Counting
the cars on the
NJ Turnpike,
they've all
gone to look for America.
Those lyrics from America, released over three decades ago on Simon and Garfunkel's
Bookends album, have done more to fuel
misperceptions about the Garden State than just about anything else!
When asked where I'm from while
traveling, more often than not I'll hear the response: "Oh yea, that's the place with all the factories and the
turnpike." Once in awhile mention will be made of
Bruce Springsteen or
Atlantic City, but gardens? Never. That's understandable, gardens aren't exactly glamorous to most people, but
they greatly outnumber the factories and certainly present a more appealing image.
Although NJ is one of the smallest states, it's a top ten
producer of many of the USA's most popular food crops including: lettuce,
peaches, and tomatoes. The unique climate and soil composition also result in
some of the best tasting tomatoes found anywhere. Ironically, a burger
with tomato and lettuce is commonly known as California Style, but
you haven't eaten until it's made with a Jersey tomato. Just how many of
those burgers do you think you could adorn with a single Jersey tomato? Probably
two or three, unless you're using one of the monster tomatoes from the annual
growing contest that are almost always over four pounds each and have weighed in
at over six pounds!
In addition to the produce already mentioned, you'll find that an exceptionally
wide variety of fruits and vegetables are grown in NJ with seasons that span the
entire year. Particularly popular in the fall, are apples from one of the many
orchards.
Most of the supermarkets include
Jersey Fresh
sections, making preparation of local grown produce just as convenient as canned
or frozen. Nevertheless, if you want to be positively sure that it was picked
within hours of eating, you'll want to visit one of the many roadside stands or
pick-your-own
farms located throughout the state.
More
Than Just Produce
Fresh
vegetables and fruit are nice, but the Garden State nickname would hardly be
appropriate without the beautiful views provided by all the flowers and trees.
The official flower and tree are the
Violet and
Red Oak, which must have been
chosen randomly, because they're not necessarily any more pleasing than the
hundreds of other varieties.
While personal vegetable gardens are usually tucked away in the backyard,
you'll see thousands of flower gardens enhancing the front yards, driveways, and
walkways of private homes throughout the shore region as well as the rest of the
state. As pleasant as these views are, if you want to touch and smell the
flowers you'll need to locate some public gardens. NJ Monthly has a brief
tour
of some of the more popular fall destinations including some of the gardens
of the Monmouth County Park System. You'll also find scheduled horticultural workshops
at the Deep Cut Gardens.
If you're reading this in the dead of winter, you're not going to find
many flowers in
bloom, but you'll still be able to view last year's blossoms online. Then if
cabin fever sets in, head on over to your favorite seed catalog and find seeds for your personal favorites.
Click here
to get $20 off your first order at Gurneys!
More on Gardening
