Public gardens by GREAC
A team of Glen Ridge residents volunteer to plant and maintain pollinator and wildlife-friendly gardens throughout town.
These gardens were designed and planted thoughtfully to showcase the beauty and resilience of native plants. With careful consideration of color palette and form, plants are selected for their contribution to native wildlife and low environmental impact, requiring little watering, no pesticides or fertilizers, and less maintenance than conventional gardens.
Most importantly, these were created to be enjoyed by the public, and many are a short walk from the Glen Ridge Train Station.
Benson Street Green
Benson St & Wildwood Terr
Across the street from the historic Benson Street Train Station, two gardens were built as Eagle Scout projects (Glen Ridge Troop 55). A rain garden was installed by Harrison Velechko, and a pollinator bed was planted by Matthew Bonnett. Kevin Sherry advised both Scouts on construction of the beds and plant selection. The two beds seamlessly blend into one beautiful space that provides habitat and food for pollinators and helps to absorb some of the stormwater that flows down Wildwood Terrace during heavy rainfall.
The rain garden features ironweed, coneflowers, and Joe Pye weed.
The pollinator bed includes mountain mint, monarda, and butterflyweed, among other plants.
Glen Ridge Public Library
240 Ridgewood Ave
In 2025, this bed next to the public library was overgrown with English ivy and weed trees. That fall, the EAC began the process of removing the invasive vines and, with the help of a microgrant from the Native Plant Society Essex Chapter, began to introduce beneficial plant species to the site.
This shade garden celebrates the diversity and beauty of plants that thrive in "dry shade," often a difficult location for gardens.
Here, several kinds of ferns (ostrich, marginal wood, and sensitive), multiple varieties of violets (New Jersey's state flower), and blue-stemmed goldenrods are among dozens of species that grow here. White wood asters were discovered with the removal of the English ivy, and in the first year of blooms, rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans) have taken center stage, along with blanketflower, coreopsis, lupine, and partridge pea.
Clay Field
Bellevue Ave & Sherman Ave
The triangle that became the Clay Field Pollinator Garden was a traditional garden planted by a resident who had since moved away some years ago, and the garden had become overgrown with invasive species: English ivy, barberry, multiflora rose, and others. In 2022, the town approved a proposal to turn it into a Rutgers Environmental Stewards project and it has evolved ever since.
Golden alexander, purple coneflower, rudbeckia, and the classic "goldenrods and asters" stand out amongst dozens of native flowering species in the peaceful green space across from Hurrell Field.
Ridgewood Ave School
235 Ridgewood Ave
This pollinator garden is tucked next to the school auditorium entrance. Started in Fall 2024, just before the start of the school year, EAC volunteers removed a circle of sod and installed plants donated by our members. Coneflowers, milkweeds, black-eyed Susans, goldenrod, penstemon, phlox, lyre leaf sage, violets, starry cerastium, and asters were specifically selected for this sunny area as critical food and habitat for our most beloved pollinators, and to provide visual interest throughout the year. RAS Student Lucia Stigliano '25 designed the garden sign.
