18 September 2019 Now that one of the more famous genesis stories of New Jersey’s nickname, “The Garden State,” has been debunked, may I suggest another reason for its deserving that moniker? Although at the Philadelphia World’s Fair of 1876, Camden native and former New Jersey State Attorney General Abraham Browning did compare New Jersey to “an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and New Yorkers from the other,” recent research revealed that he never called New Jersey “the Garden State.” Actually, New Jersey’s place in horticultural history began long before that. In 1785, French botanist Andre Michaux, became one of New Jersey’s first nurserymen. To Hackensack came the Royal Botanist to King Louis XVI. Michaux’s mission was to find new trees to re-forest France, denuded after a century of war with England. Lumber was needed for carpentry, house building, and medicine. He established a 30-acre pepiniere, or plant nursery, in Maisland on the Palisade’s western slope to plant seeds and saplings and ready them for the journey to France. The author of “Oaks of North America” and “Flora of North America,” he did business with
Fall is almost here and many of you probably experienced some “browning” of your lawn this summer. Yes, Mother Nature is playing tricks on your lawn. Why the browning? Read on. It’s hard to figure out what went wrong when so much turfgrass browns out. The usual assumption is heat and drought stress followed by fungus. Obviously, heat and drought can take its toll on lawns just like this summer’s weather took its toll on all of us. Tom Castronovo, ownereditor of the Gardener News, just sent me a picture of his car dash board showing 106 degrees. Wow! After the unusual rainy season, which happened in late-spring and early-summer, the heat and drought stress came on strong. The lawn blades were so used to the cool, lush feeling of almost daily rains when suddenly Mother Nature turned off the water supply. Summer had arrived. There is not much you could have done at this point unless you had an irrigation system to help your spring green lawn stay green all summer long.
GardenerNews.com The Garden Historian By Lesley Parness Garden Educator
Historic New Jersey Nurseries
William Bartram and George Washington and plant hunted from Vermont to Florida. In his 11-year stay, Michaux sent back 90 cases of seeds and 60,000 plants. Some of the plants grown at “the Frenchman’s Garden,” such as the Chinquapin oak, Mountain Laurel and Magnolia, were bound for France. However, trade between the allies was a two-way street and the Lombardy poplar, just arrived from Italy and grown in Michaux’s garden, would eventually be planted throughout the United States. In 1791, the French Government decided to close the garden. By 1830, it had disappeared and the site is now part of Machpelah Cemetery in North Bergen. Meanwhile in Hoboken, lawyer, engineer, and transportation visionary Colonel John Stevens, not content with his invention of the first American steam locomotive and ferry, also pursued his keen
interest in horticulture. At “Elysian Fields,” his thoughtfully curated estate along the Hudson River, he planted many fruit trees new to the region. In 1797 he imported the first red camellia (‘Single Red’) from England, and in 1798, he imported the first chrysanthemum (‘Dark Purple’) from China. Stevens collected rare seeds and the latest publications on plants. He experimented with different fertilizers in his extensive greenhouses and hillside orchard. A busy correspondent, he wrote to various growers in Europe and the Caribbean seeking “tender exoticks.” His gardens eventually boasted hundreds of varieties of flowering shrubs, coffee plants, and exotic plants such as yucca. In his state-of-the-art greenhouses heated with stoves, he grew datura, gardenia, lantana, plumbago, and plumeria. His vegetable gardens contained alpine strawberries,
eggplant (unheard of at the time), 14 varieties of grapes, and 15 lettuces. An avid and knowledgeable hobbyist, Stevens did much to advance horticulture in New Jersey. Stevens University of Technology now occupies the space once given to a collection of plants which rivaled David Hosack’s famous Elgin Botanic Garden, which too is gone, now occupied by Rockefeller Center. A few decades later in Jersey City, Scotsman Peter Henderson began his career as a market gardener. During the Civil War, he established his floral business in the Bergen district of Jersey City and soon had five acres of greenhouses. A prolific writer, his “Gardening for Profit,” (1865) was the first book written on market gardening in the United States, selling over 150,000 copies. His seed company “Peter Henderson & Company,”
Turf ‘s Up By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant
Why did my lawn turn brown?
Many homeowners do not have a sprinkler system or do not want to have crazy water bills, so your lawn may have gone dormant-brown to survive. While a healthy growing lawn may turn brown and appear dead, many times it will survive and come back with proper lawn care in the fall. What’s the best way to create a lawn to avoid this browning? Take a moment and read my articles I have written over the years. Was it lawn fungus that killed my lawn? Lawn fungus develops from an interaction between a susceptible plant (host), a disease-causing organism (pathogen), and an environment that favors the pathogen to infect and incite disease in the host.
Excessive heat and humidity are leading causes of fungus and we surely have had enough of these. If you are not sure if you have a lawn fungus, go to the Internet and check out different lawn fungus pictures and what causes them or check with you local extension office. Some fungus can be avoided by using proper watering techniques and raising your mowing height in early-summer before heat and drought stress arrive. Some fungus can be reduced by using high-quality grass seed. Fungus may be reduced by having a high-quality soil teaming with biological activity. Fungus can usually be reduced or eliminated using a lawn fungus control. Be sure to follow label directions and do
not apply lawn fungus to a heat and drought stressed lawn that is already brown. What about insect damage? Did that turn your lawn brown? Chinch bugs and grubs are frequently active during summer months. Their sucking and chewing habits on grass plants can cause death quite quickly. Monitor your lawn for these insect pests. Again, check out the Internet to learn how to identity lawn pests and the damage they cause. Timing is critical for successful applications of insect controls, so follow all label directions. So, your lawn died this summer; what can you do about it? Early-fall is a great time to renovate and re-seed damaged lawn areas. The ground is warm, the rains return and the
specialized in vegetables and flowers suited to American conditions. His catalog revolutionized seed trade merchandising by using five-color lithography. Henderson’s contemporaries called him the “father of American horticulture and ornamental gardening.” Some of the Henderson landmark vegetable introductions are still widely grown today, such as Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage, Henderson’s Bush Lima Bean, and the White Bermuda Onion. These are just of few of the past’s many outstanding New Jersey seedsmen and nurserymen. If you want to learn more about historic New Jersey nurseries, send me an email and we’ll explore it further in my next article. Because, yes - New Jersey is the Garden State! Editor’s Note: Lesley offers a variety of presentations and workshops for garden clubs, plant societies, and horticultural gatherings. Recently retired from her position as Superintendent of Horticultural Education at the Morris County Park Commission, and with four decades of teaching environmental science and garden education, her focus now is garden history. A complete listing of her talks can be seen at lesleyparness.com and she can be reached at parness@verizon. net. This column will appear in the paper every other month.
temperature drops, creating the perfect environment to grow new grass. Rake up bare spots or small areas prior to seeding. Consider renting some power equipment if you are re-seeding your whole lawn. Perhaps share this rental cost with a few neighbors to save money. Don’t forget to test your soil and at least raise your soil pH to 6.5 or higher using calcium carbonate-based products. Last but not least, use quality grass seed if you are going to go through all this time, effort and expense to create the best lawn in town. I hope you didn’t have much damage to your lawn this summer. Do not give up hope, you can try again this fall and next spring to create a healthy growing lawn so this does not happen to you again. Maybe next year we can beat Mother Nature. Good luck with your lawn venture. Editor’s Note: Todd Pretz is Vice President of Jonathan Green, a leading supplier of lawn and garden products in the northeast. For more information, please visit: www.jonathangreen.com