"Sorrow" from The Path of Life Garden, 2017.
Sculpture gardens are outdoor spaces that unify art and nature, allowing visitors to slow down and reflect while immersing themselves in a creative environment. We’ve chosen six sculpture parks and gardens all across New England that best exhibit the art that the Earth has to offer, alongside man made creations.
A personal favorite is the Path of Life Sculpture Garden found in Windsor, Vermont. The creator behind this majestic landspace is Terry McDonnell, a Vermont-based child and family therapist who has been working on the garden for the past 16 years.
Inspired by The Life of Man— a Japanese garden in Kildare, Ireland that “symbolizes the journey of a human soul from birth to death”— McDonnell turned his own 14 acres into a similar concept, telling the story of life through sculpture.
The Path travels through 18 different phases of one’s life journey: birth, hope, creativity, sorrow, forgiveness, death, and rebirth, to name a few. It encourages the public to rest, relax, and contemplate.
Brookline, New Hampshire is home to 140 acres of trails dotted with sculptures along Big Bear Mountain at the Andres Institute of Art. Open everyday and free to the public, this non-profit organization is dedicated to connecting with their community through art in the environment.
The local artists behind the 100+ sculptures were encouraged to run freely with their own inspiration and to express their craft in whatever creative means necessary. They were also able to place their artwork in any location along the hiking trails, further enhancing the overall mission to bring together humanity, nature, and art.
At Ogunquit Museum of American Art in Maine, the curators believe that landscape and garden design are art forms in and of themselves. 18 gardens— including rock gardens, ornamental grasses, native plants, perennials, and others— make up the museum’s “seaside landscape.”
Contemporary sculptures created by American artists, such as Bernard Langlais, Lyford Cabot, Dorothea Greenbaum, and Antoinette Schultz, blend in amongst the flowers, making for an immersive art experience.
Although not inherently a sculpture park, Green Animals Topiary Garden is still worthy of a spot on this list as it is the oldest, northernmost topiary garden in the United States. Seven acres of land stretch across Portsmouth, Rhode Island with flowerbeds, floral pathways, arbors, and a Victorian House overlooking the Narragansett Bay.
Of course, the main attraction of the grounds are the 80 whimsical animal topiaries, shaped into camels, elephants, giraffes, and even teddy bears, with some dating back an entire century. Gardener Joseph Carreiro and his son-in-law, George Mendonca, created the topiaries and maintained the gardens for over 75 years.
Bedrock Gardens, located in Lee, New Hampshire, is an expansive outdoor art space made up of woodland trails, rock formations, and sculptures. Originally a 37-acre dairy farm, the land has now been converted into a nonprofit public garden that inspires creativity and expression through horticulture.
29 different sections make up the Bedrock Gardens landscape, encouraging an enlightening and self-reflective walk for visitors. Included in these sectors are: “WiggleWaggle,” a 200-foot long water channel capped with skylights; “Pate,” an area of sculpted privet hedges and beehives on display; “Rock Garden,” a small garden made up of plants, specifically-selected stones, and miniature statues; among others.
Priding themselves on educating and inspiring the public through contemporary outdoor artworks, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is the largest park of its kind in New England. Nestled on the coastline of Flint's Pond in Lincoln, Massachusetts, visitors can explore acres of trails, forests, and well-manicured fields, with around 60 sculptures on display throughout.
A personal favorite is the Path of Life Sculpture Garden found in Windsor, Vermont. The creator behind this majestic landspace is Terry McDonnell, a Vermont-based child and family therapist who has been working on the garden for the past 16 years.
Inspired by The Life of Man— a Japanese garden in Kildare, Ireland that “symbolizes the journey of a human soul from birth to death”— McDonnell turned his own 14 acres into a similar concept, telling the story of life through sculpture.
The Path travels through 18 different phases of one’s life journey: birth, hope, creativity, sorrow, forgiveness, death, and rebirth, to name a few. It encourages the public to rest, relax, and contemplate.
Brookline, New Hampshire is home to 140 acres of trails dotted with sculptures along Big Bear Mountain at the Andres Institute of Art. Open everyday and free to the public, this non-profit organization is dedicated to connecting with their community through art in the environment.
The local artists behind the 100+ sculptures were encouraged to run freely with their own inspiration and to express their craft in whatever creative means necessary. They were also able to place their artwork in any location along the hiking trails, further enhancing the overall mission to bring together humanity, nature, and art.
Abby Andrulitis
Abby Andrulitis is a New England-based writer and the Assistant Editor for Art & Object. She holds her MFA in Screenwriting from Boston University.
