Seven years ago this month, Dave Dean tired of the weeds and litter choking on a vacant plot of state-owned land not far from his home near Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas.
But instead of leaving the job in the hands of local or state officials, Dean grabbed some trash bags and tools and began the task of cleaning up himself at the property, a hillside area on the northwest corner of Second and B Streets.
Two weeks later, he began visiting nurseries and buying drought-resistant succulents, bromeliads, snow plants, and cacti to decorate the now weed-free hillside. Six months later, he began carving winding walking paths lined with large beach pebbles that he carried by hand from shore each day.
People walk at Dave’s Rock Garden near Moonlight Beach in Encinitas on Saturday, Jan. 8.
(Hayne Palmor 4/For the San Diego Union-Tribune)
Then one day in the summer of 2015, Candice Jesse Jessup, an Arizona artist staying at a nearby hotel, drew one of the stones in the garden with a mandala and heart design to thank Dean for his solo mission to beautify the community. That’s when the 64-year-old commercial real estate agent said he had the luminous moment that turned the lot into a one-of-a-kind tourist attraction today.
“When I saw her rock, I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s it,'” he said. “I will get a thousand rocks with a thousand colors from a thousand people. That was the beginning of Def Rock Garden.”
Today, Dave’s Rock Garden is decorated with more than 7,000 hand-painted rocks by visitors from 113 countries and all 50 states. It also features thousands of plants, handmade figurines, meditation logs for sitting, checkers, a flagpole, and a self-catering art station where anyone can paint rocks for religion to add to the garden.
Dave Dean holding a beach stone drawn by Arizona artist Candice Jesse Jessup. The first rock painted was at Dean’s Dave’s Rock Garden in Encinitas.
(Hayne Palmor 4/For the San Diego Union-Tribune)
Dave’s Rock Garden is now a beloved part of the city’s funky art scene, but its presence hasn’t always been appreciated. Just two weeks after the Dean Project in 2015, a nearby resident filed a complaint with the city and Encinitas officials issued a cease and desist order to Dean, asking him to stop what he was doing and remove all plants within two weeks or they would take work.
The city never followed through on its threat, and Dean eventually infiltrated the property. But instead of working in broad daylight, he worked the gardens every night under cover of darkness. It wasn’t until 2017 – after the garden became a community treasure – that Dean finally felt safe gardening in the sunshine again.
“One of the inspirations I used to motivate me in creating the park is that I like to think of Moonlight Beach as the crown jewel of our city and the road to Moonlight as the gateway to our crown jewel,” he said. “I feel that we as citizens of Encinitas owe our visitors more than letting them see a field of weeds on their way to the beach.”
Although Dave’s Rock Garden remains an unofficial public art facility, it has been widely recognized by local and national media, rock art and painting groups and even Google, which has registered it as an official point of interest. Two years ago, Dean was honored by the Ben’s Bells Project in Arizona, which honors people who perform acts of willful kindness. Instead of antagonists, Encinitas city officials became park advocates. Last year, when the city decided to build a new retaining wall on the park’s southern boundary, Dean was invited to serve on the wall’s design committee.
“Although the city has not formally endorsed the park yet, many city officials have given their unofficial support and appreciation to the park,” Dean said.
Hindu sculpture and painted rocks at Dave’s Rock Garden in Encinitas on Saturday, Jan. 8.
(Hayne Palmor 4/For the San Diego Union-Tribune)
The park has a small fund where visitors can leave donations to help pay for paints and plants. It has raised quite a bit of money over the years, but Dean remains the main financier of the project. Over the years, he’s spent more than $20,000 on plants at local nurseries, green icy rocks from a quarry in Utah, and hundreds more on paints and brushes. He also spends every weekend weeding, pruning and clearing the lawn, stopping most nights of the week before sunset to check in. When he visits, Dean paints, plays music on a wireless speaker, meets visitors and enjoys offering tours to the nearly 100 visitors who stop by daily.
Dean said he is driven to work hard and spend so much on the garden because it is his hobby and feels he will be well compensated for the amount of “thanks” he receives.
“The locals love it very much,” Dean said. “Whenever I go to any restaurant in town, people will see me and say, ‘Hey, you’re a rockman. “It’s happened a thousand times. I never knew I would be known by so many people.”
Encinitas resident Dave Dean cleans up the garden he’s been maintaining since 2015, called Dave’s Rock Garden, near Moonlight Beach in Encinitas on Saturday, Jan. 8.
(Hayne Palmor 4/For the San Diego Union-Tribune)
Among the thousands of rocks in the park, tributes were drawn to the Gratefull Dead, Cool-Aid man, painter Bob Ross, Volkswagen Buses, Peter Pan, Morton Salt Girl, Taj Magal, Taco Bell and Humpty Dumpty. There are rocks painted in Arabic and Chinese characters, a 9/11 memorial flag, elaborate octopus and realistic koi fish. Dean created groups of rocks drawn with themes such as mushrooms, animals, human faces, and college insignias, and there is a path he calls “The Row of Believers” lined with hundreds of rocks with spiritual and religious themes.
Although most rock artists are amateurs, Dean said that several professional artists have contributed significantly to the project over the years, including David Owens, Svetlana Cusack, Tiana Solini, Steve Grah and Rich Strayer.
Dean’s favorite rocks are those with impressive backgrounds. One of the rocks painted with ocean views reads “I dropped a tear in the ocean. When I find it, I will stop missing you.” Another depicts a broken heart holding a band-aid. It commemorates a local surfer who died of a heart attack a few years ago. A third rock shows the words: “I donated a kidney to my wife. She already has my heart. August 11, 2021.”
A group of small rocks painted at Dave’s Rock Garden in Encinitas on Saturday, January 8th.
(Hayne Palmor 4/For the San Diego Union-Tribune)
Dean said some rock artists do pray with their pre-painted donations, but most of the rocks in the park have been painted on site by visitors. Over the years, he had to remove only two rocks, because they showed inappropriate content.
“My only rule is that it’s safe enough for Disney because we have a lot of kids here,” Dean said. “All these little kids come to me to share their rocks. I never imagined I would be in touch with so many kids. This project has gone beyond my imagination.”
On January 9, Colorado-based artist Brian Symonds, who paints under the name “Pher01” (or “Pharaoh 1”), stops by while touring his co-ed labs, Lola. He grabbed some paintbrushes and tubes and began cleaning a rock with a brilliant blue-green cactus design, which he said was inspired by a recent visit to Peru.
“I love it here,” Symonds said of the garden. “I love the imagination that has contributed to the creation of such beautiful installation art for the community.”
Artist Brian “Pher01” Simmonds paints a cactus on a rock at Dave’s Rock Garden in Encinitas on Saturday, January 8, 2022. Paint, brushes, and rocks are made for anyone who wants to paint their rock design.
(Hayne Palmor 4/For the San Diego Union-Tribune)