Celery Farm
2025 Spring Planting

May 16 - 18, 2025, Friday - Sunday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

More than 50 Fyke Volunteers planted 1,400 "plugs" in the area alongside the trail on the west side of Lake Appert where Phragmites were cut down over the winter. They planted 200 "plugs" of each of the seven species with bold labels listed below. These are all native, perennial, deer resistant, and suited to the wet, mucky soil and full sun.

There are also about 170 Swamp Rose Mallow seedlings grown from seed by a Fyke Volunteer, American Holly and Red Twig Dogwood seedlings from a Rutgers propagation class, American Holly and Red Cedar transplants from the Celery Farm, Black-eyed Susans from a landscaper, and Buttercups rescued from Van Saun Park discards, all getting ready to be planted in the cleared area.

An additional 120 1-gallon pots of Swamp Rose Mallow Hibiscus (qty 70) and Swamp Milkweed (qty 50) will be planted sometime in June as soon as they are available for pick up at the nursery.

You can view photos and videos of the volunteers preparing the ground here. And there videos done during the planting.

• explaining the plan and the flag color codes
• explaining the habitat restoration philosophy
• speaking with a volunteer busy planting swamp rose mallow
• an interview with the Volunteer Coordinator

Here is the color key to the plantings:

If you would like to participate in the ongoing habitat restoration projects, check out the Volunteer Opportunities page and send us your contact information.

click on an image to view it enlarged