Brookdale Park Rose Garden offers visitors an idyllic place for relaxing strolls through a stunning garden of over 500 varieties of rose bushes, all maintained by Essex County Master Gardeners from mid-March until November. They meet every Thursday morning from midday and work tirelessly to keep the rose garden in top condition so all can enjoy it fully.
Montclair Gardens are an acclaimed tourist and local resident destination, known for their beauty, fragrance, and resilience. Each spring and fall the gardens host Rose Squared Art Shows which showcase an assortment of fine arts and crafts from around the country.
As well as the Rose Garden, there is also an exquisite park at the center of the city which provides activities for everyone. Trails for hiking and biking, lush groves and lawns, athletic fields, tennis courts, an archery range, stadium grandstand seating as well as playgrounds for kids to play in as well as a dog park are just a few features of this vibrant space.
Once an abandoned coal ash dump, Essex County purchased this 121 acre park and had it designed by Olmsted Brothers landscape architects – the same firm behind Central Park in NYC and Washington’s National Mall.
Today, the park serves as an important outdoor recreational facility in both Montclair and Bloomfield. Athletic fields, running tracks and walking paths connect its main area with forested areas, trails and the Rose Garden; in addition, two great playgrounds as well as a 1 3/4 mile loop are featured here.
There is also a large dog park and the Brookdale Community Garden available to rent for special events, which offers raised vegetables, fruits, and flowers that the public can pick all year-round. They also boast an active community of volunteers that help maintain the grounds while supporting non-profit groups who utilize it for meetings, gatherings, or parties.
If you want to know more about growing a garden of your own, the Essex County Master Gardeners offer workshops throughout the year to get you started and improve your skills. Their website lists their upcoming workshop classes.
At its most fragrant and colorful, late June to early July is the ideal time for visiting this park. Roses at their peak fragrant and colorful are guaranteed to transport you into an oasis of peaceful serenity – this makes a wonderful spot for strolling with friends or taking photographs, not to mention providing children with plenty of entertainment and stunning sights!
