A Fairy Tale Come To Life
Spirituality, nostalgia and, well, OCD make up the foundation of The Rock Garden in Calhoun, Georgia, a flourishing, vibrant garden with over 50 miniature buildings made of tiny stones and pebbles. It's a whimsical place where people come to escape reality, to find peace amongst the natural beauty and storybook-like, small-scale castles and churches.
“A lot of people visit because it helps them with whatever they're going through. They find peace and tranquility,” said Joyce Boyd. “Two ladies came once and they were so full of joy. One of the ladies said, 'We need a little more of that joy. We have to go back to the garden!' A lot of people affirm what we are doing, and they see the need of a place like this.”
Joyce is actually one of those people.
Eleven years ago, Joyce stumbled upon Dewigg “Old Dog” Boyd working on a structure with a little garden. She was immediately fascinated.
“He had been working on it six months at that point,” she explained. “Here's a man that's into plants as much as he is into building. It made the buildings so much prettier, just having those little roses. It really sparked my love for plants and beauty.”
Old Dog had begun construction of the world back in September 2007. When Joyce volunteered to help with the gardens, they formed a partnership that lasted over eight and a half years. Together, they designed castles and gardens, creating what is now the backdrop of hundreds of weddings, senior photos, baby pictures, birthdays and reunions. About a 10 minute drive off I-75 in Calhoun on Rome Rd., the landmark is a one-of-a-kind destination that is more than just a garden. It's a whole other world.
“I decided one day to ask her if she would marry me,” recalled Old Dog.
Joyce had immediately responded, “No. You don't make enough money and you have too many grandkids.”
Without much of a thought, Old Dog had shrugged. “Yeah, you're right.”
But she had come back the next day, after some deep thinking. She had changed her mind. The two got married in the garden in 2016.
“Folk Art Garden with small-scale castle built from pebbles, ceramic, glass, etc. inside a stream at the garden center”
A Sentimental Tradition
“Life without passion is not worth living,” said Old Dog. And creating these rock sculptures is a passion that represents the core of who Old Dog is.
When he was a young pup, Old Dog made up a game. It was called the Town Game. He would build small cities underneath an apricot tree back in California, where he grew up. In the town were “little people”.
The rules of the game are simple: You have a handmade clay person to represent you. You talk through the clay person, taking on an alternative personality. And you use money to buy and trade various food items, building up your kingdom.
“My alternative personality is Genghis Khan, an emperor of China, very wealthy. At my palace you can buy silk and sparkling grape juice.”
He started up the Town Game again with his kids – he had three at the time – during long winter evenings. He would raid the kitchen for cheese, raisins and chocolate, then take some money out of the change jar. But the game started to grow bigger and bigger, and they soon had to start building their kingdoms outside.
And Old Dog continued the game with his grandkids. And Joyce, his fifth wife, was right. He has a lot of grandkids. In fact, he has 24.
So when Old Dog moved to Georgia in 2006, he thought to himself, “I need a new way to keep playing the Town Game.”
It was an obsession at that point. But a creative, beautiful obsession. And so he began construction of The Rock Garden, complete with castles, roads and bridges, and a cathedral.
“Roman Colosseum structure being built currently by Old Dog at The ROCK Garden”
A Lack of Numbers
The irony of The Rock Garden is that it's impossible to play the Town Game there. And that's because they have too many visitors to allow it. According to Old Dog, he doesn't have the figures because “he's not a bean counter,” but a volunteer has told him that in April 2018 alone, over 740 people signed into their guest book.
“It's hard to play the game with people watching you,” noted Old Dog. “It starts to seem silly. And we don't want to be seen as a silly person. So many people have come to this garden, you never find a time to play.”
Despite the game being impossible to play, Old Dog continues to make more and more buildings.
Why?
“I have a standard stock answer for that question even though nobody has asked it: We do this because... Heard of OCD? It's just something we have to do,” Old Dog said. “I just have to build something. I have to be creative.”
He wants to build a Roman Colosseum. So he's started building a Roman Colosseum.
“It's a lot of fun. It's an obsession with us,” he said. “It's our life. It's our garden. It gives us satisfaction, knowing we are contributing to the community in our old age.”
And it's a lot of work. Old Dog isn't the analytic type, and he's never counted how long it's taken to build a large castle, but a small house takes about 30 hours.
The Meticulous Work Behind the Attraction
Inspired by the age in which the Town Game takes place, the kingdoms' architecture is inspired by medieval times.
To create that structural yet whimsical look, the churches, houses, castles and cathedrals are crafted from tiny stones, pebbles, shells, broken glass, china, rocks, and ceramic tile. They take a rich mixture of cement and sand, and mix it together with water. Then, they take electric fence wire and build a matrix out of it, putting rocks on either side, holding it together in a very, very stable structure.
And then there's the miniature people and animals; some as small as two inches, made out of porcelain. Making miniature people is not only part of Old Dog's passion since childhood, but also a skill left over from his working days.
Back then, Old Dog had worked as a registered nurse after coming back from the Vietnam War. But he hated it. It was terrible, he said. Back in those days, he said, they didn't pay nurses. He made no more than $8 an hour.
“I asked the Lord to get me out of this mess,” he said.
So he went back to college. Unfortunately, his GPA was “in the tank.” But it was a ceramics class that helped dig him out of that mess.
He became fascinated with the teacher's work. And he decided to ask for some extra help, learning how to sell his work. He started making little porcelain people and animals, and there was surprisingly always a market for it. Enough of a market to feed his eight kids at least.
It's really no surprise that Old Dog made a living working with his hands. Because that's all he does now. It's his passion. It's his obsession. It's his contribution to the community.
And it's apparent how much The Rock Garden means to the community and beyond. To people all over the world. Free admission and parking are offered on site, with motorcoach access and a pet-friendly environment.
Over 830 people attended to the annual Rock Lighting Event at The Rock Garden center, an event with over 1,000 lit candles, complete with live music, in memory of the Town Game.
“At the end of the game it was always tradition,” he said, “when all the barn cats were coming out to eat the rest of the cheese, and the ants were eating the chocolate, that we light it up with candles.”
Everyone in the community comes out to witness the garden-enveloped structures, warm and glowing in the lights, shadows of the flames flickering off the pebble walls. It's a magical evening that celebrates tradition. It celebrates passion. It celebrates what Old Dog and Joyce have created for others to enjoy, and what they continue to dedicate their lives to. It celebrates peace and beauty, and that boy playing the Town Game underneath an apricot tree.