2021
The year started off beautifully...
Before the snow melted, we...
...burned brush...
|
...and replaced the roof of the barn.
|
We worked in the welding studio making art...
|
|
|
We did projects...
Started a Cut Flower Garden (thanks volunteer Diana Anderson!)
Breaking ground
...and growing.
|
Seeds are in...
We had cut flowers for sale all season!
|
Built a masterful rock wall at the Welcome Court (thanks Bob Doane).
|
|
Dressing up the shop
|
|
Repaired the Wool Wall
Before. Pretty bedraggled.
|
Bob stitching new wool in.
|
Hanging in place.
|
Installed a diffuser in the pond. Many chapters, much merriment. You don't want to know.
|
|
|
Lots of other undertakings...
Jill putting the cap on the Gnome Home
|
Bob pondering the unponderables of fitting paving stones together.
|
Built out the Belvedere
Filling in the new space
|
Part of the finished wall.
|
Glorious Spring
Started off this spring with a true double rainbow. Do you know that the colors are reversed in the second rainbow?
Spring ephemerals
Hepatica
|
Petticoat daffodil
|
Iris
|
Asian Skunk Cabbage
Birds and the Bees
|
|
And Mary Ellen McKeen, an amazing volunteer, has a particular interest in our bees: Inspecting the super frame...
|
...and tending to her girls in our multicolumned bee condos.
|
Mary Ellen getting photographed for an article about her and bees for New Hampshire Magazine. See it here.
|
We held our 5th Annual Caterpillar Lab
The magic in a caterpillar cocoon.
|
Sam Jaffe is a gifted educator from the NH-based nonprofit,
The Caterpillar Lab. Don't miss him next year. |
We held our plant sales and garden art
|
|
This year's Guinea Story
Eleven baby guineas (called keets) as cute as they could be...
They were the best group we had had.
|
...and two ducks (I don't know what got into us!).
|
But they changed their behaviour: they stopped spending nights in the coop!
They started acting weird...sleeping in weird place (their bad luck)...
|
...hanging around visitors (seeking safety?).
|
Then the feathers started to appear...
|
...as did fox sightings. Soon we had no guineas. Very sad.
Visitors
We hosted some groups:
Roanne Robbins, a Maine Master Naturalist and certified Montessori educator, spent one day a week here for 6 weeks.
|
AIR, Arts In Reach, has engaged teens in arts-based activities and mentoring for years. They spent some time with us.
|
Picnickers near the Wiggle Waggle.
|
A fitness group walked all around.
The NHFGC (New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs) visited twice.
|
Notables:
John Forti, our wonderful Executive Director, published a notable book, The Heirloom Gardener, now in its fourth printing.
|
John Forti also received The Award of Excellence from the NGC (National Garden Clubs) after being nominated by the NHFGC (NH Federation of Garden Clubs). The award was presented here at Bedrock Gardens.
|
We are a featured garden in this terrific new book.
|
We grew our Board. We added Denise LeBlanc to our Board of Directors! See her profile here .
|
|
Wonderful gift
We received a wonderful gift from a daylily hybridizer of 300 different, named daylilies for us to grow and sell. Thank you, Dianne Mrak.
And thanks to Lori Lavac, not only for orchestrating this gift, but the many many hours she has volunteered here. |
|
Historic Barn
Our barn received a designation from the Heritage Committee of the town of Lee as a Historical Barn. This post and beam barn was built about 1874 with money obtained after some of the farmland was appropriated by the Eminent Domain Act of 1852 for the creation of a railroad bed, now Route 125.
Food for Thought:
An estimated 121 Million people visited public gardens. A little less than all (NFL, NBA, NHL, & MLB) [134 million] professional sports combined. And their attendance is flat/declining, while garden visitors is going up!
We had 14,000 visitors in 2021.
We had 14,000 visitors in 2021.
We had a memorable Fifth Annual Fairy Hobbit House Festival to close out the season.
You can also see our FHH Highlights 2021 page here.
A new map of 'The Shire' by Kathleen Reynolds;
​Great art, provided again by painter Peggy Hepburn of Somersworth, NH marks our new entrance pathway
|
Kathleen also provided the drawing for the 2021 FFH festival T-shirt.
|
Love these four fairies flanking our very own Fairy Godmother, Peggy Tucker.
|
They come every year!
|
Betsy Williams, author of Are There Faeries at the Bottom of Your Garden? made herbal pixie dust for our visitors. She was very popular.
|
Wentworth Greenhouses from Rollingsford, and an event sponsor, had a successful three days selling plants and accessories.
|
The winning Fairy House.
|
We couldn't have done it without our special volunteers...like Nanci Taylor, who took a week off from work to organize it, and James Reynolds, who cleared land, ran the parking, and solved problems. (photo taken pre-covid)
|
See our FHH Highlights 2021 page here.
Loving:
People...
Jon Harris, clipping the Pate hedge.
Jill, giving a tour.
|
John Forti, an excellent speaker, enthralled his tour group.
Bob fabricating some of Jill's art in the studio.
|
...Places...
Garish Garden
Plantings at the Welcome Court
Castor beans and Cannas in the median strip of the parking lot.
The FernBerm, or combination Fernery and Stumpery.
The Halo and the Buddha.
|
One of the waterfalls at Petit Pond.
The other side of the Garish Garden.
The Belgian Fence.
The arch to ConeTown, steaming.
|
...and Plants
This banana leaf is really green on one side and really red on the other.
The fruit of the Pawpaw tree, the largest native American fruit. Tastes like banana-mango custard.
|
Ice forming at the base of the stems of plants. Called 'Frost Flowers.'
Wonderful color and texture colors.
|
The Castor Bean (Ricinus communis) seed pod
Moss growing on rock.
Dalia [Dahlia Verrone's Obsidian] and Dragonfly
|
...oh, and let's not forget...rocks.
We collect water in them...
|
...hang them on walls...
|
....submerge them...
|
...and pile them up (at least somebody does).
|
Volunteers
But mostly we love our volunteers!
The Friends of Bedrock Gardens, the nonprofit being groomed to inherit Bedrock Gardens, was active this year. In 2021, over 90 volunteers contributed more than 1500 hours!
Part of the Hands in Dirt crew . They are much touted, and much loved.
Peggy Tucker, Dianna Anderson, Kerry Ridolfi, and Robin Heider, stalwarts all.
She went over all of the 25 acres collecting stakes.
|
Scout Troop 164, organized by Wendy Tauber, helps us yet again.
Moving 'Great Stakes.'
|
More help from the Scouts, with the addition of Jon Harris. Cleaning out the lower level of the barn.
|
The scout crew with Wendy and Jon.
|
Peggy Tucker came most Saturdays and provided nature education for our visitors
So we had a volunteer party at the end of the season.
The women volunteers hung together, related to one another, and ate pizza...
|
...while the men hold the tractor down.
|
We love our volunteers!
In the end, the seasons turn
Addenda
Just some nice photos for kicks
