Bacon Park story

Beauty and peace befall upon Bigfork’s tranquil Bacon Park
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune Quiet discovery awaits visi­tors to Bacon Park on Eagle Bend Drive in Bigfork.A haven of tranquil beauty, the park treats guests to a peaceful descent into a land­scape where stones, shrubs, trees and flowers emphasize the subtle symmetry of nature.Laura and Jerry Bacon love the little oasis they have created in Harbor Village across the street from their townhouse.“Nothing makes me more happy than to get up with a cup of coffee in the morning and head over to our park,” Laura Bacon said. “It is our fairy gar­den.”The Bacons call the park their “peace on Earth.” It offers the solace they’ve sought since 2004 when they began planning their horticultural dream with landscaper, Jim Doepker.Doepker graduated with a degree in forestry from the Uni­versity of Montana, but found his niche in landscaping. He enjoys working with clients like the Bacons, who immerse themselves in a project.“We built the park, all three of us,” Doepker said. “The Bacons have very much been the inspiration.”The Bacons wanted a Mon­tana Japanese garden, and along with Doepker, made trips to the Portland Japanese Gar­den, bought books and studied them in the winter.The original plan was simply drawn on onion skin paper. There never was a blueprint or sketch.“That’s part of the Japanese philosophy,” Doepker said.A typical Japanese garden features several elements including rocks, water, islands, ponds, bridges, lanterns, plants and a teahouse. Japanese gar­dens present impressive vistas in a small place.Displaying these design tra­ditions on two-thirds of an acre was not an easy go.They started construction in 2004, designating where they wanted the pond and doing the excavation. The next spring they brought in soil from Cre­ston and 330 tons of boulders from McGregor Peak, west of Kalispell.“It was one year before we planted anything, and even at that, after three years, we redid one area as we discovered it was a dead zone,” Doepker said.The Bacons’ garden is under­stated when it comes to color. They have lilacs, azalea and roses, but more for the color and texture of the foliage rather than the flowers.It also features a waterfall that rushes into the pond.Botanical lovers enjoy the pond’s koi and goldfish. From under the dainty wooden bridge, they swim, darting in and out of blooming lily pads.Doepker said they will come to you and eat out of your hand. An older white one he calls “Hot Lips Houlihan” is his favorite. Occasionally, an osprey swoops down and takes a fish. They have even seen blue herons perched and ready for the take. And, a neighborhood duck has been known to waddle in with See BACON PARK, 4L

COURTESY PHOTO Bacon Park is located on Eagle Bend Drive in Bigfork. Jerry and Laura Bacon created the park in Harbor Village.Bacon Park: Park attracts birds and dragonflies
FROM 1L her brood.A key to an authentic Japanese garden are the maple trees. The Bacons first planted five, and now there are 30. Many of these plants come from the Iseli Nursery in Oregon, which grows dwarf conifers and Japanese maples and prunes them using a Japan­ese garden technique.Along the garden’s sylvan paths are many unusual trees, in particular, the Hindu Pan, an evergreen which is actually a type of shore pine tree related to the lodge pole pine.The park attracts humming­birds, cedar waxwings and robins. Laura Bacon enjoys watching the grosbeaks.“Their babies come right next to you,” she said.There are dragonflies of many colors, as well.Most of the trees and plants in Bacon Park were purchased at local nurseries and tree farms. Brenda Guild, of Montana Gar­dener Inc., maintains the plants and has been with the Bacons since the park’s inception.Jan and Bob Livesay of Great Falls said the park is one of the most tranquil places they have seen and are impressed with the ever-changing landscaping.“Each visit offers new plant­ings and seasonal varieties,” they said. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the gar­den.”The Bacons welcome the pub­lic to visit their garden, though they don’t allow large tours.This past winter was hard on Bacon Park, devastating Zone 5 plants as well as others. They brought a crane in to take out the dead trees and plant new ones. The loss really bothered the Bacons, but they are recharged and re-energized.“Now, I think the garden is about where they envisioned,” Doepker said.“Yet, they get more ambitious all the time.”