Did you know that funding of the Gardens’ operations is 100% donor financed? The County’s relationship with Presby is simply that of a landlord/tenant. The Iris Gardens are still maintained by the non-profit Citizens Committee, a small staff of dedicated gardeners and volunteers that work year-round to plan and care for the site.
Support of the Gardens demonstrates your commitment to Green Initiatives. Presby has completely eliminated the use of chemicals to control pests and disease. The Gardens are now maintained using strictly green methods and all gardening work is done by hand.
Presby is curating a museum quality collection. Over the past seven years, the Gardens have been undergoing a complete restoration to become a museum quality attraction. Presby has been replacing lost cultivars of educational and historic value so that only top award winners as designated by the American Iris Society are on display. Presby’s iris collection, archives and database are one-of-a-kind and do not exist at any other botanical garden.
Partner with Presby as a Bed Sponsor. Your donation will help underwrite the costs to ensure Presby remains a one-of-a-kind botanical experience, continues to bring joy to local residents and iris lovers worldwide, attracts tourism to our region, and remains the global resource for iris information. Supporters will be gratefully acknowledged with outdoor signage, in press releases, as well as on Presby’s website, Facebook and Twitter profiles.
For more information about becoming a Bed Sponsor at Presby, click HERE.
About the Essex County Presby Memorial Iris Gardens: The Essex County Presby Memorial Iris Gardens is the largest public iris garden in the United States. Located at the base of Mountainside Park in Upper Montclair, the Gardens contain nearly 14,000 irises of around 3,000 varieties and produce over 100,000 blooms each May. It is a living museum of botanical preservation with some varieties dating back to the 1500’s and is lovingly referred to by locals as the Rainbow on the Hill. Adjacent to the Gardens is the historic Walther House, a circa 1865 building which acts as headquarters for Citizens Committee offices and houses the Bloom Room gift shop. The overall site is listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Sites and is also a facility of the historic Essex County Park System. The Citizens Committee maintains the everyday operations of the gardens.
