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Friday, August 21, 2009

Maurice River

This week I trucked down to South Jersey to visit the Maurice River Botanical Gardens and Reserve in Heislerville, Cumberland County. It's pronounced Morris River, and don't scratch your head. If you haven't heard of it, you're not alone. This is an eight-acre garden cultivated for the last 17 years by John DiOrio, whose fulltime job is corrections officer but whose longtime hobby and passion is plants, especially rare, unusual, endangered or tropical ones. John has a crazy collection of cactuses in this garden, and many other beds filled with wonderful stuff. He opens once a year to the public for a hummingbird festival. This year it's Aug. 29 and 30. (John and his gardens will be featured in a story on Aug. 28.) His reserve isn't Longwood Gardens by any stretch, though it's interesting to me that he's been there many times and loves it. His garden is informal, spread out and, except for the cactus area and a few other specialized spots, is pretty randomly planted. But - and this is no hyperbole - he knows every single plant in his collection ... where it came from, its proper name, its status and habits. He also plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I know I wrote this week about the scarcity of butterflies this summer, but John obviously has had no such problem. The day I visited, they were fluttering about in clouds!  
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About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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