Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • December 4, 2013 Area NJBG to host Silver Jubilee at Skylands Manor Historic Skylands Manor in the New Jersey State Botanical Garden will be filled with an extravagant display of seasonal décor during NJBG’s spectacular 25 th Annual Holiday Open House from Dec. 5 through 8. This year, NJBG is celebrates festive event’s Silver Jubilee. All things sparkling and silver will be highlighted. Skylands Manor, a 45-room Tudor-style country estate built in the early 1920s, features many fine historic archi- tectural elements and is an elegant backdrop for this cel- ebration of the season. In keeping with the botanical surroundings, the lush holiday 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 Skylands Manor has a very different look. Individual rooms are decorated by scores of volunteers from northern New Jersey’s garden clubs, Master Gardener programs, local companies, and NJBG members. NJBG/Skylands Associa- tion, the non-profit member organization that supports the botanical garden, sponsors this annual fundraising event. Daytime tours of the NJBG Holiday Open House will be Pictured: Indoor and outdoor views of Skylands Manor. available Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 5 through 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for children 6-12, and free for children under six. No baby strollers, please. The last tour will begin at 4 p.m. Group tours are available. Call (973) 962-9534 or e-mail info@njbg.org to schedule a group tour. Evening “Champagne and Candlelight” receptions will be held on Friday and Saturday evenings, Dec. 6 and 7, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. During these special evening show- ings, the manor will be open for leisurely enjoyment with champagne, light refreshments, and valet parking. Tickets are $40. Reservations are required by Dec. 4. To reserve tickets, call (973) 962-9534 or visit at njbg.org (a secure website). 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 pur- chased 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 trans- formed 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 (continued on page 17)