Join me for a ramble around a lovely local woodland park to enjoy outdoor sculptures and gorgeous rhododendrons in bloom.
It’s a typical cool, damp “Junuary” in our Pacific Northwest, following two months of record-breaking cool temperatures and rainfall. As I write, torrents of rain pound on the roof, and I wish we could send some of this water to our friends in the drought-stricken southern regions. Here, when the sun peeks out, it’s time to seize the day for a walk. My friend Brenda invited me to check out the prime blooming time at nearby Big Rock Garden, where we ran into friends of hers and had a lovely wander along the sun-dappled paths.
The acreage was originally named Gardens of Art by founders George, Mary Ann, and David Drake in 1981. The City of Bellingham purchased the garden in 1993. There are many sculptures tucked among the foliage, which includes 100 varieties of decorative maples.
I appreciate the way the rhododendrons are allowed to sprawl and grow tall, like the native species in the Pacific Northwest rain forests.
Artist David Marshall helped the original Drake owners design the garden and install some of the artworks.
Hurrah for reading!
An homage to Stonehenge?
The garden has a Japanese aesthetic, melding human creations with nature, and the fringy decorative maples (as well as native vine maples) add to the serene effect.
Some of the lovely maples…
…and this odd one that I first mistook for a blossoming bush. The curled pale leaves had opened on a few lower branches.
Adam and Eve inhabit this Garden.
One of my favorites:
This one is titled “Garden Basin.”
One of Brenda’s friends we met there is the watercolor artist John Finger, who snapped this shot of me as I paused to take a last long breath of the green.
(If you want to check out John’s lovely art, his website is www.JohnFinger.net)
*****
You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and a Pulpwood Queens International Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
Hi Sara,
I enjoyed reading your local Blog entries. As a “Senior Hiker” myself with a heart condition, I am always looking for trails I can safely tackle alone.
Shown below is a link to a booklet I did to promote interest and hopefully raise some money for Big Rock Garden Park. The digital edition is free.
McBride Fine Art Photographic Books: Big Rock Garden Booklet
https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2289416?__r=398607&s=w
Hello, Jack, I just found your comment and thank you for the link. I’ll check it out!
Here’s to good hiking,
Sara
Darn, the link doesn’t work for me.