We're in the final stretch of spring, with just about a month left until summer officially begins, which means that while you've probably refreshed at least some of your garden in preparation for the warmer months, you might still be looking for some inspiration.
Join us for the annual Rose to Rock Garden Tour from 11am-4pm on Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1. Organized by the Montclair Foundation through Van Vleck House and Garden, this year's event will allow visitors to explore a total of nine private gardens (or 10 if visitors include the garden at Van Vleck House) throughout Montclair and Glen Ridge.
Van Vleck House and Garden began as a 12-acre estate owned by the Van Vleck family, dating back to 1868 when Joseph Van Vleck Sr. and his family moved to Montclair from Brooklyn. The last member of the family to live on the property, Howard Van Vleck, was an architect by trade and built the house that now stands on the property. However, he left architecture to become a full-time horticulturist and designed the home and gardens, which are still maintained by the Montclair Foundation.
“He was such a great horticulturist and plant enthusiast that he actually created a patented variety of azalea that's registered with the Greenwich Plant Register, the UK's register of specific species,” said Eileen Lundberg, a spokeswoman for the charity. “Anyone who's really into gardening is often impressed by that fact, because the distinction is not easy to make.”
The Roses to Rock Gardens tour first took place in 1999 and has taken place every year since then, except for 2020, when it was canceled due to the pandemic. Lundberg said the event, which serves as a fundraiser to help maintain Van Vleck House and Gardens, came about after so many people raved about the Van Vleck Gardens and asked for advice about their own gardens.
This year's event will feature private gardens in Montclair and Glen Ridge, but in the past it has also featured gardens in nearby towns such as Llewellyn Park, Verona and Bloomfield, Lundberg said. When you check in at Van Vleck House & Gardens, you'll be given a tour journal as your admission ticket to each garden, Lundberg said. The booklet will also include addresses and details about each garden the tour will visit.
“It's a diverse mix of gardens, varying in size, design and landscape type,” Lundberg says, “so there's plenty to see, hear and smell, and there's something for everyone when you visit on Friday and Saturday. It's a self-guided tour, so you can look at the list of locations and decide whether you want to follow the suggested route on the map in the book or guide yourself.”
When it comes to finding private gardens to feature on the tour each year, she said, there's a team of volunteers who help put the event together. One volunteer, Tracy Parsons, owner of Parsons Cabinetry, keeps a list of potential participants each year. Parsons also sometimes contacts local real estate agents to get recommendations for gardens that could be included on the tour, such as homes for sale or people who have just renovated their gardens, she said. Lundberg also said she has posted on social media to find new participants.
“We want homeowners to be excited about the tour and feel like it's going to be a place where their property will be respected,” she said. “This list of gardens is constantly evolving, and it's definitely a community effort. It's really nice when people contact us and say they'd like to come on a tour.”
Speaking on Friday, the day of the event, Lundberg said Ken Serody, owner of Atrock Farm in Somerset and a former contributing editor at Martha Stewart magazine, will also be in attendance. He said he will be hosting a pop-up shop on the terrace of Van Vleck House and speaking to event-goers.
Tickets for the event can be purchased in advance on the website for $40 per person for Van Vleck House & Gardens members and $50 per person for non-members. Tickets can also be purchased on-site the day of the event, but Lundberg encourages visitors to buy their tickets in advance. Online tickets are $10 less per person than in person and offer a quicker check-in process.
“We hope that by participating in this event, people will learn more about our organization, because not only do we have beautiful gardens that people can visit for free, but we are essentially a private property and a non-profit foundation,” Lundberg said. “We raise funds through events like this to take care of the physical property, but we also do a lot of other things here.”
The Montclair Foundation and Van Vleck House and Gardens also hold an annual plant sale to raise funds for the upkeep of the property. They also have an education center that offers health classes, gardening classes for seniors, and educational programs for children. They also provide grants to other nonprofits and share their building with other nonprofits, including the Schumann Foundation of New Jersey and the Turrell Foundation.
Go to: Van Vleck House and Gardens, 21 Van Vleck St., Montclair, 973-744-4752, montclairfoundation.org.
Maddie McGay is a real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all the joys of living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram at @maddiemcgay and on X at @maddiemcgayy, and subscribe to the North Jersey Living newsletter. Have a tip, trend or great home you'd like her to know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.
