June Force of Nature: Gretchen Kish

photo by Benoit Cortet

Gretchen Kish was born and raised in Titusville, NJ.  She grew up in a house that backed up to the woods and her first job was as a gardener at Washington Crossing Park.  It was there that she learned that horticulture could be a college major.

Gretchen’s lifelong passion for both Hopewell Valley and improving its landscape made her an easy choice for our June Force of Nature.

Gretchen and her husband Jon founded Nectars Landscape & Design and in addition to helping our area improve its landscaping, she very generously gives back to the local community.

Her personal philosophy is in line with FoHVOS stewardship objectives. We both want to restore Hopewell Valley lands. Gretchen enjoys educating others on the importance of landscaping with native species and said that people are receptive if you come to them as a knowledgeable person.  

She shared, “People worry that larger beds require more maintenance, but that’s not true, because when the right plants are planted and allowed to mature, the bed space actually uses less maintenance and requires less resources to maintain.”

Applying these principles, Gretchen initiated an expansive design for Bear Tavern Elementary School to create a new outdoor classroom that will be implemented over several years at no taxpayer cost.

BT Outdoor Classroom rendering

As part of our Community Conservation initiative, FoHVOS is partnering on the first phase of the project by administering a very generous grant from Janssen Pharmaceuticals to include healthy habitats.

Gretchen has prepared a beautiful design and selected native plants and trees that will attract pollinators, butterflies, insects, and birds. She collaborated with FoHVOS Stewardship Director Dr. Mike Van Clef who advised on best practices to maximize the ecological benefits.

The Bear Tavern project will also rely on grant money from the BT PTO, The College of New Jersey, and the Hopewell Valley Education Foundation for the pond and classroom features.

New Pond at Bear Tavern

While Gretchen and Jon have a successful landscape and design business, they recently opened a home and garden retail location on River Road in Titusville.  Jon shared that it was all about that specific location. They had their eye on it for years.

Gretchen’s vision is to transform their amazing home and garden store into a community meeting place. They are beautifying the lot and creating shaded area to bring people in for networking, garden clubs, lectures, classes, and events.

Nectars is teaming up with the Hopewell Valley Arts Council and sharing their lovely space for events to further enrich the Hopewell Valley community.

Throughout her life, Gretchen has witnessed the significant growth of our Valley.  Past expansion has brought both positive and negative change. She believes that the right people representing our community can ensure new growth is done thoughtfully.   

Her commitment preserving the land and character of Hopewell Valley makes Gretchen Kish our FOHVOS June Force of Nature.

A version of this article appears in the June issue of Hopewell Valley Neighbors magazine.