A few shots from Rutgers Gardens

If you like plants and live in New Jersey, Rutgers Gardens is a great place to check out. They have a ton of interesting things growing there and it seems to get better and better every year. It's open to the public all year long, free of charge and is really nice and laid back. Everytime I go, I see a different plant I didn't know was there before. I love tropical plants and while there aren't any towering palm trees (yet!) there are some amazing tropical and subtropical plants in the garden.

A nice and healthy Magnolia grandiflora out in the open. Not sure what cultivator it is, or if it is a cultivator at all, but it does look a bit different from other magnolias I have seen in my area and is very healthy.

I have been looking for Paw Paw trees for a very long time and I finally found one. If you don't know about this native tree, definitely give it a Google, the fruit is supposed to taste pretty incredible. Although there was fruit on the tree, I didn't touch it so I can not speak from experience. But even if it didn't fruit at all, the huge, dark green leaves alone and it's status as a native plant make it very worth trying.

A very cool looking Gourd that reminded me of my Cucuzza back home.

The children garden.

I loved this flowering field. Not a huge fan of flowers that aren't tropical, but these are an exception. It's mid September and everything is still blooming incredibly well!

There was an awesome Thai Black Banana here! I have seen some Musa Basjoo also for anyone curious. But I wish they would try a Musa Mekong Giant in the garden since I would really like to see if it out performs Musa Basjoos or not!

I love these Popcorn Cassias. Such incredible plants.

Thanks for looking!