When visiting Acadia National Park, don’t miss Mount Desert Island’s gardens

When immersed in the often jaw-dropping natural beauty of Acadia National Park, it may seem superfluous to seek out man-made gardens, but Mount Desert Island’s gardens gild this already stunning landscape. While garden mavens will treasure these sights, even those who don’t know a peony from a pansy will be tickled. (updated Jan. 2022)

Land & Garden Preserve gardens

The nonprofit Land & Garden Preserve stewards three of Mount Desert Island’s gardens as well as the Little Long Pond & Natural Lands.

Asticou Garden, Northeast Harbor

Charles K. Savage, landscape designer and a former innkeeper of the Asticou Inn, created both Asticou and Thuya in 1956, when he learned that famed landscape architect Beatrix Farrand (Dumbarton Oaks, East and West White House Gardens, NY Botanical Garden rose garden) was dismantling her nearby Reef Point garden. He sought funding from John D. Rockefeller Jr. and purchased the azaleas for Asticou and other plants for Thuya.

Asticou puts on its best show in spring, when about 70 varieties of azaleas, rhododendrons, and laurels burst into bloom, but at other times, this 2.3-acre Japanese-inspired pocket garden is lovely, just not so flamboyant about its virtues. Highlights include a Japanese sand garden, stone lanterns, granite outcrops, and a tranquil pond, all connected by pink granite paths.

Thuya Garden, Northeast Harbor

Thuya comprises semi-formal English border beds inspired by English designer Gertrude Jekyll as interpreted by Farrand as well as a woodland garden on a terraced hillside overlooking Northeast Harbor and the Atlantic. Also here is Thuya Lodge, with a wonderful library of botany-related titles.

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, Seal Harbor

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, created in 1921, is another Farrand legacy. Abbe and John D. Rockefeller Jr. turned to her to create a garden using treasures they’d brought back from Asia. The walled garden is a knockout, accented with secret passages, a sunken garden, English floral beds, Korean tombstone figures, a moongate, and even yellow roof tiles from Beijing. It’s only open from late July to early September, and numbers are limited. Advance reservations are required.

Garland Farm, Bar Harbor

Renowned landscape architect Beatrix Farrand designed a number of Mount Desert Island’s gardens. Her fans will want to visit Garland Farm, her last home and garden. When Farrand dismantled her Reef Point property in 1955, she moved to the ancestral home of Lewis Garland, who managed Reef Point. Garland engaged an architect to build an addition to the original farmhouse and barn utilizing architectural elements and furnishings from Reef Point.

The property was sold a few times, and greatly reduced in size. Then the Beatrix Farrand Society, formed in 2002, purchased it in 2004. It is restoring Garland Farm to Farrand-era design and condition. The property, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, hosts special events and programs. It’s also open to the public on a limited schedule.

Farrand and Turrets Sea Side Gardens, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor

These two gardens on the College of the Atlantic campus are pleasant diversions. The Beatrix Farrand Garden, designed in 1928, is located behind Kaelber Hall. In its heyday, the garden contained more than 50 varieties of roses. It was the prototype for the rose garden at Dumbarton Oaks, in Washington D.C.

The Turrets Sea Side Garden is located on the ocean side of the Turrets, the 1895 cottage that’s now an administration building. Eammon Hutton, ’05, restored it as his senior project. The central fountain, created by COA alum Dan Farrenkopf of Lunaform Pottery, was installed in 2009. No fee is charged.

Charlotte Rhoades Park and Butterfly Garden, Southwest Harbor

Few people find this vest-pocket seaside park, donated to Southwest Harbor in 1970. Its delightful butterfly garden, established in 1998, promotes conservation education. Arrive early to snag a picnic table. Each summer, a butterfly release is scheduled. Advance reservations are required for that special family friendly program.

Somesville Historical Museum and Gardens, 

This small museum, adjacent to Somesville’s iconic white bridge, has two small gardens. The Heirloom Garden contains flowering plants and herbs that have flourished on the island since the late 18th century. The Louisa Conrad Garden honors its namesake, a gardener and architect who summered on the island. It features plants found in woodland gardens on the island.

Wild Gardens of Acadia, Sieur du Monts Springs

Located within Acadia National Park, this 0.75-acre garden is a microcosm of more than 400 plant species native to Mount Desert Island. Each of the 12 separate display areas represents a native habitat. Plants are labeled and a brochure is available.

MDI Garden Tour

Held every other year, the 2012 Mount Desert Island Garden Tour takes in six private gardens: Sand Point, Rosserne, and The Ledge in Northeast Harbor and Blueberry Haven, Points of View, and Southerly in Seal Harbor. See my Garden Tours post for details.

(This post originally appeared on guidebook publisher  Moon.com‘s blog, a great spot to read posts by staff and guest travel writers).