Environmental Commission hosts garden tour through community – Star News Group

LAKE COMO — The Lake Como Environmental Commission, in conjunction with Candide’s Garden, hosted a tour through the borough and neighboring Belmar on Saturday, visiting residents who have mastered the art of sustainable gardening or are in the process of learning about it.

The idea for the garden tour came from Jon Gibbons, proprietor of Candide’s Garden, according to Debbie Hillard, chair of the Lake Como Environmental Commission. 

“This is an idea to have people come out, really take a look at what an environmental garden would look like, rather than what you would consider a ‘pristine’ garden,’” Ms. Hillard said.

She described all the gardens on the tour as pollinator friendly and environmentally sustainable. Ms. Hillard hopes to make this a yearly event, and with the large turnout of roughly two dozen residents, the event attracted enough attention from the community. 

The day began with Mr. Gibbons explaining what makes the gardens on the tour special, and how each of them follows one of the three templates for an environmentally sustainable yard: entry, beneficial and distinctive. 

Ms. Hillard said she believes such events raise awareness and promote the trend toward planting natively as an alternative to introducing non-native plants to the local ecosystem. 

“For Lake Como and the surrounding communities, I think it is important to be educated on native plants,” she said.

Dr. Merilyn Weber, former chair of the Lake Como Environmental Commission, said, “We want to make the town an environmental destination. Most people come down here for the beach, even though we don’t have any beach. We want people to make their yards environmentally friendly and make it more of a learning destination so they can learn how to improve the environment.”

According to Ms. Hillard, Mr. Gibbons has helped many Lake Como residents improved their gardens and yards over the years. 

Beginning with Candide’s Garden, the tour included 20 gardens in all. At most participants were able to speak with a homeowner as well as view the garden.

This created opportunities for participants to speak with one another and exchange ideas and experiences with planting and maintaining sustainable gardens, Mr. Gibbons said. 

“It was most gratifying to see folks returning to Candide’s Garden for refreshments, free advice and native plants to take home. There was a lot of happy and animated conversation about the day – basically, folks in the community getting to know each other. For Lake Como, not being blessed with as developed a social infrastructure as some neighboring towns, it was a welcome sight,” said Mr. Gibbons.

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