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BEDROCK GARDENS
Bedrock Gardens is a nonprofit public garden that integrates unusual botanical specimens, unique sculptures, and interesting landscape design and features into an inspiring journey. This 30-acre site has recently transitioned from a historic farm and private garden to a public oasis of horticulture, art, and inspiration.
Bedrock Gardens is a nonprofit public garden that integrates unusual botanical specimens, unique sculptures, and interesting landscape design and features into an inspiring journey. This 30-acre site has recently transitioned from a historic farm and private garden to a public oasis of horticulture, art, and inspiration.
- We are open Tuesday thru Friday and the first and third weekends of the month. Details HERE.
- Jill Nooney has written a new book on the garden called "Bedrock: The Making of a Public Garden" . See a short fun promo trailer HERE. Details and ordering information HERE.
- For a very short, very cute TikTok we just made, click HERE.
- Check out our new What's in Bloom either below or on our new Blooms page HERE.
- Other exciting things are happening: - a new audio tour of the garden art (see more HERE), - a new roster of education programs, - the ninth Fairy Hobbit House Festival (now in July for your convenience).
- Here are some Quick Links to Visiting, Membership, and Donate pages
UPCOMING EVENTS
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Garden Tours Daily at 10:15
Art Tours W, Th, Fr, & Sun at 1:00 To find out more about Accessibility Tours CLICK HERE 
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NEW DATES!
Our 9th Annual Fairy and Hobbit House Festival. July 18, 19 & 20 Bring your friends and family for some outdoor fun with a touch of magic. A three-day festival in our enchanted woodlands. Learn more and get tickets! 
Advanced Registration Required!
Choose your date and time-slot to pre-register. CLICK HERE FOR AVAILABLE TIMES. Then fill up your car with your favorite fairies and hobbits and we'll see you at the Festival! 
Enter your design in our Fairy and Hobbit House House Competition!
CLICK HERE for more info and to register. |
AN OASIS OF HORTICULTURE, ART, AND INSPIRATION
Plan Your Garden VisitJoin one of our daily tours or discover the gardens on your own. No reservation required.
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Educational ProgramsWhether you're young, old, or somewhere in between, we offer classes for all gardening levels.
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Become A MemberAnd enjoy the gardens, exclusive perks and show your support for Bedrock Gardens.
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WHAT'S IN BLOOM
You can click on each image to see the Latin name, information on each plant, and where they are found in the garden.
We are also working on a longitudinal look at what is in bloom through out the year on our new page: Blooms.
We are also working on a longitudinal look at what is in bloom through out the year on our new page: Blooms.
Clematis Hybrid
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Black Cohosh, Bugbane, Baneberry
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Elderberry,
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Oakleaf Hydrangea
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Asian Jack-in-the-Pulpit
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Meadowsweet
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Clematis Hybrid
Clematis Hybrid; Clematis “Betty Corning” The hybrid Clematis “Betty Corning” is vigorous deciduous climbing vine that covers itself with an abundance of dangling bell-shaped 2” light lavender flowers from mid-summer to fall. Like most clematis, it prefers moist well drained soils in full sun to part shade (hence the gardener’s phrase that clematis like their head in the sun and their feet in the shade). The Betty Corning hybrid is grouped into the Viticella clematis group. Growing a profusion of roughly 6’ stems, its flowers are slightly fragrant that appear on the season’s new growth after having been pruned in late winter/early spring. Presumed to be a cross between Clematis crispa and C. viticella, it was discovered growing in Albany, NY in 1932 by Elizabeth Corning, an accomplished and active gardener as well as the wife of a long-term Mayor of Albany. The Clematis genus is a large one with nearly 300 species and close to 100 cultivars have been produced, which attests to its great popularity in the garden. The “Betty Corning” hybrid is a tough, reliable, and beautiful variety that can be counted on as a focus in the summer garden for several months. At Bedrock Gardens, Clematis “Betty Corning” can be found in the Ping Garden which runs along the Allée (#6) garden. |
Black Cohosh, Bugbane, Baneberry
Black Cohosh, Bugbane, Baneberry; Actaea racemosa Black Cohosh is a native wildflower that grows from Ontario south to Georgia and west to Missouri and Arkansas in the moist soils of full to partly shaded woodlands. Its leaves are finely divided and resemble those of Astilbe, reaching roughly 3-4’ over a season. The plant produces tall (2’) stems topped with long wand-like flowerheads of small white blooms above the foliage in mid-summer. The flowers have a sweet, somewhat fetid scent designed to attract its pollinators – flies, gnats, bees, butterflies, and beetles. The drying seedheads add interest to the garden after blooming has ended. The roots and rhizomes of Black Cohosh were used by native Americans for a number of ailments and root extracts are used today in herbal medicines and dietary supplements, often for treating menopausal symptoms and other gynecological problems. Stately with architectural/structural interest, Black Cohosh adds summer bloom to shady areas of the garden after the spring flush of blooming has passed. It is a useful plant that gives drama to the shade. At Bedrock Gardens, Black Cohosh can be found in the Funnel (#13) garden. |
Elderberry
Elderberry, American Elderberry, Canada Elderberry; Sambucus canadensis The elderberry is a deciduous shrub growing about 20’ tall that bears large flat clusters of white blooms in mid-summer. Native to North America east of the Rocky Mountains from Newfoundland to Florida and Texas, it prefers sun but tolerates a wide range of soil conditions. Elderberry produces dark purple to black berries in the fall that have traditionally been made in jams, jellies, syrups, and wine. Cooking techniques crush or cook down the berries and separate out the inedible and toxic seeds. The flowers (elderflowers) are also edible and can be soaked in water to add flavor. Making use of the entire plant, insecticide or dye can be produced from the leaves and inner bark. Native Americans also used the inner bark to ease toothache pain. The genus name of Sambucus is taken from an ancient Greek wind instrument of that name made by the removal of pith from the twigs to make whistles. An interesting, adaptable, and attractive shrub with a long history of human use, elderberry adds a bright accent to the back of the summer garden. At Bedrock Gardens, American elderberry can be found in the Funnel (#13) garden. |
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Oakleaf Hydrangea; Hydrangea quercifolia
Oakleaf Hydrangea; Hydrangea quercifolia Mid-summer begins a wave of blooming in the hydrangeas at Bedrock Gardens, where a number of different species can be found. Among them is the beautiful oakleaf hydrangea, native to partly sunny moist woods, ravines, and streambanks in the Southeastern US from NC, west to TN, and south to FL. A deciduous multi-stemmed shrub that grows to 8-12’, its stems sprout from underground stolons and oakleaf hydrangea often forms considerable colonies. Its large coarse-textured leaves were thought to resemble those of the oak (Quercus) and inspired its species name “quercifolia”. Oakleaf hydrangea’s conical-shaped white flower clusters generally bloom in early/mid-summer and are quite showy at 6-12” long. As they age, the flowers change attractively from immature light green, to white, through mauve, to dark pink, and ultimately to brown. As in many other Hydrangea species, its flower clusters are made up of two flower types – showy blooms with large petal-like structures designed to attract pollinators and inconspicuous fertile flowers without the enlarged petals. Foliage changes to shades of purple and red in the fall, creating additional seasonal interest. After leafdrop, mature stems reveal their exfoliating bark and add another season of garden interest. Oakleaf hydrangea is an adaptable native plant with multi-season features that have made it a favorite in shady gardens. |
Asian Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Asian Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Himalayan Cobra Lily; Arisaema ciliatum A relative of our native Jack-in-the-pulpit, this Asian species has a single distinctive leaf composed of many narrow leaflets set at the top of a 2 - 3’ stem, somewhat like an umbrella with long spokes ending in elongated thin tails. A very different look than our native species with its two tripartite leaves. Originally found in forested areas and woodland edges at moderate elevation in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, this species prefers shade or part-shade and moist but well-drained organic-rich soils. The ability to store water in its tuberous roots helps Arisaema ciliatum endure times of mild drought. In early to mid-summer, somewhat later than most jack-in-the-pulpits, the plant produces a single rather elegant flower. Held below the leaf on 10-15” stems, the flower is made up of a hood or spathe that may be purple, chocolate, or green with white stripes, which serves to protect the small flowers held on a thickened stalk, the spadix. Like the leaflets above it, the spathe tapers to a long (8”) tail. Flowers are followed by bright red berries in the late summer/fall. Arisaema ciliatum can also increase by rhizomes or stolons to form colonies over time. A striking, exotic-looking plant, this jack-in-the-pulpit is an amazing addition to a shade garden. At Bedrock Garden, Arisaema ciliatum can be found in the Tea House (#29) garden. |
Meadowsweet;
Meadowsweet; Filipendula Red Umbrellas Native to temperate areas in the Northern Hemisphere, most meadowsweet species prefer full sun to part shade and moist to wet soils. The Red Umbrellas meadowsweet is a recent interspecies cross that exhibits large showy maple-leaf shaped foliage with prominent dark red veining, making it a feature in the garden even when the plant is not in bloom. From mid-summer into the fall, the red umbrella plant produces fluffy sprays of soft pink flowers on roughly 1’ stems above its attractive foliage. Relatively compact at about 2.5’ high in comparison to many of the other tall species in the genus, a mature plant will fill about a 2 sq.’ area, making it an ideal size for many gardens. In addition to its merits in the garden, the blooms of red umbrellas also make excellent cut flowers. Between its colorful bold foliage and airy contrasting flower sprays, the red umbrellas hybrid meadowsweet is an outstanding plant for the moist partly shaded garden. At Bedrock Gardens, red umbrellas meadowsweet can be found in the Funnel (#13) garden. |
Posted 2025-07-07
"...one of the most beautiful and intriguing
landscapes in New Hampshire."
- Boston Globe
landscapes in New Hampshire."
- Boston Globe