Faerie Enchantment

Beautiful Arboretums in New Jersey
There are so many beautiful arboretums, secret gardens and historical sites all throughout the Garden State also known as New Jersey. Too many people associate the highway and industrial auto routes which are laced with factories and urban areas, as the label of NJ, cracking jokes such as; "Sure its the garden state", or "Where are the gardens in NJ" or "NJ is all city", that is not the case, if you drive deeper into the state you will find those hidden jewels, the secret gardens, the massive horse and race farms, the dairy farms, arboretums, historical museums and grand victorians and mansions, all awaiting for visitors and NJ-ites to come and discover.One favorite location of mine is Morristown and its surrounding locale. Does George Washington or Jockey Hollow ring a bell?, they are part of Morristown's history as are the industrial revolution's millionaire's homes which sit amongst quaint garden fronts and cozy tree lines streets. Aout 5-10 minutes from the center of town sits Frelinghuysen Arboretum, formely the estate of the Frelinghuysen Family who donated the estate and its picturesque 127 acres to the Morris County Park Commission (MCPC) in 1969, it was formally dedicated as Frelinghuysen Arboretum in 1971 and eventually put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.The "MCPC" is notably considered to be the best park system in NJ and one of the leading park systems in the nation.In 1989 The Haggerty Education Center opened it contains a multi-purpose auditorium and has two classrooms. The goal of the center is to provide continuing horticultural educational programs, arts, events and is also home for various plant societies. There is also a fabulous gift shop with the most unique items, including artworks and books from locals and gardeners, tea ware, cards and jewelry as well, it sun room windows not only allow light inside but are adjacent to one of the many secret gardens and garden architecture throughout the grounds.There are just so many things to see and places to explore, I love the midsummer nights eve style garden over by the gift shop and gardens, there are these two amazing fantasy/grecian style stone sculptures, which also have a Southern Gothic/Nouveau feel to it, surrounding these beauties are beautiful greenery and flowers, a few trellis, a enchanting rock pond, and wrought iron seating.What makes this arboretum even more enchanting like a fairies haven are the majestic flowers which pop out at you at every corner, I could see Edith Wharton, sitting under one of the climbing rose trellis, basking in the warm air over a pot of tea, English pastry and her writting tablet, envisioning the romance of the season.The following is a picture of my friend Alex and I on an excursion to the arboretm, while the local newspaper's reporter/photographer was on hand, interviewed us and snapped this photo which was printed in color in our paper, which was exciting.

To visit more images from my arboretum adventures click on the following link which will bring you to my flickr gallery photo set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/sets/72157620131510824/

For more info on the arboretum click on this link:
http://www.arboretumfriends.org/