Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • November 16, 2011 Area Skylands Manor will be filled with an extravagant display of seasonal décor during the New Jersey Botanical Garden’s spectacular annual Holiday Open House, set for Dec. 1 through 4. Skylands Manor, a 45-room Tudor-style country estate built in the early 1920s, features many fine historic architectural elements and is an elegant backdrop for this celebration of the season. In keeping with the botanical surroundings, the lush décor features abundant live and dried plants and flowers, elegant appointments, and displays created with youngsters in mind. The decorating theme is changed annually, so each year the manor has a very different look. For 2011, the “Deck the Halls” theme will focus on the warm and festive feel of the season. Individual rooms are decorated by scores of volunteers from northern New Jersey garden clubs, Master Gardener programs, local companies, and NJBG members. NJBG/Skylands Association, the non-profit member organization of volunteers which supports the garden, sponsors this annual event. Daytime tours of the NJBG Holiday Open House will be offered from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for children ages six through 12, and free for children under six. No baby strollers, please. Group tours are also available by appointment. The last tour will begin at 4 p.m. Evening Champagne and Candlelight Receptions will be available from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. During these special evening showings, guests will enjoy champagne, light refreshments, and valet parking. Tickets are $35, and reservations Holiday Open House will be held at Skylands Manor Skylands Manor sparkles and glitters inside and out to welcome visitors. (Photo by Gene Bigliano.) are required. To reserve tickets, or for more information, call (973) 962-9534 or visit www.njbg.org. NJBG is located on Morris Road in Ringwood. The NJ Botanical Garden is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission to the garden is always free. Originally assembled from pioneer farmsteads of the 1890s, The New Jersey Botanical Garden has a venerable history. In 1922, Clarence McKenzie Lewis, an investment banker and trustee of the New York Botanical Garden purchased the property and original Victorian mansion from Francis Lynde Stetson. Over the next three decades, Lewis built the current 45-room Tudor manor house and transformed Skylands into a botanical showplace, engaging prominent landscape architects to design the grounds and collecting plants from all over the world. In 1966, the State of New Jersey purchased the 1,117 acres of Skylands as the state’s first acquisition under the Green Acres preservation program. Governor Thomas Kean designated the central 96 acres surrounding the manor house as the state’s official botanical garden in 1984.