Nj why garden state

Perhaps this is part of the reason why New Jersey finds itself at the end of so many jokes. There are many reasons this state is so misunderstood, and the juxtaposition between what New Jersey looks like from the side of the highway and the official state nickname is one of the big ones, because the reality is, New Jersey is an agricultural juggernaut.

According to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture , the state is one of the top ten producers of blueberries, cranberries, peaches, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, apples, spinach, squash, and asparagus.

If you look beyond the smokestacks and industrial parks, past the shopping malls and urban centers, there are farms over , acres worth scattered throughout the state.

Like so much of New Jersey, the Pine Barrens is a contradiction. European settlers named this 1. But deep in the Pines where creeks and streams give way to the marshlands, there are two crops that thrive — blueberries and cranberries. Heston chronicled a speech Browning gave in which Browning refers to New Jersey as the Garden State; he said that New Jersey was an immense barrel open at both ends, bursting with good things to eat, and Pennsylvania was picking from one end and New York from the other.

His reference to New Jersey as the Garden State stuck, and it is known by the moniker today. Some historians argue that Browning was not the first to use this term, however, as the imagery of New Jersey as a barrel tapped at both ends can be traced back to Benjamin Franklin, who wrote a similar comparison long before Browning.

Since the name was given to the state, the people of New Jersey have embraced the notoriety. Skip to content Share Icon. Facebook Logo. Link Icon. Origin of New Jersey's 'Garden State' nickname debunked. New Jersey's "Garden State" nickname sprouted, it seems, from a bed of deception. But a review of an archived transcript of that speech busts the myth. Browning never said it. As a matter of fact, he seriously contemplated moving out here to New Jersey.

Browning was a prominent politician and he said that "New Jersey was a beautiful barrel filled with good things to eat and was open on both ends with Pennsylvania grabbing them from one end and New York at the other end. In , the state Legislature passed a bill to have the Garden State added to the New Jersey license plates.

Robert Meyner vetoed the bill because he did not believe the average citizen in New Jersey identified his state as a gardening or farming state. The Legislature overrode the governor's veto and Garden State was added to the license plate shortly after.