Category Archives: Rivertowns Westchester NY

October 19, 2025 · 8:41 pm

The O’Hara Nature Center’s CJ O’Reilly: What It Really Means to be an Influencer

If you’re not already a fan of CJ Reilly, meet the heart and soul of the O’Hara Nature Center and Irvington Woods Park.

With a passion for nature and a gift for teaching, CJ has been greening our community for the past five years. He’s not only an arborist, ecologist and plant scientist, he’s a mentor, leader, and friend to many.

CJ’s journey is as diverse as the land he cares for. As director of the O’Hara Nature Center (ONC) and Irvington Woods Park for the past five years, Charles J. O’Reilly III has been leading the stewardship of a 251-acre forest, selecting and caring for the trees and plants and supervising staff, contractors and volunteers. With grants from the New York State Department of Conservation, Harvard Forest, Cornell, and Westchester County agencies, CJ manages more than $500,000 for invasive species control, deer mitigation, tree planting and youth-led programs.

CJ in his ‘office’ at the O’Hara Nature Center

“My first — and continuing — passion is teaching,” he says. That’s evident in the many ways he’s teaching us how to take care of our planet and the living things growing on it. Consultant and project manager for the Irvington and Mamaroneck School Districts, he’s develops K–8 sustainability and climate education projects and alignins curricula to State and NextGen standards. In the Village of Irvington, he’s responsible for the street trees. At the ONC, he leads innovative, hands-on horticulture and land management programs, including monthly volunteer Stewardship Saturdays for adults and families.

Budding Naturalists conduct water-quality and wildlife surveys

Participants in the  2nd through 4th grade Budding Naturalists gain exposure to “backyard ecology” and learn about everything from the animals in the environment to the impact of climate change.

Changing Forest students with the Norway maple they helped take down

The 6th through 12th grade Changing Forest students are involved in projects like taking down invasive trees, making what now looks like “a messy pile of branches” into an area that in 30 to 40 years will be a sustainable host forest for varied bird and insect life.

“My family loves CJ, and the kids grow in so many ways under his instruction,” says Katherine Lark, mom of two high school students who participate in the ONC’s programs. “My husband Fritz and I couldn’t be happier with their experiences. The programs provide so many benefits, including learning about nature and environmental conservation, doing hands-on work that develops practical skills, and getting leadership, citizen-scientist and community service opportunities — welcome breaks from screen time!”

At the Old-Growth Network recognition ceremony last spring

CJ’s efforts have received many accolades, including the Old Growth Network Award for Community Forest Recognition; a Google Geo for Good Impact Award; and a Cornell Graduate Student Research Award. The Garden Club of America (GCA) awarded him the 2023 GCA Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award for Youth Environmental Education.

Garden Club of Irvington members are longtime CJ fans; he’s been one of our most influential voices, leading us in workshops where we learned to propagate citrus trees using air-layering techniques. He’s assisted our members in planning hands-on workshops on topics like making bee hotels. Our club will be playing a growing role as ONC docents and community educators.

This past June, CJ was a keynote speaker at the GCA’s Zone III Meeting, where he shared with presidents and representatives of the 23 GCA garden clubs in New York State his successful strategies for partnering with parks departments, school districts, nature centers and community volunteers. Says Meeting Chair Anne Myers, “CJ’s training, experience and passion for forest ecology and community land stewardship captivated the audience and sent attendees home motivated to get more involved in their own communities.”

We invite you to visit the O’Hara Nature Center and Irvington Woods. “The grounds and woods are open every day from dawn to dusk,” CJ explains. “It’s a great place to come for hiking, walking and birdwatching.”

The O’Hara Nature Center is located at 170 Mountain Road, Irvington, NY 10533. Preregistration is required for the free Stewardship Saturdays. (The upcoming meetups this year are 10/25, 11/8, 11/22, 12/6 and 12/13.) The afterschool programs, have a fee. Much more information here.

Filed under Conservation, Family Events, Horticulture, Native Plants, Rivertowns Westchester NY

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September 27, 2025 · 8:32 pm

Window Boxes Continue to Brighten Irvington

September is ending, and the windowsills at the Irvington Post Office on Buckhout Street sport garlands of fall leaves. Two cartons are already set up for kids to post their letters to Santa. However, the window boxes planted by Garden Club of Irvington members and friends are still going strong.

On June 1 (above): Planting at the Post Office — and then in window boxes in front of stores along Main Street —  (l-r): Judy Frimer, Jo-Anne Kelly, Marilyn Ghilardi, Tracy O’Neil, Anne Myers, Joan Nelson, Renee Shamosh, Christine Plazas, Sarah Ostrower, Mary Toomy.

Later in June, we caught Irvington letter carrier Ahmed Khursed (l) and and postal supervisor Vernon Searight admiring the blooms.

On September 26, still blooming: Supertunia® ‘Tiara Blue’ Petunia; ‘Million Bells’ calibrachoa petunia hybrid; and ‘Angelface White’ angelonia summer snapdragon.

For long-lasting color and continuous bloom in containers, choose heat- and drought- tolerant annuals like alyssum, lantana, petunias, verbena, and vinca for sun and/or begonias and impatiens for shade. Here are more ideas: https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/top-ten-lists/21-annuals-sun-scorched-patios-and-window-boxes

Filed under Annuals and Perennials, Horticulture, Rivertowns Westchester NY

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May 19, 2025 · 5:27 pm

Five Reasons to Love Our Plant Sale

Reason #1 — Your deck was almost cleaned up and the furniture was arranged, but it looked a little dull.

 

Reason #2 — So, last Saturday morning you visited The Nature Center at Greenburgh. Awaiting you were the healthiest, most beautiful plants and the friendliest people to provide expert gardening advice.

 

Reason #3 — It wasn’t easy to choose, but boxed up in on the Nature Center lawn, your choices looked terrific and the prices were so good you just had to grab a few more.

 

Reason #4 — When you got home, the real fun began: choosing the right pot and spot for each plant.

 

Reason #5 —  There! All the deck really needed was a few pops of color.

 

Reason #5, continued — In just a few hours, the deck was ready for its close-up, and for the plants to grow and bloom. And for you and your guests to enjoy relaxing and meals outdoors. And for you to get back to work planting the perennials — especially those beautiful natives — out in the garden.

You weren’t at the Nature Center at Greenburgh on Saturday morning? There’s always next year. Mark your calendar now: Saturday, May 17, 2026.

Filed under Annuals and Perennials, Family Events, Greenburgh Nature Center, Horticulture, Indoor Plants, Irvington Garden Club Events, Landscape and Garden Design, Rivertowns Westchester NY

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April 15, 2024 · 2:15 pm

Mark Your Calendar! Plant Sale and Garden Fair May 17

The best plants! The most fun! The best prices!

Featuring shade-friendly and deer-resistant native perennials, many grown in members’ gardens.

Our unusual, colorful annuals are grown from cuttings and seeds and lovingly tended in the Nature Center greenhouse.

Plus you’ll get free expert gardening advice and supervised potting activity for kids.

Get there early for the best selection.

GNC staff will guide you to parking and help you get your haul to your car in a wheelbarrow or wagon.

 

The Nature Center at Greenburgh is located at 99 Dromore Road, Scarsdale, off Central Avenue

Filed under Annuals and Perennials, Family Events, Horticulture, Irvington Garden Club Events, Native Plants, Outdoor and Indoor Plants, Plant Sale, Recreation, Westchester County, NY, Rivertowns Westchester NY, Shade Plants

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April 17, 2023 · 6:16 pm

Love Your Park on May 3

Bring your garden tools and join us!

Saturday, May 3, is “I Love My Park Day” all across New York State.

All concerned citizens and invited to join us in Hastings! You’ll work with with members of the Garden Club of Irvington and Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct to:

• Pick up trash on the Aqueduct.

• Remove invasive plants like mugwort and tree-strangling vines.

• Plant native shrubs.

It’s a family program co-sponsored by Parks and Trails New York and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

When: 10 am – 1 pm on May 3, rain or shine

Where: Pick a spot along the Aqueduct Trail to help with weeding and cleanup. For example, the pollinator garden just
south of Irvington Main Street is a location that needs work. 

Bring: Work gloves, a leaf bag, and, if you have them, a weeder, spade and shovel. Plus your own snacks and a filled reusable water bottle (and help say NO to more plastic).

You’ll Get:  Expert instruction on how to identify and get rid of invasive plants and tree-strangling vines, and lots of satisfaction,

We look forward to enjoying working alongside with you there!

 

Filed under Conservation, Family Event, Rivertowns Westchester NY

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October 31, 2021 · 10:29 pm

A Tour of the O’Hara Nature Center

Early fall. It’s still warm and there are plenty of opportunities to visit the Rivertowns’ outdoor treasures. One of our most treasured is the O’Hara Nature Center, located in 400-acre Irvington Woods at 170 Mountain Road, just off the Saw Mill Parkway.

Over the last five years, resident horticulturists CJ Reilly and Peter Strom have worked with the Irvington Recreation and Parks Department to design the ten demonstration gardens that work harmoniously with the  environment, preserve water resources, and increase biodiversity by providing natural habitats for pollinators.

Members of the Garden Club of Irvington enjoyed a recent tour. Here are a few highlights:

After an introduction to the ONC’s history and programing, Barbara Defino, an active member and past president of the Garden Club, received an award for her devoted and ongoing support. Flanking her are CJ Reilly and Peter Strom.

The ONC building is a model of attractive, energy-efficient, green design. Custom bookshelves were made from a sassafras tree that grew in Irvington Woods Park.

Before the tour, Peter Strom carefully relocated a confused bumblebee to its rightful home, a Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens).

The tour was led by the ONC’s Education Director CJ Reilly, a graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University, where his field of study was data visualization and educational development — skills he uses for the benefit of all visitors. “This is an example of true community partnership,” he said, explaining that the Village of Irvington, the School District, the Eagle Scouts, the Parks and Recreation Department, members of the Garden Club, and many volunteers have worked together to conceptualize, build, support, and maintain the facility and the grounds. It is also an example of bringing new life to a community devastated by a tragedy: the crash of TWA Flight 800, which killed three members of the O’Hara family.

This structure, a “bee hotel,” supports a diverse array of solitary cavity-nesting bees and wasps. Dried plant stems such as hollow Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum), Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), and Cup-plant (Silphium perfoliatum) stems are saved from the gardens and repurposed into nesting material. Here is a link to CJ’s educational materials that explain the process in detail. (More photos and details to come in the next post.)

During our visit, a grass-carrying wasp (Isodontia Mexicana) returned to the hollow Joe Pye Weed it filled with grass and other reserves for its brood inside.

CJ described the 25 heirloom grafted apple trees in the ONC, including all nine varieties that were grown at Washington Irving’s Sunnyside.

He then introduced the step-by-step educational materials that guide ONC visitors through the apple-tree grafting process. Similar materials, which explain horticultural processes in detail, are posted throughout the site.

The ONC has two outdoor classrooms for the school and community educational programs it hosts.

You don’t have to be on a tour or in a program to enjoy these facilities. Just walk in, it’s free… and enjoy the beauty around you. (And perhaps stop to read the educational materials or admire an insect in its rightful habitat.)

Filed under Conservation, Horticulture, Landscape and Garden Design, NY and CT Public Garden Tours, Rivertowns Westchester NY, Tarrytown NY

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July 7, 2020 · 9:48 am

Cultivating a Beautiful Rose Garden

The Garden Club of Irvington has been restoring and maintaining the Rose Garden at Lyndhurst for more than 50 years. Club members, led most recently by Rose Garden Chairman Lou Zapata, plant, weed, prune, fertilize and generally care for a wide variety of roses throughout the year to maintain healthy plants and robust bloomers.

A Little History

We are fortunate to have as an active member a longtime rosarian and expert in growing roses. Josyane Colwell has been deeply involved in the Lyndhurst Rose Garden since joining the Garden Club in 1982. She grew up on a family farm in southern France with her grandparents, who cultivated roses for the perfume industry in Grasse. As a child, she learned every aspect of growing roses—and is not reserved in sharing that knowledge.

Josayne was featured in a 1986 cover story in the Rivertowns Enterprise about Rose Pruning Day at Lyndhurst, which is usually a public event at the end of March. We hope to be able to sponsor it again next year.

In addition to sun and water, roses need expert care to nurture new growth (the “baby shoots,” as Josyane calls them) and to help the plants survive the weather, pests and disease.

Here is some of Josyane’s advice:

Pruning

The pruning season begins in late March/early April with the removal of dead wood from the winter, and the removal of old, weak or dying branches and crossing branches, particularly those that are crowding the center of the bush. Shaping of the plant allows for strong growth, good air circulation and an aesthetic appearance during the blooming season. Cuts are made at an angle just above an emerging bud. The cutting of large canes requires sealing the exposed surface with a sealant such as Elmer’s glue to prevent future rot and disease.

Clean lopping shears or a folding saw are essential for the removal of larger canes in order not to damage the plant.

Deadheading

Cut at an angle with sharp, clean pruners.

Deadheading, the removal of spent blooms, should continue throughout the summer and early fall to encourage repeat bloomers to send out new buds and shoots.

This is also the time for heavy pruning to reshape and rejuvenate the plants so they can harden up before winter. When deadheading, never cut straight across; always cut on an angle, which prevents water from resting on the stems and causing them to rot. The cut should be just above the second branch of five (not three) leaves down from the spent bloom. Pruning shears should always be sharp and clean so as not to damage the cane and spread disease.

When the plant is pruned and deadheaded, healthy “baby shoots” emerge and bloom all season.

Climbing Roses

The pruning of climbing roses on a trellis or other structure is always a challenge, but can offer a wonderful display for a long time. In the early 1980s Josyane and her Rose Garden co-chair, Natalia Schell, could barely walk under the overgrown trellises. They spent hours almost every day removing the dead and diseased canes and tying back and training the younger canes to encourage growth and blooms on the outside of the trellises. The taller Natalia, from Russian aristocratic blood, held the ladder while the more diminutive Josyane from the farm pruned and tied from above. This French-speaking pair found great joy together in restoring the beauty of the rose trellises. Because many climbers re-bloom, this process continued throughout the summers as well. However, the length of bloom is worth the effort.

Trellises with climbing roses enhance every tier of the Rose Garden at Lyndhurst.

Maintenance

Fertilizing in the springtime will encourage healthy growth and beautiful blooms. On the farm they used manure to feed the plants. Most nurseries carry manure or can recommend an appropriate fertilizer. Turning the soil in early spring is also encouraged to allow moisture to reach the roots more easily.

Black spot, left, is a fungus that occurs in extreme heat and moisture and where there isn’t sufficient air circulation. Rose-related diseases such as black spot should be dealt with by a professional. However, gardeners can help stem its spread by removing yellow leaves with black spots, both on the plant and on the soil.

The Results

If you follow these simple tips from a seasoned rosarian, you can achieve results as stunning as these!

 

Filed under Garden History and Design, Horticulture, Landscape and Garden Design, NY and CT Public Garden Tours, Rivertowns Westchester NY, Tarrytown NY

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May 26, 2020 · 9:19 am

City Pickers for a Suburban Harvest

Learn how one Irvington family is deepening their connection to the earth and each other (and having fun) by growing their own food — using some very interesting, rewarding, and easy-to-emulate methodologies.

by Gwen Merkin

Irvington resident Gwen Merkin, Program Manager for Corporate Sustainability at UL, has more than ten years experience in the fields of energy efficiency, corporate sustainability, green building, waste auditing, and city planning. She lives in a pondside house near Sunnyside Lane with her husband, Ryan Merkin, also a leader in building science and energy consulting, and their two young daughters. She spends her limited free time fostering connections between people and the Earth, and loves the magic of plants.

Throughout the quarantine, our family has found growing our own food to be incredibly soothing — from the bonding it brings as a family activity, to the wonders of nature and science, to the confidence of increasing self-sufficiency. We are feeling grateful for our deepening connection to nature.

Last year, after years of tinkering with vegetable gardening that resulted in very small yields, we bought three City Pickers, which are mobile, self-watering, raised-bed grow boxes. The plants live above an aeration screen that enhances the oxygen flow to roots and encourages faster growth. They worked really well for snap peas, cucumbers, arugula and kale.

This year, we bought two more City Pickers and seven Earth Boxes (a similar solution, made from recycled-content plastic), and decided to test a few more strategies to see if — on our 200-square foot deck and a plot in the back yard below — we can produce enough veggies to feed four adults and two children throughout the summer and early fall.

We started from seeds we’d been collecting over the last few years, plus a few purchased online from Seed Savers Exchange. We planted them in a combination of trays designed for growing seedlings, hydroponics (for lettuce), recyclable plastic salad containers (which are maddening as a single-use product), plus direct sowing into the 12 City Pickers and Earth Boxes. We borrowed a grow light to help expedite the process of turning the seedlings into viable plants.

We like this Parks’ domed seed-starting tray with 60 cells.

We use bagged potting mix — which is soil-less and designed to maximize growth in pots. The raised-bed systems require it — plus a blend of dolomite (crushed limestone) and organic fertilizer. We’re growing cucumbers, kale, mustard greens, arugula, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, cilantro, and basil. The ‘garden’ is up on our deck so we don’t create a tasty buffet for the abundant deer and geese.

The black plastic ‘mulch’ comes with the Earth Boxes. It helps retain moisture and keeps the weeds and critters out. In this box, we’re growing arugula and snap peas. You water the Earth Box through the pipe in the corner. The water is stored in the bottom of the container and the plants suck it in; you can’t overwater because the excess drains out through the bottom.

This is our electric hydroponic grow station, in which we’re growing butterhead lettuce. The dials on the bottom let us know if we need to add water or food. It took approximately three weeks from planting until we were able to enjoy the first crop (it was good)! The next round should be ready in half the time; the leaves are getting big again.

We put all our food scraps (except for meat, cheese, fish) in this FCMP Outdoor Tumbling Composter, and it makes amazing compost fertilizer. We start with an equal volume of leaves and vegetable peels and scraps. In spring temperatures it takes three to four weeks to make compost; it’s a lot slower in the colder months and faster in the summer. I also bury unfinished compost right in the backyard, and have seen it transform our clay soil into beautiful, worm-filled garden beds.

We are obsessed with watching the magical process unfold.

While our six- and eight-year-olds have not yet taken to eating salads (in a bowl, anyway), they love to pick leaves straight from the plants and pop them into their mouths!

 

Filed under Conservation, Horticulture, Rivertowns Westchester NY, Vegetable Gardening

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February 13, 2020 · 4:44 pm

Happy Trails Along the Saw Mill

Steve Pucillo, board member of Groundwork Hudson Valley, spoke about how he headed up the transformation of 14.4 miles of crumbling, 19th-century railroad tracks along the Saw Mill River Parkway in Westchester County, NY, into the beautiful South County Trailway.

The work, which is continuing, includes clearing away tracks, cleaning and widening the pathway, placing benches, birdhouses and bridges.

The South County Trailway is now a haven for walking, running, biking, roller-blading in three seasons, and x-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter.

Filed under Conservation, Recreation, Westchester County, NY, Rivertowns Westchester NY

January 30, 2019 · 11:34 am

How to Develop a Pollinator Victory Garden and Pollinator Pathways

Did you know that communities all over the world are making and linking pesticide-free, native-plant gardens, meadows and forests to encourage beneficial insect and bird species? Especially bees, which are dying out and so essential to our ecosystems.

And we can do this right here in the Rivertowns, beginning in our own gardens.

This free public event with Kim Eierman of EcoBeneficial® is typical of Garden Club of Irvington programming.

Kim is a well known environmental horticulturist who specializes in ecological landscapes and native plants. She teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and The Native Plant Center.

Please subscribe to this site and get updates and invites to all our 2019-20 events.

Filed under Conservation, Horticulture, Irvington Garden Club Events, Rivertowns Westchester NY, Tarrytown NY, Zone 7 Native Plants, Zone III Events

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