GROUNDS KEEPER, inc.: Naturalistic Outdoor Living Spaces in Matawan, NJ

NWF Certification Program

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 18:57:00 GMT

NWF is piloting a professional landscaper initiative to certify professional landscaper to assist their clients to create wildlife-friendly gardens. The pilot is assist NWF provide certified expertise on the ground to individuals, schools, communities and business who which to take the next step to not just garden and have a beautiful landscape but are ready to think about what they do in their yard impacts birds, butterflies, insects and all wildlife and plant as part of the larger eco-system. Professional landscapers can serve as on-the-ground ambassadors for NWF’s Certified Wildlife Habitat Program and work with individuals to design, install and maintain landscapes that are both beautiful and wildlife-friendly. In return, homeowners, schools, business who may need additional professional help in creating their wildlife-friendly landscape have a "Ranger Rick Approved" Landscaper to turn to. NWF certifies the professionals to ensure they are complying with the programs guidelines and standards.

NWF’s Certified Wildlife Habitat Program for over 40 years has engages homeowners, schools, businesses and other to change their currently landscape and gardening practices to be more wildlife-friendly. Approximately 90% of the individuals who have participated in the program are individual homeowners. To date, over 150,000 properties have been certified. For detailed information on NWF’s Certified Wildlife Habitat Certification, please visit our web site at www.nwf.org/certify/.

The Outdoor Garden Room

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:57:00 GMT

Every day for the past 35 years, I have had the good fortune to be able to wake up in the morning and do something that I love to do: I create Outdoor Garden Rooms.

A landscape architect must first properly develop a Master Plan, to ensure each property reaches its fullest potential. I, however, am most passionate about finishing an outdoor garden room with plants. No one would disagree that a room that is not furnished is nothing but empty space with four walls.

Yet, there is not one single point in the design/build process that creates the key transforming "wow" factor. You must include every piece of the puzzle. That last piece may be found in the mystery within the shadows of low-voltage lighting or the tranquility obtained from a waterfall cascading into a natural ecosystem pond. The last elusive secret to transforming an outdoor garden room into a magical space could be serenading music from inside simultaneously coming through rock speakers hidden within the garden. The interplay among these features makes the line that separates the outdoor living space from indoors disappear. As a result, the garden room often becomes the favorite room in the house. A very naturalistic style brings out a simple, but sophisticated scene. The garden should be an extension of the home that provides another place to live and not just an accent to the house. A backyard retreat becomes an entertainment space that brings people together. Lighting dramatically brings the garden alive after dusk, extending the time that can be spent outdoors. Views should be enjoyed from the inside and out. Considerations can include how to creatively use wood, metal and stone within the landscape. Seamless placement of the landscape and hardscape can be planned by a certified landscape architect. Essential elements in designing a serene setting could include perennial gardens, walls, in-ground swimming pool, spa, terraces, outdoor kitchen, pergola, gazebo, patio, fireplace, deck, pathways, fencing, driveway, arbors and water features including ponds, waterfalls or streams and outdoor rock speakers.

Place emphasis on a sensible low-maintenance design using sustainable plantings. The garden should offer a dynamic change celebrating the rhythms of the seasons offering places of interest and beauty year-roundñeven in winter, with delightful berries and bark. Consider attracting wildlife such as birds, butterflies or hummingbirds in the landscape or turtles, frogs or dragonflies around a pond. Your outdoor garden room can offer cut flowers to bring indoors or fresh-picked herbs that become part of a memorable meal. A musky fragrance can hang in the air or bold forms and textures can be created by ever changing complimentary perennial foliage growing near a patch of ornamental grasses. Evergreens and trees may anchor the space and allow for some privacy and shade within a more intimate setting. All of these subtleties emerge with a strong presenceñthe overall design is more than the sum of its parts.

A more sophisticated plant palette can be chosen including water-wise native plantings. The swaying of large ornamental grasses in the wind creates soothing sounds and peaceful movement. A waterfall cascading into a natural ecosystem pond brings tranquility. Choose perennial and ground cover plantings with an emphasis on length of bloom and interesting foliage appeal. Bed lines should be delineated and contoured in a pleasing manner. Screened topsoil can be added to new planting beds to create a layered, raised-bed effect set amongst rock boulders, perhaps contrasted with smaller river rock gravel. Niches between boulders create attractive informal planting pockets. Beds can then be mulched as a finished top dress. Other finishing touches can include outdoor patio furniture of wood or wrought iron, decorative containers and even garden art and other accessories like statuary, fountains, wind chimes, trellis and gazing balls.

Next month's article will cover specific techniques and plant choices that create the look and feel you want for your outdoor garden room, plus what to expect from your contractor.

Backyard Oasis

Sun, 27 May 2007 18:45:00 GMT

Lori Coury chose to spend her Saturday afternoon with a pool of cool water, instead of a bunch of hot air.

While the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning was flying high in her hometown of Readington, she opted to check out nearly two dozen backyard water ponds across the midstate.

"With the heat, you just want to jump in," Coury joked as she admired an Old Bridge backyard pond filled with water lettuce, tower lilies and a large porcelain turtle.

"I have the perfect backyard - 3 acres, and I've wanted to have a pond since I moved into my house," she said, never looking away from the water pond. "I'm looking for ideas, and I figured I could learn a lot today."

Banking on the increasing popularity of backyard water gardens, GROUNDS KEEPER Inc. held the first Parade of Ponds tour Saturday that included six stops in Old Bridge.

More than 80 residents including Coury signed up for the charity event, which gave tour-goers grand ideas and raised approximately $1,500 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

"Everyone wants a pond, they just don't know it yet. It's the truth," said Jay Eriv, owner of Grounds Keeper , located on Route 516 in Old Bridge. "With visiting these ponds, they see the possibilities. They can see how to create a total living space outside. It's like creating another world."

The tour kicked off at Lou-Ann and Artie Bock's Valley Vale Drive home in Old Bridge, then snaked through Central Jersey, stopping at another 21 locations in Middlesex, Ocean and Somerset counties.

The finale was Eriv's Victorian-style home on Route 516, where a 17,000-gallon pond and dramatic lighting take center stage.

"[ W ater ponds] become the focus of the outdoor living space," Eriv said. "It brings you back to nature. It's like a hobby that brings you so much joy. It's very tranquil. It's very spiritual because for some reason we're so drawn to it."

Bock's backyard included three large copper-colored pots that overflowed with water, allowing the drops to fall onto a set of rocks beneath. The soft waterfall effect is very calming, Lou-Ann Bock said as she offered cookies and cold drinks to the tour-goers.

"This is an oasis, but it's nothing compared to what you're going to see the rest of the day," she told one admirer who was taking pictures.

At each stop, Eriv explained the elements of the water garden and how it was installed. The mix of education and entertainment made for a pleasant afternoon, said Nancy Kulesa, an Old Bridge resident who lives in Maher Manor.

Kulesa attended the tour with her sister, Carol Geant, of South Amboy, who was looking for backyard landscaping ideas.

"I don't have a backyard, but I still like seeing the yards and the ponds," Kulesa said, standing underneath a gazebo outside Matawan World of Gardening on Route 516. "It's really very fascinating to see what people do with their yards."

The Tsarnas home on Kara Court goes beyond fascinating to pure fantasy. It's a mix of the Hawaiian tropics, St. Tropez and scenes from "Pirates of the Caribbean."

"It's our oasis, our vacation, definitely," said Josephine Tsarnas, who shares the home with her husband, Emanuel, and twin sons. "It's our hideaway. We're homebodies, so this is it for us. We're out here every day, all day."

The backyard features an 8,500-gallon pond, 11 waterfalls, nine Japanese Gardens, 60 baby koi fish and a step bridge. There are rocks and lily pads and dragonflies everywhere.

"You got a really beautiful set up here. This is nice. Gorgeous," said Richard Strauss, of Old Bridge, scanning the area and taking pictures. "I'm into ponds. They're nice to look at, and I'm into nature."

A light bulb went off for John and Nancy McTaggert, of East Brunswick, who were in awe of the Tsarnas backyard. The "heavenly" site, they said, gave them ideas for their own yard.

"We've been thinking about doing something in our backyard, but we haven't decided what we want to do yet," Nancy McTaggert said. "This is just spectacular."

That's how it happens, Eriv said. Homeowners see one pond, and their creative wheels start turning. They go from wanting a few rocks to wanting an all-out waterfall and rock sculpture extravaganza.

"Once people do it, it's their favorite thing," Eriv said. "It's amazing. It becomes the central part of their homes. It changes the feeling of your outdoors. It's so much fun."

Coury loved the Tsarnas' backyard oasis so much, she probably would have stayed forever if she could have. But since she couldn't, at least she had a list of ideas for her home, she said.

"Can you tell we don't want to leave? Can we stay forever?" Coury said, flashing a wide smile as she walked back to her car, onto the next destination. "This is the problem by coming and looking. Now, I want ducks and bridges and fishing poles and a boat."

Scouts invite community to dedication of garden

Mon, 21 May 2007 18:54:00 GMT

OLD BRIDGE Five Girl Scout troops based out of M. Scott Carpenter Elementary School have set out to make the world a better place. The approximately 50 girls from troops 43, 595, 367, 1520 and 1913 spent yesterday afternoon planting flowers among the new garden of plants and dogwood trees in front of the school as part of "Make the World a Better Place Day."

The Girl Scouts wanted to create the garden as a way of giving something in return for the support school Principal Jack Philips has shown them through the years, according to troop leaders. It also serves as a way to beautify their meeting place, and the girls earn their petals and triads for the work.

On May 10, the girls will host a ceremony to dedicate the newly planted garden to Philips, as well as the school faculty, students and families.

The trees will be decorated with yellow ribbons to pay tribute to the men and women overseas. The entire ceremony has been written by the girls, expressing their commitment to doing good acts throughout the Old Bridge community. Guest speakers will include Mayor James Phillips and Superintendent of Schools Simon Bosco. The event will include a rededication in which the girls express the intent to return to the Scouts next year and continue the good deeds.

A majority of the girls began as Daisy Scouts at 5 years old and continue the service through high school. For example, Michelle Witkowski, a senior at Old Bridge High School, has been a Scout for the past 12 years and has earned her Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. She earned her Gold by designing a brand-new program called "Oceans Discoveries" in order to educate Scouts and others of marine life.

The girls from Cadet Troup No. 1913 started a Carpenter School in kindergarten and are now in seventh grade. They earned their Bronze Award by organizing a blood drive that benefited the township.

All the troops make greeting cards for residents of the Summerhill Assisted Living facility as well as friends, family members and teachers. They also collect toys for the children during the holiday season. They also collect personal items that are distributed to organizations to help the needy in the community.

Many businesses in Old Bridge have pitched in to help the girls present their ceremony. Jay Eriv, president of Grounds Keeper on Route 516 in Old Bridge, supplied the trees, plants, flowers and landscaping materials used for the project, and also taught the girls about planting. John Reggio, owner of Sign-A-Rama, Route 516, donated the dedication sign in the garden, while Staples, Route 9, supplied the programs.

Fifty Off Cards, located in the Ticetown Plaza, donated the yellow ribbon, while Carvel, Route 516, donated ice cream for the event. ShopRite of Old Bridge and A&P of Old Bridge supplied the troops with beverages to be given out at the hospitality table, where the girls will sell baked goods.

The ceremony, which is open to the public, will take place at 3:30 p.m. May 10 in front of the Carpenter School, 1 Par Ave., off Cindy Street.

Grounds Keeps is Best in Show

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:50:00 GMT

Even though they had a lovely pool, Christine and Bob Guido, owners of Rivers Edge Café in Red Bank, rarely spent much time in their backyard. They always wanted to grow herbs and lettuce for their café. So they filled in the pool and replaced it with a water garden, complete with a bubbling millstone, islands of bamboo and raised vegetable beds. For Christine, who says that her knees are not as good as they used to be, the raised beds allow her to garden to her heart's content. The Guidos' now grow lettuce, herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchinis for their restaurant and are thrilled to have a bounty of homegrown vegetables for their personal menus. The Guidos' garden was created by Grounds Keeper , an area landscape design firm.

Grounds Keeper was awarded "Best in Show" at the fifth annual New Jersey Flower and Garden Show, held in February at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison. This was the third year in a row that Grounds Keeper president Jay Eriv and his design team of Lou Ann Buck and Craig Termono have taken home the top prize. The designers also won the People's Choice Award and Judges' Choice Award.

The theme of the 207 NJ Flower and Garden Show was "Once Upon A Garden," and the display gardens brought favorite stories, fairy tales, poems, plays and movies to life. Grounds Keeper recreated "The Secret Garden" based upon the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Visitors walked up stone steps into a pebble path and through an old wooden gate that served as an entrance to the formerly neglected garden, that according to the story, was turned into wonderful haven by a little girl and her friends.

Eriv creates landscapes that are four-season places of refuge for his clients filled with fragrance, long-blooming perennial flowers, soothing sounds and peaceful movement.

Grounds Keeper begins its 34th year this season and in addition to landscape services offers water gardening education and plants, fish, kits and installation of water gardens.

New Jersey gets it's first Parade of Ponds

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:41:00 GMT

A brass heron looks over a water garden that includes two waterfalls, fish, aquatic plants and a meandering stream with a stepping stone path. The ecosystem pond is among 20 open to the public as a part of this Saturday's "Parade of Ponds."

Call it an extension of the home, a retreat from the hectic world or simply a desire to keep motion, sound and natural beauty a fixture in the backyard.

Tranquil water gardens are becoming the rage for many New Jersey homeowners, and for a wide range of reasons.

"It's all about the fish," said Pat Tistan, a member of the Mid-Atlantic Koi Club, referring to the Japanese koi in her 8,000-gallon pond and water gardens. Tistan's pond and garden in Matawan are an example of what can happen when you combine imagination, a bit of courage and a green thumb. Add the kaleidoscope of color and movement and over 30 vibrant koi and you have a feast for the eyes and the soul.

(Photo: Alan Leckner)

On Saturday, Tistan's suburban oasis and 17 other private water gardens will be open to the public as part of the National Water Garden Association's "Parade of Ponds."

The Central Jersey version (the first and only one to be held in New Jersey) is being sponsored by GROUNDS KEEPER Inc. , an Old Bridge-based design and landscape firm, and will benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Nashville, Tenn. The hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with catastrophic diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and sickle cell anemia.

Saturday's tour includes stops at five Old Bridge homes, three Matawan homes, and at least one stop each in Aberdeen, Manalapan, Holmdel, Middletown, Colts Neck, Red Bank, Wall, Sea Girt, Edison, Metuchen, Cranford, Morristown and Bridgewater.

Those interested can take a self-guided tour by picking up a packet, map and directions beginning at 11 a.m. at GROUNDS KEEPER 2545 Route 516 in Old Bridge's Bilow Shopping Center. There, visitors can also make donations to the children's research hospital.

There will be one bus tour provided on a first-come, first-served basis for early arrivals at Groundskeeper.

The tour is rain or shine.

"Hopefully it won't rain, but even if it does, they'll still look nice," said Deborah Friedman, spokeswoman for the event.

Friedman noted that gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the United States, and those who take it to the next level are happy to show the public.

"They're very proud of it, and they want to share," she said.

Among those hosting will be Christen and Bob Guido, owners of River's Edge Cafe in Red Bank. Though they had a lovely pool at their West Long Branch residence, Christen and Bob rarely spent much time in their backyard. They always wanted to grow herbs and lettuce for their cafe.

So, last summer they bit the bullet, filled in the pool and had a water garden showcasing a bubbling millstone built with an eye-catching landscape ablaze with blooms, stands of bamboo for privacy and raised vegetable beds. Christin said that since her knees are not as good as they used to be; the raised beds allow her to garden until her heart's content. She and Bob now grow all the lettuce, herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, and zucchinis for the restaurant and rate their outdoor room "their favorite."

For more information about Saturday's event, call (732) 679-8600.

Garden design company wins big at flower show

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 18:33:00 GMT

Thousands oohed and ahhed as they walked through the tranquil environment created by Grounds Keeper Inc. , Old Bridge, during the recent New Jersey Flower, Garden and Outdoor Living Show.

The 30-year-old landscape firm that designs, builds and maintains naturalistic outdoor living spaces presented a 3,000-square-foot display with the sights, sounds and smells of a wooded landscape, including waterfalls, paths and foot bridges, ground cover, flowers, shrubs and trees, and natural stone, wood and metal. The presentation, titled "Back to Nature: A Cabin in the Woods," was widely recognized at the event, held at the New Jersey Convention & Expo Center, Edison, winning several first-place awards including Best In Show.

As a tape of chirping birds played in the background at the display, landscape architect Craig Termotto, of Manalapan-based CST Design Group LLC, explained that Jay Eriv, president of Grounds Keeper , and one of five key members of the team, had a concept: "A walk through the woods, getting back to nature. I did quick sketches after thinking about how to get from point A to point B, how people would walk around. It was like designing outdoor rooms," Termotto said. After a few adjustments, the space was built in three days, he said. Did it look like he thought it would?

"More much more," Termotto said. "Of all the people I know in this business, no one has as much love, knowledge and passion for plants as Jay." Lou-Ann Bock, who accessorized the garden, said that the show would not have been such a success without "the backbone" of the company - the folks who executed the design. "Jay's the visionary, but Michael Konefal, Tim Nugent and Brian Settlecowski, along with Jay, will take that vision, and time after time after time, they'll blow your mind. They don't whine; they don't complain. They're such good guys," Bock said.

Nugent and Settlecowski, both landscapers, have worked with Eriv for more than 15 years; Konefal, who designed the lighting and wired the stereo system, joined Grounds Keeper in 1999.

"Brian has a wonderful eye for rock placement and boulder work," Bock said. "And Tim does beautiful plant placement." Bock stressed that every individual who works for the company is one piece of a unified puzzle.

In addition to Best of Show, Grounds Keeper won the Louise Morris Memorial Award for best interpretation of a theme; the Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension Award for best educational display; the Keeping It Green Award for most environmentally friendly design; and the Clayton Companies Award for best use of hardscape materials. The company placed second for both the Golden Koi and People's Choice awards.

The People's Choice Award went to Ash's Flower Farm, Hillsborough.