Welcome to the St. Francis Gardens of Upper Township!

Thank you for visiting our new website! We have been hard at work creating our new community garden located in Seaville, Upper Township, New Jersey. St. Francis Gardens is a non-profit community garden designed to bring community members of all ages and abilities together. 

St. Francis Gardens is five acres of land designed to provide a safe, serene, and peaceful environment that is pet friendly as well as therapeutic. Through a variety of gardens, individual plot farming opportunities (The Garden Patch), access to farm animals and paved walking paths.

While it is important to note that some of our gardens are still in the beginning stages of development, we invite you to read below to become familiar with all St. Francis Gardens has to offer. Membership to the Garden Patch requires an application and fee to maintain a plot, the rest of the grounds are open for all members of the community to enjoy and explore. We hope that you find peace and joy being at one with nature here in all our gardens. 

In the spirit of community and cooperation, we ask that all visitors be respectful and considerate of each other and the neighbors of the St. Francis Gardens property. All pets are welcome but must be leashed at all times and cleaned up after. In addition, please do not use radios or Bluetooth speakers.

We are excited to share updates as our gardens and community begin to grow together! 

Please be sure to check back for updates on our Spring Dedication Ceremony!

ST. FRANCIS GARDENS HIGHLIGHTS

• The Garden Patch – Community Garden Farming Plots
  The Garden Patch provides a space where individuals and families can grow vegetable and flower gardens organically, share and expand gardening skills and build community friendships. We will have community gardening plots available for the 2023 season!
  • Two plot sizes:
    Full Size: 20ft x 10ft $60 Annual Fee
    Half Size: 10ft x 10ft $30 Annual Fee
  • Sunny plots, tools, water access, soil amendments, and compost.
  • 100% all-organic gardening methods are required of all Garden Patch members.

• The Hero Garden
  Our Hero Garden is in honor of our Veterans and Armed Service members. The Hero Garden represents the five divisions of the military and is proudly located near the entrance to the gardens.
  
  
• The Edible Garden
  This garden may make you hungry as all that is planted within you can eat! Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and more, as well as edible flowers. The Edible Garden accented with our cherub water fountain can serve as inspiration for your own garden plot in The Garden Patch!
  
  
• The Weeping Garden
  In honor of loved ones no longer with us, the Weeping Garden provides a space to reflect on memories comforted by benches, young weeping willow trees, climbing hydrangeas protected by our dear St. Francis. Located in this garden you will find trees planted in memory of three special children.
  
  
• The Garden of Inspiration
  Inspired by the philanthropic work of Paul Newman, who said:
  “…however desperate I am to claim ownership of a high ideal, I cannot.
  I wanted, I think, to acknowledge Luck: the chance of it, the benevolence of it in my life,
  and the brutality of it in the lives of others...” 
  
  So often, a person’s course is dictated by luck, for better or worse. What we often view as the hard-won fruits of our own labor might owe as much to our good fortune in being in the right place at the right time. What we write off as the consequences of other people’s poor choices could, upon closer and more compassionate inspection, be part of a long unbroken thread of bad luck they have endured. So well stated by our Sisters of St. Benedict.
  
  Our Garden of Inspiration is this place for reflection, rest and meditation. 
  “You only grow when you are alone.” – Paul Newman
  

• The Butterfly Garden
  The Butterfly Garden is a perennial flower garden for the purpose of attracting pollinating insects to pollinate the plants throughout the gardens. Pollinating flowers is just one good effect of butterflies in the environment. Butterflies also play an important role in the food chain and are lovely-winged honorary members of the St. Francis Gardens.
  
  
• The Never Never Land Garden
  Inspired by the awe and wonder of being a child, Never Never Land Garden is where a child can frolic in a gentle, soft, and leafy environment. An ascending path will take visitors up the four-foot plateau and following the paw prints, will wind them through ferns, grasses, small trees and shrubs to explore. Never Never Land Garden is located on the North side of the gardens.
  
  
• The Magical Garden
  The Magical Garden, located in the middle of the gardens, is adorned with a small playhouse and kids-size walking bridge. The Magical Garden is a whimsical bulb dominant garden which is planted in the fall and magically blooms in the spring. Be sure to keep an eye out for the bright blooming flowers in the spring!
  
  
• The Honeysuckle Garden
  The Honeysuckle Garden provides support for the hummingbirds and honeybee population, as well as pollinating the plants in the gardens. The survival of plants depends on pollination and bees are vital to our food supply. There are currently two bee hives in the apple orchard located in the south end of the gardens, surrounded by honeysuckles. Our bee hives are registered with the NJ Department of Agriculture, AISNO: 6728.
  

• The Rock Memorial Garden
  Our Rock Memorial Garden is a space designed to honor loved ones present or past, with decorated rocks and shells. Succulents and other drought resistant plants will surround the rock river running under the walking bridge. Please look for the materials to decorate a rock or shell in the Nature Tool shed.
  
  
• The Native American Garden
  In this garden you will find wild geranium, sunflowers, pea partridge, and marsh blazing stars. We want to showcase the beauty of what is from here and respect the native species. This garden is in honor of our Native American brothers and sisters. (Under Construction)
  

How Can I Get Involved?

As a new non-profit organization we are in need of help from the community to help us to continue to build and enhance our beautiful gardens! 

Please consider one of the below options to support our efforts, as well as memorialize your family or loved ones permanently at the St. Francis Gardens through the purchase of a brick, bench or tree.

• Become a MEMBER of The Garden Patch

The Garden Patch is our community garden farming plots. There is an affordable yearly fee of $60 for a full plot and $30 for a half-plot. The fees help sustain the Garden Patch, and fund any repairs needed to the infrastructure. 

• Purchase a BRICK

Please consider purchasing a brick in support of completing our quarter mile path that surrounds the gardens. Brick purchasing will help us complete the brick path which is already three-quarters completed! When completed, the path will border the entire five acres providing a safe path throughout the different gardens and animal paddocks.. 

• Purchase a BRICK, BENCH or TREE

If you’d like to purchase a brick, bench or sponsor a tree (prices vary) to enhance the enjoyment of the gardens, please email us at: [email protected] for more information.

Volunteers: Upcoming Clubs & Committees

• The St. Francis Gardens Advisory Committee
  This committee will work on preparing to open the gardens to the community, and the inception of our inaugural season of the Garden Patch. We are looking for people who want to be involved in helping get St. Francis Gardens ready for its first season, and seasons to come!
  
  
• The Peck’n Order Club
  With the rising costs of caring for farm animals, we invite you to join with other farmers to purchase quality organic chicken feed in bulk to substantially reduce the cost in caring for our feathered friends. In addition, the Peck’N Order Club aims to bring together chicken lovers who can support and help each other through shared knowledge.
  
  
• The Seed Sharing Club
  The Seed Sharing Club will create opportunities for gardeners to come together and share seeds, cuttings, and transplants from their own gardens to swap with others. Collecting and exchanging seeds has many benefits ranging from preserving rare, heirloom varieties to saving money on seeds. Not to mention that the exchange of seeds perpetuates and improves biodiversity and promotes the ultimate form of recycling! Whether you are a seasoned gardener or a novice, this is a great opportunity to get to know your fellow gardeners.
  
  
• The Beekeeping Club
  Bees are an essential part of the ecosystem and play a vital role in pollinating plants. However, bee populations around the world are in decline. The goal of our Beekeeping Club is to educate and assist members to be practical, responsible and successful beekeepers; and to increase public awareness of the value honeybees provide to our environment, our ecology and our food production. Club membership will give you the opportunity to learn about the life cycle of bees, how to care for a hive throughout the year, including the exciting honey time, as well as supporting hives in the cold months. We hope to partner with other beekeeping clubs so members will also be able to visit other hives and share experiences with other beekeepers. If you are a beekeeper, want to become a beekeeper, or are simply interested in learning more about honeybees, join us and find out what the buzz is all about!
  
  
• The Drone Club
  With this club we wish to bring together a group of drone enthusiasts. We are looking for a club leader with drone experience who has a passion for drones and educating others. Our goal is to get together with like minded people who love drones and have a good time.

St. Francis Community Gardens
3074 N Route 9
Ocean View, NJ 08230
[email protected]