A group of concerned citizens, gardeners, and community activists have united to bring back the Hydrangea Trail to Atlantic City and Downbeach towns on Absecon Island.
On Sunday, the group was set up at Margate’s Fall Community Farmers Market inside Steve & Cookies By The Bay restaurant. On display was a rusted old tricycle that was decorated with colorful flowers and tinsel to be used as a garden ornament and several old bicycle wheels decorated as wreaths. The group Hydrangea Trail 2.0 was selling them to raise money to plant hydrangea bushes in areas around Atlantic City.
“We want to bring back the Hydrangea Trail, which was so popular but kind of petered out in the 1970s,” volunteer Elsa Sanchez of Atlantic City said. “They used to have contests for the best hydrangeas and even had a Miss Hydrangea Trail. We want to bring back the trail to make the area more beautiful.”
The group has obtained small grants from several sources, including Sustainable Jersey and the Atlantic City Community Fund, to plant hydrangeas at Gardner’s Basin and along New Hampshire Avenue in the Inlet area of the city. More plantings are planned. The Casino Reinvestment Development Corporation is also supporting the effort. The Home Depot and Bob’s Garden Center have offered hydrangea plants to the group at a discount, she said.
Read more at downbeach.com