An Ocean Grove hydrangea. Blogfinger photo. ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Assistant Gardening Editor and Schlepper © Blogfinger.net
Even though we have the name Grove in our name, this little town looks nothing like a Grove. However Ocean Township has no ocean, so whatever! We have been paying attention to the flora of Ocean Grove, and we think that the town needs an official flower.
When Osborne first visited OG in 1869 or so, he did find a lot of trees, mostly pines and some hickory. But we don’t think he cared much about the plantings. His writings describe sand dunes, and the ocean, and you could see that he would be happy to find that. He also described “brush” growing all over. No mention of flowers. Osborne, the father of Ocean Grove, also was very concerned and relieved when he found that there were no mosquitoes here.
But as for flowering shrubs, he evidently wasn’t that interested. But soon, after the founding, tents and cottages began to appear, along with people. So undoubtedly, plants were planted, especially those that were colorful and able to thrive at the seashore. The inhabitants probably sought out varieties that did well in sand (porous soil) and in the sunny environment near the Ocean.
Fast forward to 2018, and we see that gardening is really big here, and we will have the People’s Garden Tour this Sunday to celebrate wonderful gardens in small spaces. (Scroll down or up for more information)
One plant which really does well here is hydrangea. The H. plants do well in sandy soil and wind, but they need to be well watered. They are also magical, changing their colors by merely sprinkling secret dust into the soil.
Anyhow, they are succeeding all over the Grove, so let’s name the hydrangea “Ocean Grove’s official plant/flower.”
Any other nominations? But please don’t send me roses—-they’re too trite and common, and the spelling is too easy. Besides, Nantucket (also an Ocean-bordering area) prefers hydrangea, so let’s align with that place where the rich and famous prefer the H. flower.
And wait, there’s more. Flowers beautify our tents, but put some in her hair, and it is another story.
SCOTT MCKENZIE from “the Graduate.” “Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.”
Good ideas all around I vote to have hydrangeas as the unofficial flower and rosa rugosa as the unofficial native flower!
Northender: I forgot about the beach roses. They would certainly qualify at least for a nomination, but the flowering hydrangeas are all over town, and we are talking about flowers, not plants in general. Beach roses are pretty much only found on the beach.
Jersey tomatoes are wonderful for their fruit, but they are not known for flowers. I can’t wait, as I always do, for the world’s best tomatoes to show up at our farmers markets and food stores.
While you didn’t want to nominate roses I believe you should consider Rosa Rugosa which is a coastal plant / flower and not that easy to spell. It also has rose hips in the fall that can last through the Winter which some people refer to as beach tomato, you can never have enough Jersey tomatoes.