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Dear friend of the arboretum,

It’s May and it is magnificent in the arboretum.   This month is the peak bloom for many of the flowering shrubs and trees. Starting with azaleas and early rhododendrons, followed by lilacs and then rhododendrons blooming into June. It’s a feast for the senses! Come and enjoy a walk together with your family and friends or find the perfect spot for yourself to enjoy the season.

There are bird walks and tours during the month, a very unique Art Show and the special Rhododendron Weekend Tours where you will be introduced by Joe Di Giacomo, Laurelwood’s rhododendron expert, to the deep history and uniqueness of Laurelwood’s rhododendron collection.

Also don’t miss our Annual Mother’s Day Weekend Plant Sale where you’ll find a large selection of quality shrubs, annuals, perennials, container gardens, hanging baskets and that perfect Mother’s Day gift.                                                     

Click here to learn more about what’s in bloom in May. 

The arboretum is open every day 8:00 AM to dusk,
weather permitting.

There are 7 pedestrian gates that are always unlocked.
The most commonly used are located on Home Hill to the
right of the Knippenberg Center and on Long Valley Road
near the exit from the Pines Lake Drive West parking lot.

The Knippenberg Center for Education 
is open April 7 - October 31
Tuesday through Sunday, 12 Noon - 4:00 PM

BOOK YOUR PRIVATE TOUR NOW
during the Peak Bloom season of May into June

Dorothy Knippenberg began hybridizing rhododendrons in 1955 at Laurelwood Gardens, and she continued to strive for plants with new interests and improvements, such as hardy large-leaf plants, more flower substance, and later-blooming periods. In anticipation of donating the 30-acre site to Wayne Township for a public rhododendron park, the Knippenbergs began assembling masses of the hardiest varieties of rhododendrons. 

Today, the arboretum reflects their efforts and is a showcase of one of the largest public rhododendron collections in New Jersey, with more than 450 named rhododendron hybrids and species, including nearly 100 varieties of roadies in bloom. Many of the rhododendrons are more than fifty years old and include rhododendrons hybridized and propagated by the Knippenbergs over the years, imported from nurseries in England and the Netherlands, and purchased from local and West Coast nurseries. 

New Sculpture Installed

Flourish by Annie Lee Mariano

A Sculpture Trail at Laurelwood Arboretum welcomes a striking new addition—Flourish, a stainless-steel work by artist Annie Lee Mariano. Now on view at Site #6 along Brook Road, the 8' x 7' x 4' sculpture rises elegantly against the arboretum’s natural landscape, creating a dynamic interplay between art and nature.

Mariano is a metalwork artist with a passion for art and nature. During the pandemic, she left a career in banking to join David Boyajian Studio as a freelance artist. Specializing in steel, stainless steel, bronze, and aluminum, she has a unique gift for breathing life into static forms. She has designed and installed multiple private commissions throughout the United States and has exhibited at arboretums and art centers in Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York and Connecticut.

Earth Day 2026

Earth Day 2026 was celebrated at Laurelwood on Saturday April 18. Adults and children alike enjoyed the perfect weather day with nature craft projects, a Birds of NJ program and walk with Sharon Lewis, information about the earth’s environment with students in the Environmental Club of Wayne Hills High School and opportunities to get out into the arboretum with cart tours and scavenger hunts.

Scouts

Brownie Girl Scout Troop # 98543 from the Pines Lake School visited the Arboretum on Earth Day, Wednesday April 22.  The Scouts visited the daffodils they planted last year and participated in a “Find the color in nature” scavenger hunt.

The girls were very excited to be involved in a service project of pulling garlic mustard weeds from the garden by the Propagation Greenhouse.  They enthusiastically weeded for 45 minutes and created a refuse pile as tall as they are!  We look forward to having these budding gardeners visit the Arboretum each year.

Part-time Office Manager
Must be able to work in the office 4 hours, two days per week.

General office duties include:

• Answering the telephone, return phone and email inquiries 
• Knowledge of Word and Excel necessary
• Manage our calendar both online & office copy
• Maintain electronic files of important documents
• Contact vendors, maintain office supplies
• Copying and filing information
• Employee scheduling 

Send resume to president@laurelwoodarboretum.org

The Gardening Season Has Begun

You can support our annual springtime campaign
by donating online at laurelwoodarboretum.org

or you can give via a donor-advised fund, make a gift of stock,
bonds or mutual funds, or transfer funds from your IRA.

Donations to Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum help to support the park's maintenance, operations and public programs.

Dues and donations are deductible for income tax purposes
to the extent allowed by law.

Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Keep Our Arboretum Green!

Copyright © 2026 Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum.
All rights reserved.

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