Sayen Park Botanical Garden
Encyclopedia
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
located at 155 Hughes Drive, Hamilton Square
Mercerville-Hamilton Square, New Jersey
Mercerville-Hamilton Square is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, USA...
, an area within Hamilton Township
Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Hamilton Township is a Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township had a total population of 88,464...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The garden is open year-round from dawn to dusk without charge, though park activity is at its peak in the spring.
The garden began in 1912 when Frederick Sayen (1885–1981) purchased the site with his wife, Anne Mellon (1886–1977), a daughter of the Mellon family
Mellon family
The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential family originally of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, and its vicinity. In addition to Mellon Bank they were principally known for their control over Gulf Oil, Alcoa, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Koppers, as well as their major influence on...
. The Sayens built a "bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
" home in the Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
style, though with Victorian
Victorian fashion
Victorian fashion comprises the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and grew in province throughout the Victorian era and the reign of Queen Victoria, a period which would last from June 1837 to January 1901. Covering nearly two thirds of the 19th century, the 63 year reign...
interior design, and surrounded it with plants and flowers acquired during world travels. The principal collections include species from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The Sayen site became municipal property in 1988, when Hamilton Township purchased the site from developer David Cellars. The park was opened to the public in 1991. The township expanded and improved the park in 2003. Today the garden contains more than 1,000 azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s, nearly 500 rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, and more than 250,000 flowering bulbs for spring display, as well as ponds, bridges, gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
s, and walking trails.
Sayen House and Gardens hosts an annual Azalea Festival each Mother's Day
Mother's Day (United States)
In the United States, Mother's Day is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society....
, during which Sayen House is open to the public from 10AM to 4PM.
Pollution
On September 1, 2006, an article in the Times of Trenton disclosed that New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
officials were warned about pollution at the Sayen House and Gardens site three days before the park opened in 1991. According to an anonymous source in 1991, the site had been used "for years" as a dumping ground for "waste chemicals and solid debris" from the now-defunct Mercer Rubber Company
Mercer Rubber Company
Mercer Rubber Company is a manufacturer of rubber products. The company was founded in 1865 by the Frederick Sayen family. Mercer Rubber Company operated from a site at 136 Mercer Street in Hamilton Square, an area within Hamilton Township, New Jersey, from 1866 until 1993...
site located across the street at 136 Mercer Street. The Mercer Rubber Company was also formerly owned by the Sayen family. Former employees have corroborated the anonymous 1991 complaint, adding that a "pipe underneath the plant carried waste to a stream that ran through the Sayen Gardens property and eventually to Miry Run Brook."
Local residents had noted what they believed to be elevated instances of some types of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
among people who lived within a one mile radius of the park. Officials investigated, noting that the instance of certain types of cancer were indeed elevated in the area. They were, however, unable to establish a causal link to the Mercer Rubber Company debris.
At a September 13, 2006 meeting with local residents held at the Nottingham Firehouse, just yards from the old Mercer Rubber site and Sayen Park, state officials admitted to concerned residents that their findings reported in the Public Health Assessment are incomplete. The study did not include testing of groundwater or include data from residents who moved away or those who were diagnosed with cancer before 1979.