Monday, May 17, 2021

T Stands for Bedrock Gardens (Post 3)

Hi everyone.  Happy Tuesday and time for T again. 

Today I thought I would share the final set of photos from trip number 1 to Bedrock Gardens in Lee, New Hampshire. It's more exciting than another week of yard work photos. Smile.

My beach walking friend and I decided to join the gardens for the season so we could walk here every week, rather than the beach. As some of you read last Thursday, the beach charges $15 per day during the summer to park (it is free off season and a beach season pass is $175.00), whereas we could get a season pass to the gardens for $35. It was a no brainer decision, and let's face it, walking around beautiful gardens is always a wonderful thing to do.

According to the garden's website, the 37 acres of land where the gardens are located  was originally an old fashion New England dairy farm. The original house was built in the 1700's (unconfirmed at 1740), with a barn built in 1874. The land stopped use as a dairy farm in 1957 and fell into disrepair. The family that owned the land sold it to the present owners in 1980 for a handshake. (And according to the website, the original owner family still lives in adjacent property.) These new owners turned this property into this great non-profit garden.


Here's a vintage photo from the website of the original farm house and barn as shown on the garden's website.

The gardens opened last week for the season, and my walking friend and I went on opening day. I thought I would share a few more photos from my walk the other morning at Bedrock Gardens.  I also posted some photos  on Bedrock Gardens Post 1 and Bedrock Gardens post 2, so if you haven't seen them  and would want to see more, you can click and go back.

I have a lot of photos today, and you can flip through as fast or as slow as your interested, depending how big your T cup of chosen drink is.

The area in today's post is a little more formal than the wooded part that I posted the other day. The tulips in this area  looked great. On top of each post in this next photo are some funny little  people made of recycled gears and other other metal pieces. I will share the few photos I took of those some other time, because as you can see, there are a lot of them.











Here's a view outside of that old barn where the cows used to live.







 
How about some tree bark close ups?






Besides the flowers, someone created this wonderful recycled art that is placed around the gardens. 
Here's a couple of pieces outside of the barn.



And here's some in the gardens themselves.








This little guy seemed out of place but also very much in place.


And here is one unusual piece of art that I like but may not be for everyone.


I wonder if this is a small horse or large deer skeleton, and maybe it's just a hybrid.

 Since it is Tuesday I need to share my drink so I can join the T day crowd.  Be sure to stop by Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to see what everyone has been up to.

After my friend and I finished our garden walk and photo session, we headed to a nearby restaurant for some lunch. We haven't done lunch after our walks in a very long time thanks to covid. Even though we are both fully vaccinated, we decided to eat outside. You can see it wasn't crowded.


We both had quiche, which I forgot take a photo of, and a glass of wine. I love being retired and being able to have a glass of wine or beer  with my lunch on occasion. You can also see my water too.

That's all for me today. Hope you enjoyed the rest of the garden photos.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, and have a great T day.




20 comments:

Kate Yetter said...

Beautiful gardens, Erika! Sounds like a great deal for $35. The flowers are beautiful and such a great variety. Glad that you were able to have your usual walk and lunch. It is nice to get back to normal.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

Mae Travels said...

What a beautiful garden full of very fascinating art works. I think you will enjoy many walks there.

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

kathyinozarks said...

Hi Erika, Wow I had no idea you would have to pay such high dollars just to walk on the beach? that's terrible, here in Missouri all State parks are free for everyone to enjoy. this is unreal to me.
You found a wonderful place to visit and walk though-I really enjoyed all of the photos so much Retirement is wonderful isn't it? hugs Happy T

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

These gardens are fabulous. I think I like these the best. The metal bird looks like something my neighbor to the south would make. I love the large round metal sculpture. That was my favorite.

There are certainly many perks to being retired, dear, and one of them is enjoying a glass of wine with your walking friend. Thanks for sharing these incredible photos from Bedrock Gardens and your wine with us for T this almost Tuesday.

Iris Flavia said...

Yes, we have these darn fees, too, at the ocean.
Glad you´re not sad about changing from water to garden (I would be).
Beautiful flowers and hi to the cows of the old days.
The pergola looks Japanese, nice. As the art. And the little guy - he sure made me smile.
Oh, our Henry says hi to the skeleton :-)
And ohhh... quiche! Happy T-Day (In Bavaria (I´ve heard) a beer in the canteen at lunch for workers is normal!)

Valerie-Jael said...

Thanks for sharing the wonderful pics again, I would love to walk around there, so much to see and enjoy. A wise decision to buy a season ticket! Love the bark close ups, and the art on show. Glad you were able to have lunch outside, and wine with it, that's luxury. Yes, it's good to be retired! Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

Let's Art Journal said...

Wow, the gardens are stunning! I love this time of year with all the fresh greenery and all the sculptures and artworks look so amazing 😁. I hope you'll share your visits with us throughout the year, it sounds like the perfect way to spend time with your friend and great value for money too! Enjoy your visits, I love a glass of red wine once in a while too - Happy T Day wishes! Hugs, Jo x

one irrational bean said...

Looks beautiful. I will have to put it on my places to visit. Wishing you a sun filled day.

DVArtist said...

Wow! The fees there are ridiculous. We have fees for everything here too but not near as high. Yeah walking through the garden is better anyway. It is so beautiful there. Have a very nice day.

Barbara said...

What an amazing place to wander! Thanks for the tour. 😄

Jeanie said...

What a beautifully designed garden! And I had to laugh about the glass of wine -- I feel exactly the same way. It doesn't happen often at lunch (especially these days!) but isn't it nice to know it can?

Divers and Sundry said...

I find the yard work photos exciting ;)

That said, this garden is wonderful! I love all the ornaments and the variety of flowers. I still haven't eaten inside a restaurant. There are plenty of patios to keep me happy :) Happy T Tuesday

craftytrog said...

Wonderful photos Erika, and interesting to learn more about these beautiful gardens.
Alison xx

Darla said...

What a wonderful use of land the gardens are. I'd want to walk there every day. Thanks for sharing the beauty and a bit of history about the property.

CJ Kennedy said...

Beautiful. I like the wavy layout of the tulip bed and the fun metal people. Looks like you had a gorgeous day. Lunch with a friend. Have plans for that the first week of June. Happy T Day

nwilliams6 said...

Happy T-Day, Erika. Great garden photos and great choice to switch to the less crowded gardens for your walks as well. I love the fun things you found in the garden - thanks for sharing. The wine looks fun and I love quiche! Hugz

Lisca said...

I can fully understand you chose the gardens. The beach is free but the parking isn´t, so unless you live right on the coast, it still isn´t really free, is it.
The park is lovely. I enjoyed looking at all the flowers, the art work and the tree bark.
Good for you having a glass of wine at lunch! It certainly is great to be retired!
A belated happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

Empire of the Cat said...

Ooh what a beautiful place to be able to visit whenever you like Erika. I love all the tulips and that recycled art is so cool. Happy belated T day Elle xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

What beautiful gardens and an interesting history too! I love all those unusual installations around. I'm sure you will see lots of changes over the time you visit. Yes - it is great being retired - even in these COVID times!! Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

This was a timely post for me to read about, Erika, because coincidentally we're going to Bedrock Gardens next week. It will only be a day trip for us as we have a pass courtesy of our local library and the Friends group of which we are members. I enjoyed reading your comments and seeing the blooms and sculptures. I will also be doing a post on our visit, but not for a while as I have a backlog of post ideas since I'm only posting (longe)r posts once or twice a week.