With warmer weather and longer days, the gardening season has finally arrived in Mt. Laurel.
For the third straight year, the township is bringing back its community garden at Blue Hills Farm on Hainesport-Mt. Laurel Road.
The garden debuted at the farm in 2012 thanks to the efforts of community members and the Mt. Laurel Green Team. The township went forward with the idea to allow residents who do not have an adequate outdoor space to still partake in gardening. The project finally came to fruition thanks in part to a Burlington County Parks Grant.
After a positive response from residents the first year, the township opted to double the number of plots in 2013.
Last week, the township said about two-thirds of the plots had been filled so far. Township manager Maureen Mitchell said response from the community has remained steady since the garden opened.
Sandra Carleton, a member of Mt. Laurel’s Green Team and a gardener, rents a half plot from the township each year. She enjoyed growing vegetables and herbs in the backyard of her home until she moved to a townhouse and didn’t have the space to do it anymore.
“Then I moved into a townhouse and I only had a small yard in the back,” Carleton said.
When the township announced plans for a community garden, Carleton was involved from the start. The Green Team did a lot of work to help get the garden rolling, and Carleton was able to start gardening again.
“I decided I wanted to do a vegetable garden,” she said. “I had a smaller piece and then I expanded it.”
Carleton said, from a gardener’s perspective, the 2013 season was very difficult. Bad weather made growing anything difficult, and Carleton hopes things will turn around this year.
Despite last year’s struggles, Carleton and other gardeners are forging ahead with the season. Last week, the Green Team had master gardener Jen Johnson come out for a demonstration. Carleton said the demonstration was well attended by the community. In addition, there are two rain gardens on site and a wildflower garden is being started this year.
The Green Team is also hoping to use the garden for the community’s benefit. In conjunction with the New Jersey Tree Foundation, Carleton said the team is going to try to grow potted trees for the township’s proposed park at the intersection of Hainesport-Mt. Laurel Road and Elbo Lane.
“Last year, we had trouble growing the trees with the weather,” Carleton said. “This year, we’re trying potted trees. Hopefully we’ll have good weather this time.”
Applications for the community garden are available on the Mt. Laurel Township website, www.mountlaurel.com. Residents can rent a full plot for $40, a half plot for $20 or a quarter plot for $10. All checks should be made payable to Mt. Laurel Township. The township will continue to rent plots until all of them are full.
For more information on Community Garden, contact the Parks and Recreation Office at (856) 234–0001 ext. 1220 or email enewlin@mountlaurel.com.
