I enjoy photographing the many beautiful parks and gardens in New Jersey and while my list of favorites is long, there's one special place where I like to go to think, to relax and to celebrate the beauty of life. Bordered by the historic Delaware and Raritan Canal, this captivating spot is The Bridgetenders Garden. The product of human dedication and effort, this tiny parcel was once the pride and joy of the last bridgetender to live at Canal House, Sandor Fekete. And, no wonder! With its picturesque "Stick style" gatehouse and unparalleled view of the canal and the towpath, it is a spot blessed with unrivaled appeal.
During his tenure, Sandor grew a variety of crops in this garden and was well-known for his generosity in sharing the fruit of his labors. In 1997, at the Canal House Association's 25th Anniversary dinner, the late Wilbur Bryan, a neighbor, shared his recollections:
During his tenure, Sandor grew a variety of crops in this garden and was well-known for his generosity in sharing the fruit of his labors. In 1997, at the Canal House Association's 25th Anniversary dinner, the late Wilbur Bryan, a neighbor, shared his recollections:
"Sandor kept a beautifully laid-out vegetable garden across the street from the canal house. He grew potatoes, corn, pole beans, tomatoes, onions, peppers and garlic. He also grew his own tobacco that he cured on racks in an upstairs room. He sowed and dried seeds from all those plants and started new plants in cold frames the following spring. He had grape vines along the canal and made his own wine. Finally, he had a very large strawberry patch in back of the house. I also remember a mass of morning glories grown every summer on strings up the side and roof of the little bridgetender's hut."
A remnant of the grape vine is rumored to still exist somewhere in the backyard of the Canal House but in the garden, Sandor's vegetables and tobacco are long gone. In their place, tulips, daffodils and bleeding hearts make a colorful appearance in spring and as the days grow warmer and summer unfolds, the garden explodes with color from a variety of flowers and plants. A prodigious border of lilies lines the grassy path along the canal, delicate roses contrast with the rustic split rail fence from which they peer at the road and fragrant wisteria, colorful coneflowers and white hydrangeas fill the plots to overflowing. Butterflies and bees relish this place as do avian and human visitors. A treat for the senses, the garden is an enchanting gem in a very unique setting.
© 2016, Vivian S. Bedoya
© 2016, Vivian S. Bedoya