By Henry Homer
I recently visited Bedrock Garden in Lee and I felt refreshed and bright. A.D.
Jill Noni is a talented designer who has won numerous awards at the Boston Flower Show. Walde uses her skills to create metal sculptures from small to large, as well as to work with other media. Bob Jill is a natural builder and architect who allowed her to put her art on the landscape with water features, walls, roads and much more. They are truly a couple who make each other’s best.
When I visited the gardens, I was fortunate to have Jill as my guide. Visiting gardens with me John Johnti, a nonprofit executive and horticulturist, managed the gardens. We spent about three hours together exploring the gardens, and I learned many plants that I had never known before.
Bedrock Garden is full of amazing things that delight, enlighten and inspire visitors. I am grateful that I have a large garden for my own efforts and how much Jill and Bob have added to their gardens.
For years, Badrock’s garden was open every few weekends, but five years ago, Jill and Bob decided that they needed to take the future of gardening seriously. They created a non-profit organization, hired John Fortin as director and thought about how to differentiate between public and private spaces.
At the time of the outbreak, they had created a parking lot and a tourist center, away from their old farm, where they had lived for more than 40 years. They have created a family environment that is as enjoyable as the children themselves.
Adjacent to the parking lot, there is a gino house that can be accessed from a huge fig tree grove with a metal roof reminiscent of Jill’s mushroom hat. She saw the amazing bowl on the side of the road and immediately touched her brake to ask. Luckily, she was the first to ask, she found. (Five other people stopped and asked him that day, she told me, but she was the first).
I became very familiar with the horticultural gallery in New Hampshire. Bedrock Garden is in Zone 5b, which means it will not be colder than 25 degrees Fahrenheit for most years. But Jill grew up with many plants that I had never seen before, including many trees in Japan or China.
Jill Nuni used plants in amazing ways. For example, the “bull’s blood” heritage used beetles in their flower beds for their deep purple leaves – an annual effort, but very impressive. When a hollow tree was cut down, Bob cut it into 2-foot sections and overlapped the sections between the two trees, so that pedestrians would see it as binoculars. He can see where the branches are growing. They call it “Log Jam.”
Jill made good use of ornamental grass throughout the garden. Miscanthus sp. But she also uses it in the shade. “He is smart in the shadows,” she said, “I like him.
Metal sculpture is an integral part of every garden. At the beginning of our visit, I admired the ¾-inch stainless steel fireplace built in a series of 11 arches 13 feet high and 7 feet wide. “I use the sky,” she said. She beautifully bent each metal frame into a Gothic arch, discovering the lines of the Gothic cathedral. And she’s developing fast-paced reinforcements in Europe to wear the steel frame as part of the installation – one on the arches and attached to the metal. They will finally reach heaven – the tip of the arch.
In the garden, there are two metal “Chiwaras” inscribed with masks made by Malian Bambara people. Years ago, I told Jill the Antalope myth in Mali, where I worked with the Peace Corps. The people of Bambara admire the ants they have taught to sow the main crop. The squirrel uprooted the ground and threw some manure into the soil. So Jill celebrated with a glimpse of her beauty in her stylish masks.
Plan a visit to Bedrock Garden if you can. There is a guided tour every day, and two days a week. Or wander around and study the design elements – see how Jill uses amazing and inspiring plants, and how she adds to the fun and excitement. This is a garden you should visit, even if you don’t have much space or energy to raise Jill and Bob. Bring lunch and plan your day. You will be glad you did. And if you have kids in your life, consider attending the Fairy Hobbit House Festival from October 9th. Visit bedrockgardens.org to learn more.
Write to Mailry 364, Cornish Flat, N 03746, or email henry.homeyer@comcast.net. If you would like a response by mail, please include SASE.
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