Ellsworth Rock Garden at Kabetogama Lake - VNP

You can see the entrance plaque that was built in dedication to Ellsworth's Garden and how well the grass is kept up by park rangers. It truly is a historic site to see.

The couple was only able to access their Rock Garden Paradise by boat because there was no road and they were never there in the winter to use the frozen lake.

Can you imagine the garden when it was full of colorful flowers? Oh, it was so beautiful to see, even from the lake in a boat. We would stop by when the flowers were in full bloom. It was remarkable! Ellsworth used water from the lake to water the plants when it hadn't rained.

Ellsworth took a more natural form of sculpting things together. Remember he was a building contractor - and an artist.

Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth had a wild albino skunk running around tame that they feed. Mr. Ellsworth told our Dad that the skunk had never been denatured of its wild scent glands, and that it never sprayed around there. They would feed the wild animals treats by hand even and they all lived together in harmony...with nature.

The piece of granite used for the sign was most likely split with dynamite. Dynamite was easy attainable. I remember that my Dad always had some dynamite, caps and fuses stored in the garage. There were times that he needed it for work projects.

Ellsworth even provided those nice little rock garden areas in the shaded places. I'm more of a shade person myself than a blazing sun person. There's something here for everyone to enjoy, even if you don't climb rocks.

Living at Kabetogama Lake you become a rock climber yourself if you love to be out in nature. There are many rock hill ridges to explore and enjoy!

You can see here that Ellsworth did use heavy black plastic to stop the weeds from over taking his beautiful garden. The dirt has been blown away by the winds and washed away by the rains.

The setting sun and a safe sheltered cabin in the wilderness. Now that's living in the wilderness at Kabetogama Lake. It must have been like a dream come true for the Ellsworths, because that is what it feels like to me.

When I was little I use to think that it looked so far to walk over to the garden from the house or the shore. Getting there was always well worth it and I could have stayed longer just walking around up on the garden and enjoying the tranquility.

Deer are gentle animals and can become quiet tame when they know that they are safe. In fact most animals can become pretty friendly when they know they are safe. One must remember that they are wild animals though and can be unpredictable especially during their mating season.

Lichen is composite plants growing together in a symbiotic relationship - a bacterium and usually a green alga or cyan-o-bacterium. --- Moss grows in moist or shady areas and can also be found growing on the rocks in the garden. - This bit of information was provided by Shelly!

You can see this standing rock in the back-ground below... I remember our Dad saying that Ellsworth used leverage to get the rocks on end. That takes some know how!

What an elegant way to post that this is the edge of the garden at this point. Ellsworth used natures own wonderful elements. A garden edge, but an introduction to the great wilderness beyond this point. He added interest!

I remember being so attracted to this tipi that Mr. Ellsworth built. I suppose it just seemed fitting to him that there had to be a tipi in this wilderness setting. I would have loved to live there in a tipi. I will revisit this place again...

I would love to be in this spot during a good rain fall, just to watch the water run and fall from the rocks. It has to be real pretty to see. Kabetogama means "rough waters", so most people aren't out on the lake when there is a storm, unless they have good reason.

Ellsworth designed the dry walls in the garden to hold flower beds, but he also did it in a way to manipulate how the rain water would ripple and flow down the to the bottom.