There’s an old saw about grandchildren that goes, ‘if you
haven’t seen them in a year, you won’t recognize them’. I think the same can be said of the best
gardens. They continually evolve as they
mature. We hadn’t been to Bedrock
Gardens in (gulp) two years but, this past weekend, we carved out a beautiful
Saturday to see what Jill Nooney and Bob Munger have been up to. The answer turns out to be ‘a lot’.
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| The garden deliberately breaks design rules, but the effect is magical |
To the best of my knowledge, Bedrock Gardens has no basis
for comparison in New England. It is the
idiosyncratic creation of two people who have transformed 35 acres of one-time
dairy farm land in rural southeastern New Hampshire into a space that is equal
parts intelligent horticulture and sheer whimsy, with an accent on the
unexpected. It also an ‘art park’ – an
expression I generally detest, but use here because it is a wholly accurate
description. And it is a garden that is
not afraid of shade. More than half of
the property is heavily wooded, yet under the canopy of those tree lie some of
Bedrock Gardens’ most beautiful and enchanting spaces.
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| Garden art |
Jill is what the brochure describes as the ‘horticultural
and artistic force’ behind the garden.
She designed the garden and largely chooses the plants for it. She also builds the art you see all around
the place. And, ‘build’ is quite
accurate. Much of her work involves
taking industrial and farm machinery and reimagining it as sculpture. While I’ve included a few samples, you can
peruse a more complete gallery here. Bob has the more prosaic responsibilities of
maintenance, digging holes and moving rocks (although he is also credited with
creating and executing several of the intricate stone walkways on the
premises). He is definitely a Principal
Undergardener.
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| Double-click for a full screen view |
If I were to attempt to articulate the design philosophy
that underlies Bedrock Gardens, it would go something like, “If you see a rule,
break it.” The garden abounds in plant
and color juxtapositions that force the viewer to reconsider his or her idea of
what is ‘right’. Yet the overall effect
is as glorious as anything you’ll encounter in, say, the New York Botanical
Garden.
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| A profusion of blue pots |
There are no fewer than 23 distinct gardens within the
property. Seeing them all requires half
a day and sturdy walking shoes. Truly appreciating them requires multiple
visits. This is the kind of garden that
invites you to frequently turn around and see where you’ve been. The perspective changes; sometimes subtly,
other times wildly. There are also two
major axes. A 900-foot-long one extends
from a pair of thrones across a pond to an allée, a torii, and a spiral garden. An 850-foot-long one extends from a barn
across an acre of red, green, and blue grasses to the aforementioned torii and
terminating at a CD tree (don’t ask).
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| A shrine to hay rakes |
The garden has evolved since our last
visit. The ‘acrobats’ sculpture is
now preceded and framed by the beginnings of a beech arch that will take
another five years to make its statement.
I do not recall seeing the ‘thrones’ on my past visit and the ‘Baxis’, a
parallelogram-shaped arch is a stunning addition.
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| More garden art |
Four years ago, Jill and Bob established a non-profit
‘Friends of Bedrock Gardens’ to begin a process to preserve the garden for
future generations by converting the property to a public garden and cultural
center. The project is apparently well
underway. John Forti, who left his mark
on Strawbery Banke and Elm Bank, was named Executive Director earlier this
year.
Bedrock Garden will next be open in 2017 on September 16 and
17, and then one final time on Columbus Day weekend. In the phrasing of the Michelin guides, this
is ‘worth a journey’.
