Garden Programs for Adults & Children

The Somerset County Park Commission provides unique and educational horticulture programs and workshops for children and adults at both Leonard J. Buck Garden and the Colonial Park Gardens.

Leonard J. Buck Garden staff has scheduled “Focus on Ferns,” a lecture on Thursday, June 7, 2018 from 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. Teacher/Naturalist Dorothy Smullen will discuss the fascinating world of ferns. The session will take place at 11 Layton Road in Far Hills, New Jersey. Fee is $15 per person.

Pre-registration is required and may be accomplished online at www.somersetcountyparks.org or by calling 908-722-1200, ext. 5621 or the NJ Relay Service at 711 for individuals with a hearing or speech impairment.

The Horticulture staff at Colonial Park Gardens will present a children’s workshop, “Little Wigglers”, How to Make Your Own Composting Bin” on Saturday, May 19, 2018 from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon.

Children age 5 to 12 (limit 10 children who must be accompanied by an adult) will learn about ‘vermicomposting,’ the term used for composting with worms. In this fun and educational workshop, children will learn the basics of recycling kitchen scraps in order to make compost, and how to assemble their own “take home” worm bins. Fee is $25 per child. All supplies will be provided.

“Cell Phone Photography Workshop” is scheduled for Sunday, May 20, 2018 from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon at Colonial Park Gardens. Photographer Joy Yagid will lead the hands-on workshop detailing the finer points of smart phone photography.

Pre-registration is required for both programs, Little Wigglers – How to Make your Own Composting Bin by May 14 and Cell Phone Photography Workshop by May 16 by visiting and may be accomplished online at www.somersetcountyparks.org or by calling 908-722-1200, ext 5721 or the NJ Relay Service at 711 for individuals with a hearing or speech impairment. Participants will meet at the Colonial Park Gardens Stone Cottage, Parking Lot A.

Leonard J. Buck Garden is one of the premier rock gardens in the eastern United States consisting of a series of alpine and woodland garden areas situated in a 29-acre wooded stream valley.

The Colonial Park Gardens include the one-acre Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden, comprising plantings with over 3,000 roses of 325 varieties. The Perennial Garden is a beautiful five-acre garden with a gazebo that provides year-round interest and color from its collection of flowering shrubs, bulbs, perennials, and annuals. The 144-acre Arboretum provides displays of flowering trees, evergreens, shade trees, dwarf conifers, and flowering shrubs.

Information on this event and other Somerset County Park Commission activities may be found on the Internet at www.somersetcountyparks.org.