An Art-full Garden

Sculptural pieces mingle with lush plantings to create a one-of-a-kind setting.

August 21, 2025

Robin Sweetser, John W. Hession, Photographer,

A red torii gate marks the entrance to the private Zen garden.

Homeowners Bruce and Carole Parsons have created a harmonious landscape full of gorgeous gardens and interesting sculptural art reflective of their personalities.

Bruce and Carole Parsons built their expanded Cape-style home in New London 38 years ago. Like most of New Hampshire, the site was rocky. “At about 18 inches down we hit ledge,” says Bruce. “We had to blow it up to fit in the foundation.” Undaunted and full of Yankee ingenuity, he put most of those rocks — and more — to good use, fabricating stonewalls and other stone creations to transform their five-acre property. They range in size and scope from a mini-stonehenge of moss-covered rocks — created by their youngest son — to a circle of tall standing stones with a granite compass rose in the center. “I like to play with rocks,” Bruce says, “and this is my quarry.” A photographer and retired architectural designer, he has a keen eye for composition and often combines antiques and found objects in his designs. Some are rough and rustic, but he is not afraid of juxtaposing delicate glass orbs atop crisply cut granite plinths.

Uphill behind the house, a Japanese-style torii gate — in traditional red — draws the eye toward the sunken Zen garden and invites us to enter and sit a while, soaking in the serenity of the surroundings. The large stones enclosing it are ones he found while digging there. A Japanese maple, ferns, irises, hostas and ornamental grasses grow around the edges of the peastone-paved circle, and a statue of Buddha watches over it all.

Using the center compass rose for orientation, look west-southwest from the standing stone circle for a view of Mount Sunapee.

Downhill, closer to the house, Bruce built a two-tiered, dry-laid stone retaining wall that supports planting beds where Carole, a New Hampshire Master Gardener, grows over 70 dahlias of 28 different varieties. “They are a lot of work — digging up enormous clumps of tubers in the fall, storing them, and dividing and planting them in the spring,” she says. “It’s a labor of love, though, and there are rewards at every stage.” About a week after they’ve been planted, a high point of her day is taking inventory to see how many have popped up. This year she says every single one has been successful! She loves each variety for its uniqueness but if pressed to select one favorite she says it would be ‘Café au Lait’. “It is usually a beautiful light pink, and sometimes a light coffee color, hence its name,” she explains.

Each circle of this antique kinetic piece is weighted differently so they constantly overlap but none swing in the same arc.

There are planting beds all around the house, including a brick-paved herb garden close to the kitchen. “It was our very first garden and has been there for almost 40 years,” Carole says. “Basil will always be my favorite and is put into a wide variety of foods.” She also makes a salad with an assortment of herbs including parsley, chives, thyme, oregano, tarragon, lavender, nasturtium flowers, basil and some fresh lettuce. “Add a light vinaigrette and it’s a party in your mouth!” she says.

Next to the barn is a neatly organized garden shed. “It is my happy place,” Carole says. “It’s a great spot for planning and imagining.” Carole’s sister, who died in 2009 from breast cancer, helped decorate the shed with simple garden art, and the words from David Mallett’s garden song are painted along the edge of the potting bench. “It makes me start off the day singing!” she says.

A lavender-edged brick walkway leads to the front door, and beds overflowing with perennials including crane’s bill geraniums, heuchera, giant alliums, astilbe, peonies and globe thistles surround the front lawn. “When the cinch bugs ate the original lawn, we put in gardens instead,” says Bruce. Those gardens, edged with granite cobblestones, are full of perennials and shrubs including a corkscrew willow, Japanese maples, 10 lilacs, and a hedge of blue hydrangea. Under a canopy of apple trees and magnolias, a portion of the old lawn is paved with brick. This creates a quiet spot for a pair of benches, adding to the shady seating located around the property. “We have a number of oases,” says Bruce. Birdhouses, surprise planters and more unique garden art are also part of the scene.

Bruce built the garden shed, and Carole and her sister Holly did the decorating. It is a colorful reminder of a happy time spent together, and she says she will never paint over any of it.

Many of the pieces on display in their landscape are by local artists. “We never miss the annual Craftsmen’s Fair in Sunapee,” they say. Some of their favorites are kinetic pieces that swing with the wind or just give the illusion of movement. They recently added a new one by blacksmith Jay Aubertin composed of farm implements from their family’s farm in Georges Mills. “It has the sound of a bell buoy, very deep and wonderful,” Bruce says. Other artists include Jill Nooney, Joseph DeRobertis, Stephen Proctor and Lyman Whitaker.

A few of their treasured plants, including daffodils and roses, are from Star Island. Bruce has been going there since he was hired as a seasonal “Pelican” in 1975 and has remained involved since then. “At Star, I created the Memorial Courtyard, which is a space for people to leave engraved stones with their loved ones’ names on them,” he says. If you are not familiar with Star Island, check out the book of photographs he published in 2004 called “Star Light.”

In 2024 Carole and Bruce were honored by the New London Garden Club to be one of the gardens on their Secret Garden tour. “Despite a brutally hot day, the attendance was terrific. The tour was sold out, and at our house we had over 200 visitors!” says Carole.