MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the Montclair History Center. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.
Set back behind the Crane House and Historic YWCA Museum on Orange Road is two acres of open space and historic herb and native gardens. Visitors who walk up the red brick pathways to explore what’s tucked away find a hidden oasis of nature and wildlife with resting benches to take in the quiet atmosphere and scenery.
Since Montclair History Center’s founding in 1965, historic gardens have been part of the education of the site. Today, the Landsberger Learning Gardens directly behind the museum interpret the historical connections between food, herbs, and Montclair’s agricultural past. The herb gardens play a central role in educational programming and events, featuring historically significant plant varieties and a rich sensory experience about the culinary and medicinal uses of these plants throughout history, specifically the 18th and 19th centuries. Visits can explore a digital map and historical facts about the plants through a QR code when they arrive.
Just beyond the historic herb gardens, the Meadow features pollinator-friendly plantings that support birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife. This multiyear project funded by the Landsberger Foundation transformed an overgrown and underutilized area behind our historic buildings into a now vibrant landscape that reflects the region’s natural heritage. Today, the Meadow showcases more than 2,000 plantings including natives, perennials, grasses, and woody shrubs. The Meadow offers visitors opportunities to learn about native ecosystems and the environmental history of the region.
The gardens are the Montclair History Center are open daily from 8 am to dusk. July and August are peak bloom seasons to enjoy the bucolic setting and planting. Visit the gardens at 110 Orange Road, Montclair, free street parking available. Learn more at www.montclairhistory.org/landsbergergardensandmeadow.
While you visit you can also experience a modern, mission driven farm and chickens on our site in partnership with Montclair Community Farms. Montclair Community Farms also supports and cares for beehives in the Meadow. Local honey can be purchased through the farm. Learn more at www.montclaircommunityfarms.org.
About the Montclair History Center: The Montclair History Center, formerly the Montclair Historical Society, is an independent not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1965. Montclair History Center shares stories of Montclair’s diverse and complex history through research, education, and programs. We connect the past with who we are today. For additional information, please visit the website www.montclairhistory.orgor contact the Montclair History Center at 973-744-1796 or mail@montclairhistory.org
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