The day was forecast for rain, but I was determined to visit the Laurelwood Arboretum when the rhododendrons were in peak bloom. I feared that Scott Broadfoot, who curates the garden, might begrudge me for a tour on such a gloomy day. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
It turns out that Broadfoot’s first visit to the arboretum was in similar weather, and he fell in love with the park nevertheless.
“We took a golf cart ride on a rainy afternoon, much like today, and I said, ‘Where do I sign,” Broadfoot said.
Laurelwood Arboretum is a 30-acre botanical garden tucked away in Wayne’s Pines Lake neighborhood. It was owned by the late Dorothy and John Knippenburg, who created a nursery for azaleas and rhododendrons, which she cultivated and sold. There are hundreds across the grounds along with other species of flowers. In 2006, when Dorothy was no longer able to tend to the garden, she gifted Laurelwood to the local government.
However, maintaining the park and the impeccably groomed pathways requires the help of three full-time gardeners and a legion of volunteers, which proved costly. So, Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum devised a plan to bring in just enough income to maintain the park while keeping it open to the public. The idea was to turn it into a showroom for world-class sculptures that would earn them a commission in return.
Seven years ago, Stuart Reiser, the lawyer for Friends of the Laurelwood Arboretum, invited Broadfoot here on that fateful rainy day to consider becoming the sculpture curator. At Reiser’s recommendation, the township hired Broadfoot to transition the botanical garden into what it has become today.
Broadfoot has selected 15 of the most scenic spots within the arboretum to install works of art. These are works by some of today’s top-notch sculptors, including Robert Koch, Babette Bloch, and Vivien Collens. Some of the artworks, such Harry Gordon’s Sandalphon, can fetch six figures. As the artworks are sold, new ones are brought in, so visitors never know what they’ll see on a given day.
As you walk along the gravel walkways lined by wildflowers and moss-covered logs, and wind up, down, and around through the hilly preserve, the sculptures peak around the corners or announce themselves in sunlit clearings. The layout of the park makes the outer world feel distant. There is also an emphasis on picturesque vantage points with gazebos, fountains, bridges, and ponds, all thoughtfully framed.
All of these settings are elevated by grandiose sculptures – among the largest is Fitzhugh Karol’s 12-foot-tall pinewood totems entitled Friendship, the way they are carved makes these stationary 800-pound statues appear to undulate as they reach skyward. One thing that becomes apparent is the impeccable placement of these sculptures to fit within nature.
Broadfoot calls himself a “site-specific curator.” “That basically means, give me a project and I’ll figure out how to do it,” he said.
As we tread the manicured pathways of the park, he tries to envision the potential settings of the artworks when they are sold.
“This would go great in someone’s circle driveway,” he said of Bloch’s steel bouquet called Tulipula.
Broadfoot had first told me about the arboretum when I met him last year for a feature I was writing about Boonton, where his Broadfoot & Broadfoot gallery is located. When I saw images of it, it reminded me so much of Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton Township. My first thought was, why isn’t this outdoor art haven more widely known? Is the organization that manages it trying to protect its secrecy?
Broadfoot let out an amused laugh.
“Yes and no,” he said.
“We want people to come, but we don’t want it to be overrun,” says Sean Holzli, Broadfoot’s partner and assistant director of Broadfoot & Broadfoot.
Perhaps there is a fear that a social media influencer will someday spoil this hidden gem with a viral post. That’s what happened to places like the Lake Solitude Dam. But I don’t think that will happen to Laurelwood Arboretum. Instagrammers are only concerned with snapping quick photos more so than spending time in places. Laurelwood Arboretum reveals its charms much more gradually, which likely doesn’t appeal to those who are wired for instant gratification.
The only downside was knowing that some of the artworks might not be there on a second visit — really memorable ones like Ken Hiratsuka’s lichen-covered Sail sculpture. Parting with the purchased artwork is difficult for Broadfoot as well.
“I do have my favorites,” he said winsomely.
