The Caldwell Pollinator Garden

The History of the Caldwell Pollinator Garden 

The garden was begun in 2015 by the Caldwell Environmental Commission. Originally a property of the Knights of Columbus on Personette Street, the town purchased this parcel of land with Green Acres and Open Space Trust funding.  The property is 70 feet wide and 100 feet deep ending at a chain fence which separates it from Pine Brook, a stream that runs through the entire borough.  The existing building was razed and the property cleaned of debris.  A tall black walnut tree remained in the rear left corner of the lot.  A plan was developed to create a rectangular meadow in the center of the property bordered by a four-foot wide path with gardens dedicated to different pollinators located on the outside perimeter.  Native trees, including two service berries, two red buds, a dogwood and a Paw Paw, were properly spaced in the perimeter. The meadow and trees were funded by an ANJEC (Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions) Open Space grant.  Recently installed was a descriptive sign purchased by a separate grant from ANJEC.

      By acquiring grants and reaching out to various local businesses and organizations, the garden was slowly coming to fruition.  Support from the Home Depot Foundation and employees added the permeable paved pathway while with help from the local Rotary Club, we acquired a split rail fence around the property.  A donation from ShopRite of West Caldwell gave us the opportunity to purchase plants for the gardens.  Other donations came from the Somerset County Soil Conservation District, the Passaic/Essex/Union Soil Conservation Service, and the Pinelands Nursery.  Volunteers helped in remediating the soil, clearing the area of rocks and construction material and planting the gardens.  Among the groups helping the project to succeed were the Boy Scouts, students of James Caldwell High School and Caldwell-West Caldwell Middle School, students of Caldwell University and Montclair State University, St. Aloysius Green team members, Essex County Master Gardeners, the Caldwell Council and the Caldwell Environmental Commission members including its garden committee.

      The meadow was established in the fall of the first year using a seed mixture of native plants usually found in such an ecosystem and provided by Toad Shade Nursery.  The meadow, once begun, has had little maintenance thus far and truly is following its own course.  In the late fall, the meadow is cut down once. 

        The outside gardens were developed gradually using only native, untreated plants.  The plants are perennials with the exception of two small sections in the Monarch Garden that contain annuals.  Those perennials were selected which tolerate the clay soil, the presence of a black walnut, nearly day long sunshine, and the reality of deer in the area.  Plants were chosen that would bloom at various times throughout the growing season to provide food for pollinators. A bench was donated in the summer of 2019 by the DiGangi family.