2017
The Big News
We hired an Executive Director!
John Forti is a nationally recognized lecturer, garden historian, ethnobotanist and garden writer. He comes to us from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the oldest horticultural society in the nation, where he was the Director of Horticulture. Before taking on this new position, he was the Curator/Director of Historic Landscapes at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH. He previously served as the Director of Horticulture at Plimoth Plantation Museum where the gardens and seed program he created brought international attention to the preservation of Pilgrim and Wampanoag heirloom crops.
John co-founded and served as the board chair for Slow Food Seacoast. He serves on the bio-diversity committee for Slow Food USA and is the governor for Slow Food in New England. He also served as past board chair for the Herb Society of America’s New England Unit, and won the 2014 Award for Excellence in Horticulture from the national office. He was also recently granted the award for “Civic Improvement through Gardens” from the Garden Club of America.
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He is settling down nicely into his office:
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...while continuing his other interests. Here, he is serving on a panel on Cecil Thacher's art in relationship to the garden.
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...and grew our board.
And, boy, did we ever hold Events!
We opened this year with: our first Annual Celebration of International Sculpture Day
International Sculpture Day, or IS Day, is an annual celebration event held worldwide on the last Saturday in April to further the ISC’s mission of advancing the creation and understanding of sculpture and its unique, vital contribution to society. This was Bedrock Gardens' first participation, but, as it was very successful, not our last.
Jean Noon's "Wonder Woman Magic Carpet Rider"
Robert Farrell's "Jagged Ladder"
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Adam Pearson's "Go Fly a Kite"
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A ceramic piece by one of Don William's students
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Live Happening with Megan Samson
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Wooden Bench by Jeff Cooper.
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Head by Meghan Samson
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Ceramic Pieces by Don Williams
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Even building it was fun.
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Installing Kris Lanzer's memory tree.
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We threw a concert...
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Tj Wheeler and Charlie Jennison in Concert
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Tj Wheeler has been described as a one man Juke Joint. Wheeler considers the honor of being awarded the 2013 NH State Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship award (for the second time) a crowning achievement in his four decade long career. Check him out here.
Charlie Jennison, a nationally known musician, plays multiple instruments and composes jazz music. He teaches sax and piano at the Philips Exeter Academy. Visit his website here.
Ayan Imai-Hall, a widely respected tap dancer, added his percussive tap to the festivities. |
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...and sponsored a lecture by Dr. Doug Tallamy...
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Doug Tallamy, an engaging, funny, and inspiring speaker, is Professor and Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. He is the author of the best seller book, “Bringing Nature Home,” a fascinating study of the trees, shrubs, and vines that feed the insects, birds, and other animals in the suburban garden. His talk was on "Making Insects: a Guide to Restoring the Little Things that Run the World."
Sponsored this year through the generosity of Eldredge Lumber and Hardware, and the Atlantic Design Center in York ME. |
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The lecture was great, and well attended.
On the other hand, when he visited Bedrock Gardens, his primary interest was in finding caterpillars to take home to his graduate student! We all helped. |
...and had an Artisan Fair...
With interesting booths:
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...and had a garden party to end it.
with our featured guest, Valerie Sununu, First lady of NH.
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As the First Lady was kicking off the 'Gateway to the Garden' campaign, she was approached by a woodland fairy...
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...who put a wreath on her head. She accepted with verve and grace.
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Even our Open House Days were Special!
The Student Art Exhition is becoming a tradition! This was its fourth year.
Art students aged 10 to 18 from five schools explore insects and flight in a far-ranging installation throughout Bedrock Gardens at the May 21 & 22 Open House. The creativity of the students was amazing!
The Seacoast Beekeepers Association (with Randall Davis and Ellie Coffin) had an information booth.
Oyster River Cooperative School District's Jacqueline Bruhn hosted a Sustainability Table with a bug hotel. There was a talk about "Planting for Pollinators" with 1/2 hour talk on gardening and plants that feed the bees at 11 and 1 on Saturday.
Oyster River Cooperative School District's Jacqueline Bruhn hosted a Sustainability Table with a bug hotel. There was a talk about "Planting for Pollinators" with 1/2 hour talk on gardening and plants that feed the bees at 11 and 1 on Saturday.
The Aviation Museum of NH’s Wilbur Wright, in character, [thanks to Wendell Bertelsen] demonstrated flight kits and gave a talk with a video on how bumble bees manage to fly.
Most of our Open Houses had events associated with them:
The Caterpillar Lab joined us for the third year. Sponsored this year through the generosity of Eldredge Lumber and Hardware, and the Atlantic Design Center in York ME.
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Wildlife Encounters came for their third year...very educational.
The Profile Auto League (PAL) visited one sunny Sunday, with Willie Carlson and crew.
One very Special Open House, 'Threads', celebrated the fiber arts.
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Even wrapping the Tea House in a crocheted blanket...err...tea cozy!
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Printing on silk panels with Susan Quateman.
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Display of the Fiber Arts at the Durham Public Library
The Durham Public Library partnered with us hosting a fiber arts display and talk by artist Rosalind Revilock-Frost " Art: Practical and Metaphysical" on how social events inspire her unique fabric sculptures
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And we closed the year with the Second Annual Fairy and Hobbit House Festival, quite the success!
From the very young...
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...to the young at heart...
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...and all in between.
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...came to visit (and build) our fairy and hobbit houses:
with our own scrumptious fairies.
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Gandolf and Friends
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Sometimes it takes a whole family to create a fairy house:
The winner of the popular vote was this by Mary Verzina of Milford NH:
Lots else went on:
Tracy Kane, award-winning Fairy Houses author, www.fairyhouses.com, b, answered questions, and autographed books.
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Hazel Dellario was our wandering minstrel.
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See lots more details and photos of the FHH here.
The Open Houses had:
Music
Dale's JazzLab
Lee's own bluegrass bands, The Smith Family and The Chicken Shack
Food:
Mary V's Unique Creations Website here
And GOOD TIMES!
Families having a picnic.
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Entranced by the Smith Family Band.
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Found them all in the Scavenger Hunt.
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Peace at Petit Pond
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Visitors
We hosted Mastway Elementary School:
Returning from an activity at the Gnome Home
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Quiet time with drawing and writing
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They rotated through Activity Stations.
Educational Visits. Some of our visitors were in conjunction with educational institutions:
OLLI's Life Long Learning had a credit-based class here.
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UNH has a couple of pruning classes here every year.
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Or as classes. Several groups of En Plain Aire painters visited.
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Groups and Clubs.
Blooming Newmarket Garden Club
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Horticultural Therapy
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Arts In Reach (AIRS)
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Bedford Garden Club
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Cambridge Garden Club
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Westford Garden Club
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The Herb Society of America joint gathering of The New England and NorthEast Seacoast chapters
Newmarket Garden Club
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Long Hill Gardens in Beverly MA
The HSA with a presentation...and food
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And some cars, both old (Profile Auto League) and new (Aston Martin Owner's Club)
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And the First Family of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, his wife Valerie, and their son, Leo. Back row are Jill, Bob, Taylor Caswell (Commissioner of the Department of Business and Economic Affairs) and John Forti.
and Yoga classes...three different groups: Symmetry, Peace Tree, and Awakening Grace.
Misc
Some of the fun weddings ceremonies that took place here:
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The Property
Looking Good!
Rhodies by South Lawn
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Tulips in The Wave
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Always there are projects:
Trenching utilities to the barn. Thanks for your help James Reynolds.
Building a stone wall by the pond for Dylan's Dell.
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Built a Kiosk to help with admissions
Mark Pitkin digging test pits for parking area, with the help of Marc Jacobs, soil scientist, an
excellent man.
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Loving:
Plants
Big Bird in Castor Beans
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Touchstone in Echinaeca
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Crocosmia
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Jeffersonia dubia
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Gentian
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Verbena bonariensis blossoms
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Lotus (It really looks like this!)
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Woodland Japanese Peony
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We even love plants that misbehave. Bamboo grows well, but periodically has a world-wide (!) simultaneous flowering (called gregarious or mass flowering) and death. No one understands how a plant in Asia knows how to flower and die at the same time a bamboo stand in Bedrock Gardens does. But they do. Here all our bamboo of one kind suddenly flowers and dies:
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Animals
Nice frog on Lily Pad
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Not-So-Hungry-Anymore-Frog. See the foot of another frog in its mouth? It is a frog-eat-frog world out there.
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Green Heron (photo courtesy of Hobson Jandebeur). An infrequent visitor.
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The Guineas have flown their coop and are now nesting in trees.
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and insects.
Swallow Tail Butterfly
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Gypsy Moth (I think)
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But mostly we love our volunteers!
Part of the Hands in Dirt crew (Robin Heider, Kerry Ridolfi, Diana Anderson, Peggy Tucker)
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Marc Bono at the 7th settlement fund raising, to be followed by Francine Kontos
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Marc and Jane Bono manning a tent at one of our open houses.
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The Friends of Bedrock Gardens, the nonprofit being groomed to inherit Bedrock Gardens, was extremely active this year. Over 80 volunteers contributed more than 2000 hours!
Here the Volunteers have a Tea at the beginning of the season. |
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Lots of good times, in our new kiosk.
Of Interest
Jill gave a talk at the Atlantic Design Center at Eldredge Lumber and Hardware in York ME. Doug Tallamy also presented.
We are rewarded for our work...
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Best cultural oasis in NH for 2016 by NH magazine.
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All good things must come to an end...
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See you next summer.
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YUM!