Home Care In Cream Ridge, NJ

The tulips at Holland Ridge Farms in Cream Ridge have become one of New Jersey’s most photographed spots in the spring. Beyond the whopping 8 million colorful tulips to take in, there are plenty of other things to keep you and your crew entertained during a visit. They include 20+ photo props, as many as 30 food trucks, farm animals, a feeding zoo, pony rides, a tractor-pulled hayride, Dutch souvenirs, a bakery and a tulip planting museum.

So what goes into transforming the 300+ acre farm into a dreamy spring scene of rainbow tulips straight out of Holland? “You would think an event of this size would take an army, but in reality, there’s less than 10 of us who work year-round to bring it all together,” says Patrick Marini, Holland Ridge’s creative manager.

Marini says bulbs are ordered during the summer for the following spring. “We make sure to only order the most colorful and most hardy varieties that will grow well out in the flower fields,” he says. “As soon as sunflower season ends, we start planting the millions of tulip bulbs. Over the winter they grow roots and form flower buds, while we start planning out new photo props and improvements to the farm and event. We love that we have so many returning visitors who make our tulip event their yearly family tradition.”

What’s New This Spring

Given how quickly u-pick tulips tickets sell out on weekends, you may want to consider taking a day off midweek to go. For the first time this year, Holland Ridge will be offering weekday picnics. On the weekends, visitors can go on a horse and carriage ride. Also new this year is a wishing well, where Holland Ridge will be accepting donations for Soldier On, a nonprofit organization committed to ending veteran homelessness. Representatives from Soldier On will be on hand to share the group’s mission on weekends.

If you’re planning your outfits for some sweet spring pictures, photo props at the farm include a floral throne, a heart-shaped tulip wall, a “hello spring” wall, a giant flowerpot and even a Cinderella carriage. The farm is a hotspot for photo shoots, from engagements and wedding pics to maternity and anniversary shots and beyond. An authentic Dutch windmill is also in the works and set to break ground in May. It will be 100 feet tall and visible from the NJ Turnpike. “Guests will be able to go inside and see it grinding grains, and also climb to the view platform to get a better view of the flower fields,” Marini says. “We’re even hoping to do special events in the future. Think wedding at the windmill!!”

Marini says events are a natural next step, given what he calls an “incredible energy” at the farm. “In the Netherlands, they call it ‘gezellig.’ This loosely translates to being sociable, friendly and enjoying the company of others. It’s more of a feeling to describe the culture of Holland and Holland Ridge Farms.”

Here are a few things to know if you’re planning a visit to see the tulips:

U-pick tulip season is from April 11-April 30. Tickets are $15 per person and must be purchased online in advance. Kids younger than 3 are free.

Plan to arrive on or as close to your arrival time as possible given the crowds. Visitors typically spend around 3 hours at the farm. This year Holland Ridge has adapted to arrival times to help the flow of traffic.

Wear comfy shoes since you’ll be doing lots of walking and if the kids have seasonal allergies, be sure to pack some extra tissues.

Parking is free. There are multiple entrances and exits for visitors to enter the farm and checkout with their flowers.

You can order tulips and have them delivered with free shipping from the farm through Mother’s Day.

Holland Ridge Farms is located at 86 Rues Road in Cream Ridge. Follow the farm’s latest updates @hollandridgefarms on Instagram.

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Springtime Flower Festivals in and Around NJ Must-See Gardens in NJ

Come springtime in New Jersey people are dying to get out in the fresh air and enjoy nature. Fall here has apple picking and hayrides. Well, it only makes sense then that New Jersey has the largest U-pick your own flower farm in the United States.

Holland Ridge Farms in Cream Ridge is not only the largest of its kind in the country, it is stunningly beautiful. Last year they have doubled in size to over three hundred acres.

As a kid, I worked on a 70-acre farm and it seemed huge. I can't imagine what 300 acres of tulips looks like up close. Well, that's what also makes it a great place as a backdrop for photoshoots for weddings, anniversaries, proposals, etc.

Check out some Instagram posts taken at the farm.

What do you do on a tulip farm besides gawk and pick flowers? Plenty. They have food vendors and picnic tables to make a perfect picnic. Kids of all ages can check out the rescue animals at their "Big Buds" section or feed the animals at the "Little Sprouts" feeding zoo. There are even pony rides and a complimentary shuttle on the back of a tractor pulled flatbed to get you around.

You have to choose a time slot to go. They offer overlapping four hour time slots from 9 am to 6 pm. Admission is only $13 which also includes NJ sales tax. Any kids ages two and under are free.

Something new for 2023, weekday picnics are back! Bring your own food and drinks (non-alcoholic) to the farm Monday through Friday during the tulip festival. Outside food and drink is still not permitted on the weekends. Also new, check out their new 3D interactive map.

They are smack dab in the middle of the state at 86 Rues Road in Cream Ridge, New Jersey. Make sure you follow the signs to parking. Holland Ridge farms opens in April, just a couple of short weeks away.

If you want to avoid the crowds and go on a weekday, they are open 7 days a week.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

You can now listen to Dennis & Judi — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite best friends anytime, anywhere and any day of the week. Download the Dennis & Judi show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now:

Barbecue fans know Ray Sheehan as the man behind BBQ Buddha, a line of barbecue rubs and sauces sold in markets across the state.

Now he is the owner of a new restaurant, too. Ray's Roadside Kitchen, serving homestyle comfort food — some of it flavored with those sauces — opens Wednesday in the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold. Sheehan owns the 40-seat restaurant, previously Granny's Grill, with Christian Nevers of the New Egypt section of Plumsted.

"We wanted to bring another dining option to our area and have a community part to it," said Sheehan, who also lives in New Egypt. "We want to be beneficial to our community, whether it's creating jobs or giving them a place to eat."

He turned to local artists to paint a Garden State-themed mural in the dining room, and the restaurant serves and sells coffee from Pinelands Coffee Roasters of New Egypt. Sheehan plans to welcome local musicians to perform at the restaurant, and local artists to display their work on its walls.

The restaurant, which is BYOB, offers counter service. "It's not fast food, it's good food fast," said Nevers, whose also manages his family's grocery store, New Egypt Marketplace.

How it started:Neptune's BBQ Buddha spices things up

The food is Southern-style with a nod to barbecue, Sheehan said. He is making fried chicken coated in housemade dredge ("something that's unique," he said) and served plain or with dustings of Jersey Devil Hot or Bee Sting Honey seasoning.

There's a pressed sandwich of carved ham with Brie and honey mustard, and fried flounder with sides of barbecue beans and potato salad.

Despite his background in competition barbecue, that style of cooking isn't the focus of the menu — it will appear as specials, Sheehan said. But his sauces add flavor to several dishes: Mantra Hot Sauce flavors pimento cheese, which tops a freshly ground burger and is served as an appetizer with crackers; Kansas City barbecue sauce adds a touch of sweetness to the Pit Life BBQ burger, with Cooper Sharp cheese, onion rings and bacon; and Memphis Mop barbecue sauce coats pulled pork.

"We want to keep it simple," Sheehan said. "We want to showcase home cooking."

For subscribers:From birria to jerk chicken, try this roadside food at the Jersey Shore

There are also "Big Bowl Salads" with scratch-made dressings.

"With the menu, you can be as naughty or as nice as you want to be," Sheehan said. "You can have a big salad or you can have fried chicken."

Once the restaurant is up and running, Sheehan and Nevers plan to add scratch-made biscuits to the menu, and host dinners featuring recipes from Sheehan's cookbooks. To start, the restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Go: 465 Route 539 in Cream Ridge; 609-758-0616, instagram.com/rays_roadside_kitchen.

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], and for more Jersey Shore food news, subscribe to our weekly Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.

If you love getting in the car and heading out to explore New Jersey, then I want you to take a look at this latest day trip suggestion I have for you and it's right here in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

This destination is one I have never visited before and it's right in Upper Freehold Township in Cream Ridge, Monmouth County. It's part of the Monmouth County Park System. Historic Walnford is a little spot with lots of history for you to take in.

Historic Walnford is on the National Register of Historic Places in America. You can visit the Waln Farm including the family home, stables, and grist mill. The Waln home dates back to 1773 along with the 19th-century Grist Mill. The site is open 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. It was fascinating to walk through the home and see various rooms and contents from over the years in this 250-year-old mansion. The stables were also very interesting as they contained an antique sled and carriage that is on display. In the Grist Mill, you can see where grains were processed and how the machinery of the day worked hundreds of years ago. Fascinating for any history buff.

We did ask the tour guide from the parks department if there were any ghost sightings but she said to the best of her knowledge there have been no ghost reports. "Either we have no ghosts or they are very content".

I am adding this to my series "Hiking NJ" because there are places to walk if you'd like to get maybe a 2-mile hike in. There are the grounds and there is also a nice country road that runs in and out of the park that will give you about a mile if you do it in both directions. So although it's not your typical park to hike, you can get a bit of a walk-in at Historic Walnford.

Here is my "Ultra Mega Photo Gallery" for you to check out and see all that is available to see at Historic Walnford, definitely glad we made a visit to this historic part of the Monmouth County Parks System.

Google Maps

UPPER FREEHOLD — Dashing the hopes of golfers looking to take advantage of unseasonably warm conditions, the state-owned Cream Ridge Golf Course along Route 539 has been temporarily closed by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP hopes to reopen the course with a new operator sometime this winter, according to a posting on the agency’s website.

The closure came after a dispute between two private companies over competing bids to manage the course. The fight over the bids continued as the previous contract held by Cream Ridge Golf Club lapsed on New Year’s Day, DEP Spokesman Larry Ragonese said.

Atlantic Golf Management was the first choice of the DEP to operate the golf course, but the second-place bidder, Meticulous Landscaping, challenged Atlantic’s submission, arguing its competitor failed to comply with the financial reporting standards of the DEP’s request, Ragonese said.

“The challenge is currently in litigation, but we are hoping to reopen Cream Ridge in the very near future,” Spokesman Larry Ragonese said.

The course was acquired by the DEP in 2006 through the Green Acres Program, a program for the preservation of open space. The agency owns four golf courses in the state.

The initial term of the operating contract for Cream Ridge is six years, with the option of renewing for a longer second term of 14 years, subject to capital improvements being made during the first term, according to an August announcement from the DEP.

As the dispute between the companies in December drew closer to Jan. 1, the DEP asked the previous operator, Cream Ridge Golf Club, to step in and manage the course on a monthly basis in order to keep the links open.

Cream Ridge Golf Club, which also bid for the disputed contract, turned down the offer, leading to the temporary closure of the club.

“We closed the course, and posted signs,” Ragonese said. “But we’ve had some trouble with people taking away the signs.”

The course’s restaurant, Greens Café is not closed, but may be operating at restricted hours during the winter months, according to an announcement on the DEP’s website.

Golfers can still tee off at Spring Meadow Golf Course in Wall Township, the second public golf course owned by the DEP in Monmouth County.

Contact Joshua Rosenau at (609) 989-5707 or [email protected].