Sunnyslope Rock Garden features art crafted from Bromo Seltzer bottles. Photo Credit: Sam Lowe

PHOENIX — Marion Clark has been the owner/caretaker of the Sunnyslope Rock Garden for 30 years. But she still sees something different every time she walks through it because the garden is an unusual cluster of little buildings, strange masks, concrete statues, miniature windmills and towers composed of broken glass, cement and shattered tiles.

The garden was created by Grover Cleveland Thompson who moved to the Sunnyslope area in 1952 and spent the next 22 years crafting his masterpiece. He scoured landfills for some materials like broken Fiestaware, then recruited nurses at local hospitals to save Bromo Seltzer bottles because he liked their cobalt blue coloration. Marion Clark bought the place after Thompson’s death in 1978 and has left it relatively untouched.

Definitely out of the ordinary and even a bit funky, the garden is located at 10023 N. 13th Place. It’s only open to the public on the first Friday of each month, but passersby can get a pretty good look by peeking through the gate.