses, some even as weekend homes." Ms. Meriam had belonged to Streetwalkers of Lambertville, a walking group, when she discovered the gardens and came up with the idea for the tour that helps to raise money for the Kalmia Club’s annual scholarship award for a female high school senior. "Kalmia started in 1894 as a reading group for genteel ladies," she says.
   "I discovered delightful spots I called ‘grace notes’ — no garden but a beautiful arrangement of flower pots or hanging baskets," says Ms. Meriam. "The tour is really about showing what can be done with a limited amount of space. People come from as far as Brooklyn, Delaware and the beach. In the earliest years we used to have the Blawenburg Band perform. I’ve enjoyed watching this event blossom."
The Kalmia Club’s Hidden Gardens of Lambertville self-guided walking tour will take place June 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., beginning at the Kalmia Clubhouse, 39 York St., Lambertville. Tickets costs $15, $10 advance, available at A La Mode, 600½ Bear Tavern Road, West Trenton; Blue Raccoon, 550 Union Square, New Hope, Pa.; Homestead Farm Market, 262 N. Main St., Lambertville; Events in Style, 36 Perry St., Lambertville. Bliggins and Goines will perform 1-3 p.m. at Mary Sheridan Park. For information, call (609) 397-2537. On the Web: www.kalmiaclub.org
Also In Bloom:
The 15th annual Mill Hill Garden Tour, with more than 20 private and public garden spaces, will be held June 10 (rain date: June 11), noon-5 p.m., beginning at the Mill Hill Playhouse at Front and North Montgomery streets. Tickets costs $15, $12 advance. For information, call (609) 396-2612. On the Web: www.oldmillhillsociety.org
Drumthwacket in Bloom: Garden Party Open House, the 100-year-old-plus Italianate garden at the official governor’s residence designed by Daniel Webster Langton, will take place June 11, 1-4 p.m., at 354 Stockton St., Princeton. Suggested donation $5. Reservations required. For information, call (609) 683-0057. On the Web: www.drumthwacket.org