To the Editor:

It’s that time again to name our winners! Morven Museum & Garden is delighted to announce the winning 2021 Festival of Trees decorators:

First Place Tree Exhibitor: American Spaniel Club Foundation/Southern NJ Cocker Spaniel Club, “A Merry Cocker Spaniel Christmas!”; Second Place Tree Exhibitor: West Trenton Garden Club, “A Peacocks and Paisley Palette”; and Third Place Tree Exhibitor: Mount Laurel Garden Club, “Chinese New Year.”

First Place Mantel Exhibitor: Neshanic Garden Club, “Winter Wonderland”; Second Place Mantel Exhibitor: Princeton Public Library, “Winter Warmth: The Books of Jan Brett”; and Third Place Mantel Exhibitor: Nottingham Garden Club of Hamilton Township, “Nature’s Seasonal Gifts.”

In yet another season of uncertain times, we were thrilled to see a 50 percent increase over last year’s in-person attendance. Online visitors and voters were at a record number with 493 votes cast. The Festival of Trees party saw record breaking attendance with over 200 guests joining our winter fundraiser safely outside amid twinkling lights and firepits. This would not have been possible without the leadership of our event chairs Colleen Goggins, Carolyn and John Healey, Rachel Herr, and Eileen and Robert O’Neil.

Festival of Trees raises money for our programs and exhibitions, and we have a wonderful winter in store for nearly every interest. First, on January 27, Historian and filmmaker Laurence Cotton joins us virtually to present a “mini-travelogue” of select Frederick Law Olmsted landscapes across North America. Then, on February 1, Deer-Resistant Design author and garden expert Karen Chapman shares tips and tricks in this virtual program with live Q&A. Also in February, we have a Victorian Pressed Flower Valentine Workshop, our Grand Homes and Gardens Distinguished Speakers Series, and a two-day Architectural Rendering Workshop with David Genther.

This all leads to the opening of our newest exhibition, “Ma Bell: The Mother of Invention in New Jersey,” starting in March. This exhibition will include original historical artifacts pertinent to the many discoveries, products, and fields of work that comprised the Bell System in New Jersey, from the 1920s to around 1984.

We look forward to sharing 2022 with you, and thank you, again, for supporting Morven.

Jill M. Barry
Executive Director
Morven Museum & Garden