In a letter to the editor that appeared in the Hunterdon County Democrat in 1972 when the property first became available to the county, Alden E. Aldrich of Milford wrote, “This land has a lovely stream and a beautiful pond that can do more to soothe our twentieth century souls than all the tranquilizers in the world. On this site Mr. Bloomer has planted a wealth of trees and shrubs that is unexcelled anywhere in this part of the country.” Mr. Aldrich goes on to say, “When New York’s Museum of Modern Art designed their sculpture garden I’m told that the only place they could get the plant material they needed was at the Geo. F. Bloomer Nursery. For its size this tract of land is probably richer botanically than any other in the central Atlantic states!”

Perhaps heeding Mr. Aldrich’s call to action, in 1974 the county acquired the 63-acre Bloomer nursery and ten additional acres. Over the next four years, the overgrown woods were cleared of underbrush, trails were delineated, a boardwalk was built over the wetlands area, display gardens were planted, and the former office and Bloomer residence was renovated to accommodate the park commissioners’ headquarters.

The extensive display gardens serve as educational tools. The continually changing beds of perennials and annuals are divided into theme gardens including an herb garden, rock garden, cut flower garden and butterfly garden. The arboretum is an “All American Selection” display garden providing the public with an opportunity to see recent AAS winners grown in the park’s greenhouses.

In 1979 the Deats family donated the cedar log two-story gazebo that is now the centerpiece of the display gardens. The 1892 gazebo was relocated from the Flemington Junction estate of Hiram E. Deats, whose ancestor, John Deats, revolutionized farming when he invented the Deats plow. Hiram E. Deats served as jury foreman at the Lindbergh Kidnapping Trial in 1935.

The gazebo is the oldest structure of its kind in New Jersey. In 1997, Doug Kiovsky, Assistant County Park Planner, restored the structure adding cedar support sections and ornamental carvings of a window view of nature, a sunburst to the east, and evergreen trees and acorns. The carvings, representing peace, knowledge, serenity and awe, decorate the lower level of the gazebo.

As the park’s unofficial historian, Mr. Kiovsky leads tours of the arboretum, usually twice in the spring and fall. They are a unique opportunity to learn about the history of the property and the people who created it from someone who loves the subject. Call the office for information about Mr. Kiovsky’s next tour of the arboretum.

The Furnas Section Natural Area, across Route 629 from the arboretum, is a 32-acre site given to the county in 1992 by neighbor and noted historian Joseph Chamberlain Furnas.

HUNTERDON ARBORETUM