Janet Mavec's Bird Haven Farm in New Jersey: Garden Visit
Photography by Janet Mavec.
“Someone once said that’‘gardening is straddling creativity and labor,’ ” says Janet Mavec of Janet Mavec Jewelry. For more than 25 years, Janet and her husband Wayne Nordberg have been doing just that, digging and planting to coax a magical garden into being at Bird Haven Farm in western New Jersey.
Garden designer Lisa Stamm created the monastery garden, prolific vegetable garden, and perennial border, where Mavec spends much of her time plotting and planting.
“The emerald ash borer has been in New Jersey for years now. This central ash tree is being fed every year with the hope that it can live. Tree care is such an important part of the garden maintenance,” says Mavec.
All of Mavec’s designs for her jewelry collection is inspired by the farm, including this necklace which is an homage to her favorite apple, Pink Pearl, which ripens in late August and flaunts pink flesh.
“Fernando Caruncho envisioned this as the center of our Medieval village. And he was right. This is where we gather and the parties happen!” says Mavec, who uses non-toxic Airmax pond dye to color the pond black to highlight the reflection of the tree and clouds.
“The orchard at Bird Haven Farm is about 100 years old and has apples that ripen from July (early sours) to October (Rome). When there is an extra-large crop, I donate apples to our local food bank,” says Mavec.
The Monastery Garden was inspired by the cloister at Santa Maria Novella in Florence. It is planted with a selection of iris from Schreiner’s Iris Garden.
“Everyone is a pond swimmer at Bird Haven Farm,” says Mavec. After a long day of gardening, you’ll often find Janet and Wayne relaxing in the pond hut.
Janet with bushels of apples.
“We grow what we like to eat in the vegetable garden,” says Mavec. Mavec makes sure to order next year’s tulip bulbs while the flowers are still blooming, so the design and colors is fresh in her mind.
Here is a view of the vegetable garden planted in the spring My beloved pansies line both sides of a bed and the cardoon in the front winters over Wayne protects his tomato plants...
...from the cold with red plastic On the right side is the white Orlaya blooming which is one of my favorite spring and early summer bloomers They last so long in a vase says Mavec