The Moorestown Garden Club’s garden walk fundraisers on Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, carries the theme Song of the Garden.
“We’re happy to be bringing this beloved event back to Moorestown,” said Jean Pollock, co-chair of the event.
The biannual fundraiser will feature five gardens, including the newly restored community garden on Camden Avenue that is overseen by the club in a partnership with plot tenants who are all township residents.
A wide variety of horticultural species will also be featured on the walk, with a special emphasis on pollinators, which, according to the MGC, are vitally important to sustainability because they nurture bees.
“We’re trying to encourage people to plant mindfully, thinking about the wildlife that you support and the insects that you support, and also you can be beautiful with that while you’re doing that,” Pollock said.
The garden was founded in 1954 as an offshoot of the township women’s club. Since then, the nonprofit has served as a primary resource for garden education and beautification in the community and has won multiple awards for design and horticulture at the Philadelphia Flower Show.
“The mission of the garden club really is to increase the knowledge of our members about floral design and horticulture, as well as environmental preservation, sustainability and to beautify our community,” Pollock said.
All proceeds from the club’s fundraisers support its outreach programs for seniors and youth, fund collegiate scholarships for Moorestown High School seniors and fund seasonal designs installed in the Main Street planters.
Event co-Chair Stacy Schaffer believes the garden walk is something that inspires people.
“People get ideas,” she explained. “If they’re on the fence about starting their own garden and they see something that really appeals to them, they think, ‘We can do that.’
“People that are season gardeners just like to take a day off and see the fruits of someone else’s labor.”
For Pollock the two-day event is a delight for the senses, and she’s seen gardens of all shapes and sizes.
“Perfection is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s really just to let people try things,” she said.
Pollock describes gardening as a joyful activity for individuals, but she also wants the community to know how beneficial it is for the environment.
“You realize with what you plant, you’ll have more birds in your yard, you’ll have more pollinator bees in your yard,” she noted. “ … You’re also restoring that balance of planting and nature and air quality and sound improvement. And they’ll serve to enhance your outdoor environment.”
To join the garden club, visit moorestowngardenclub.com or the group’s Facebook page. Tickets for the walk are available at the Moorestown Community House, Flagg’s Garden Center, Moorestown Hardware and the Moorestown Flower Shoppe. Advance tickets are $20 and day-of-event tickets are $25.
