Welcome to day 25 of 31 Days of Kissing the Wounds, a month of posts about the beauty, longing, and soul inherent in our damaged selves; in the world’s brokenness; in the imperfection, incompleteness, and transience of all that we love; in our recognition of each other as the walking wounded; and in the jagged, messy, splintery, deformed, sullied, unhealed parts of me, you, the natural world, our communities, the culture. Each post will look at these ideas from its own vantage point, which may not obviously connect with the others. I won’t attempt to tie them together.

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I’ve documented a trip to Bedrock Gardens previously, but this is a new trip, made in September this year.

The current owners, two artists (Jill Nooney and Bob Munger), bought the property in 1980 — with original farmhouse (dating from pre-1800, quite close to the road, with a rock foundation and no insulation), and the land which has a dairy farm for more than a century, from 1845 to 1957 — and began landscaping in 1987. They cleared scrub growth and grown-in fields, along with acres of poison ivy; they thinned and trimmed the woods under advice from a forester and arborist, and “bed by bed, gardens were eked out.” Their tender care and creativity has revitalised and enlivened the land, with verve, colour, and whimsy. And they share it all with the public one weekend of the month, from May through October, with a variety of events and live music; both Jill and Bob have always been present each time I’ve been there, available to answer questions about anything.

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A place full of frogs has to be a pretty happy ecosystem, right?

And turtles, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, chipmunks … And there are bee hives.

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I’m drawn to the several waterways (and I didn’t even take a photo of the big pond this time, other than of the turtles and frogs in it).

The Petit Pond (where many frogs, shown above, hang out):

The Wiggle-Waggle (lotus pool, with goldfish and more frogs):

Even the formal circular pool in the Parterre Garden:

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Grasses feel so soothing:

And on the other hand, the Garish Garden and other bright spots are so invigorating:

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Some of the plants are unusual, or rarely seen in gardens around here, anyway; besides the lotuses and the castor bean plant, already shown above:

And some plants I just like:

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The sculptures — many of them repurposing garden tools, automotive parts, heating and cooling systems, and similar “junk” — are playful and beautiful:

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The day I visited, they were hosting a  ‘A Walk in the Words,’ a Literature and Gardens Festival, which included this Word Garden:

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Some final views:

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Thanks for checking in. And be sure to see what the other 31 Dayers wrote about.