Shakespeare Garden Opens

Saturday marked the 87th season opening at the Shakespeare Garden, and volunteers answered to call  to weed and plant to prepare for visitors.

If you visit soon, you can see the special Garden Club daffodils that the Plainfield Garden Club planted in November 2010.

A special chore this year is replacing brick borders that were disturbed when boxwood hedges had to be removed due to disease.

Poppies and Calendulas were among flowers planted for 2014, while invasives such as White Star of Bethlehem were being removed Saturday.

A volunteer places plants prior to digging them in.

Plainfield Garden Club members and volunteers work from planting guides for the various beds.

As a gardener myself, I was intrigued by the variety of tools and equipment that volunteers brought.

Rope guides for the roses and honeysuckle were tied to the pergola. An American variety of Wisteria may be added this year. The pergola was funded with grants and constructed in 2010 by Union County Parks employees.

As part of Cedar Brook Park, the Shakespeare Garden is open dawn to dusk. The garden is at its peak in early June, but always interesting as the seasons pass.

As volunteers prepared the garden, another group was using a roller to fix up the very popular cricket pitch nearby.

Here's a close-up of the cricket pitch. Cedar Brook Park also has a pond bordered by native plants, picnic areas and other sports fields. It is a great place to take out-of-town visitors, especially to see the Shakespeare Garden.

--Bernice