Many things happened in Shomrei’s garden during the spring and summer of 2025 to keep the gardens beautiful and productive.

This year’s new blooms started in the fall of 2024, when Shomrei Emunah again received 125 bulbs from May in Montclair.  About ⅔ of the bulbs were daffodils; the rest were red and yellow tulips.  Eliot Fischer and I created a new bed for these bulbs to the left of the main synagogue entrance by the driveway, and then planted the bulbs.  The pachysandra plants that we removed were given to another Montclair gardener who was most appreciative of that ground cover plant. The daffodils and tulips burst into colorful bloom this April and May.

June 2025 was time for planting annuals at Shomrei.  Vinca, a deer-resistant annual, in shades of white, pink, purple, and red, line the flower bed along the driveway, planted in between the grasses and low evergreen shrubs.  In the front flower beds, marigolds and zinnias were planted, providing lots of bright colors which thankfully do not tempt the deer that often visit Shomrei’s gardens.  In the seven barrier flower boxes near the playground and tent, herbs and peppers are flourishing.  Peppers are proving to be more deer resistant than the tomatoes planted last year.  Deer are not fond of some scents, so the basil, thyme, rosemary and mint in the flower boxes are doing very well.  Mustafa and I picked the first pepper together in mid July; the peppers and herbs have been used in Saturday morning kiddushim.

I was away for several weeks in June and July.  I came back to see the gardens flourishing, but also had a wonderful surprise:  Tomato plants and gourd plants sprouting by themselves amidst the perennials and annuals I planted.  You may have seen yellow flowers in the bed along the driveway; those have turned out to be gourds. I did not plant these tomatoes and gourds; they  are the result of our composting efforts over the past few years!  Here’s how that happened:  Vegetable scraps from kiddush prep are put in a large black composting unit behind the outside tent.  Leaves and other plant material are also deposited in the unit.  Over time, the scraps and leaves decompose into a black soil-like material called compost, which is put back into the gardens to enrich the soil.  Sometimes, little seeds in the vegetable scraps survive and turn into “volunteer” plants, like the tomato and gourd plants that I saw when I returned to Montclair.  What a great surprise that was!

Unfortunately, the deer seem to like the tomato plants.  So far, the deer haven’t found and devoured all of the volunteer tomato plants.  There are already many green cherry tomatoes in the garden.  I hope the deer leave the plants alone long enough for the tomatoes to turn red so we can use them for kiddush.  I have seen at least one gourd growing; the gourds can be used as decorations for Shomrei’s Sukkah.

In the barrier flower boxes you will see lots of herbs growing beautifully.  The herbs are used for kiddush but there are plenty of herbs to share.  Please feel free to take some to use or to dry for seasonings.  There are plant labels in the flower boxes to identify  the herbs. The basil leaves make great pesto.  Mint tea is easy to make from all the mint leaves in the planter box right next to the synagogue.  Thyme and rosemary can be cut and dried to keep in seasoning containers in your own kitchen.

Next steps for the garden?  First and foremost, it would be great to have a gardening committee to help with planting, primarily in the spring and fall, and weeding, all season long.   We have lots of gardens so there’s something for anyone with even a mild interest in gardening to do to keep the gardens neat and beautiful.  No equipment required; training provided!  The other big gardening need is watering.  An irrigation system – drip hoses, sprinklers, etc. – will hopefully  be in the new future to keep Shomrei’s gardens green.If you would like to help with the gardening or planning for improved irrigation of the gardens, please contact me.  Gardening newbies are welcome; it’s great to get outside, put your hands in the dirt, and see the tangible results.  Even weeding can be meditative!   My email is , cell phone (201)  981-7055.