Democratic candidates for Madison Borough Council John Hoover and Council President Carmela Vitale join gardening enthusiasts at the Madison Community Garden (MCG) to help celebrate the Morris County Park Commission’s second annual “Community Garden Open Gates Weekend.” Pictured (l to r) are MCG Advisory Committee Vice Chairman Brian Monaghan, MCG Advisory Committee Chairman Mike Barrasso, Hoover, Vitale, community gardener Bruce Esrig, community gardener Yana Kane-Esrig, and MCG Advisory Committee Member and Master Gardener Steve Stocker. Now in its sixth year, the MCG was first established with a one-time grant of $47,000 from the Madison Open Space, Recreation, and Preservation Trust Fund and is now self-sustaining through annual user fees. The garden has grown is size from an initial 60 plots to nearly100 today. In addition to the individual plots, there are Master Gardener Demonstration Plots, bee hives, and a tree nursery. New this year is a fenced-in Pollinator Meadow. Applications for MCG garden plots can be obtained online at www.rosenet.org. Renewal applications can be submitted between Sept 1and Dec 31; applications for new plots between Jan 1 and May 15.