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.

Ellsworth gave lessons to interested people on how to build dry wall and for something to do he said. I think of it as passing on a heritage to generations to come. It's kind of like that saying that goes something like, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a life time".

A place where the streets have no names, there isn't even a road or nature trail to it.
Talk about living in the wilderness, or living in the sticks as some would call it!

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.

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.

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 animals remain in this place of nature.

Mr. Ellsworth carried buckets of water from the lake to water his gardens.

Rock garden designs are an art form in designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Ellsworth's garden design was made by a professional with experience and knowledge of design and horticulture using plants. He became a professional garden designer and landscape architect, and gained a high level of experience from his hours work.

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.

* How To Build A Dry Stack Rock Wall

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

* 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!

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...

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!