February 20, 2025
A day late in the summer of 2014, I fell into Dream World, known as Bedrock Gardens. I loosened it (with permission from the owner) to explore a 20-acre country garden in Lee, New Hampshire. I couldn’t believe in my fortune. The garden was pure magic. Yes, Goofy, because it included some funhouse mirrors and stumps that don’t infiltrate the dark forest.
At the time, Bedrock was a private garden, the creation of artist and plant obsession, Jill Noony, and her canned husband, Bob Munger. Today it’s a public garden. This is almost incorrectly varied, intended to ensure the survival of the garden over the next decades. And it turns out that Jill is just as talented writer and storyteller as she is the creator of the garden. Her book Bedrock: The Making of a Public Garden will be appearing on March 11th. I received an early copy, but I left it and often reread the paragraphs loudly to my husband. I can’t recommend it enough.
And I’m handing out some copied bedrock at the end of this post!
In the bedrock, like a garden, Jill’s candid humor and the sense of joy that life had sparkled on every page. I laughed at Jill’s story of gardening accident, even as I marveled at her and Bob’s incredible energy and dedication to their garden. For 40 years they’ve been working on it together. She is a self-proclaimed problem maker, and he is a problem solver. It is a match made in heaven, and as a result, they become an incredible garden that they have built and maintained themselves for decades. Meanwhile, they also raised three boys and had a full-time career – how do you ask?
No need to worry. Some people make more of their time and talent! I am grateful to meet Jill and Bob and despite my distance from Texas, I was able to see Bedrock twice. You can read about these visits here and here.
But for more details, read the book. There are fewer love stories about the creative partnership and gardening of Jill and Bob. If you are fascinated by the creative process of gardening, you will become engrossed in plants, come up with new garden ideas, come up with the perfect focus, and make art from discovered objects – you will love this book .
Jill tells the story of the garden with her ears, for good anecdotes, self-deprecating humor, and clear memories of her motivations and design decisions. The photos also tell beautiful stories. I’m proud to say that some of them are my own, including the cover.
We are also excited to announce that Jill and Bob will be traveling to Austin in October to talk about Garden Spark! Local readers will have the opportunity to meet these dynamos, learn more about the bedrock, and enjoy Jill’s storytelling firsthand. More information on upcoming. Subscribe to Garden Spark for all the news.
I’ll reserve a present
And now – I will hand one lucky winner a copy of Bedrock to one lucky winner, courtesy of the author Jill Noony!
Input method
To enter it into a present, simply leave a comment on this blog post. Please leave one comment by each person.
For additional entries, pop up on Instagram and follow 1) @Pamdigging. 2) Tag your friends in the comments, like in the 2/20 gift post. If it’s not an Instagram handle, include your name. That way you can connect with comments here.
Rules: Prizes will end on Thursday, February 27th, at 11:59 CDT. It is open to residents of US states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, over the age of 18. There is no need to purchase to enter or win. On 2/27, we will randomly draw the winners and contact the winners by email. The book will be mailed by the author after it was published on March 11th.
Good luck, everyone!
Disclosure: The author sent me a copy of Bedlock. I reviewed it at my own discretion and without compensation. This post, like everything about drilling, is my personal opinion.
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Dig deeper
Join us at the annual budding plant sale & festival held at John Fairy Garden in Hempstead on March 15th. Shop rare plants from the garden nursery and choose a plant vendor. Local artists and artisans, food, drinks and demonstrations will also be featured. Admission: $5 for members, $10 for non-members, free for children under 12 years old. Opening hours: 10am to 4pm. Members will earn early entry at 9am (membership on the day of the event).
We will tour five unique Houston Gardens on Saturday, May 26th, during our Houston open day tour from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, May 26th. Tickets must be purchased online in advance through the Garden Conservancy.
Learn about gardening and design at Garden Sparks! I organize in-person lectures in Austin several times a year, inspire designers, landscape architects, authors and gardeners to inspire and inspire designers, landscape architects. These are events with limited attendance that sold out quickly, so join our Garden Spark Mealment List and notify us in advance. Simply click on this link and ask them to add it. Find out all about the Season 8 lineup here!
All Materials ©2025 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
