Read aloud by your device's voice. It sounds different on each device.
1956
Made in 1956 by a lifelong resident of Northeast Harbor
The Asticou Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor was created in 1956 by Charles Kenneth Savage, a lifelong resident of the village. Much of the first plant collection came from Reef Point Estate in Bar Harbor, the summer residence of the landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, and was moved with help from John D. Rockefeller Jr.
A stroll garden
Raked gravel that suggests flowing water
The 2.3 acre garden is styled after a Japanese stroll garden. Its fine-gravel paths are raked regularly in a way that suggests flowing water, and a sand garden repeats the effect with stones meant to represent islands. It features rhododendrons and azaleas, including Maine's native azalea.
The pond
A pond where an alder swamp once stood
Before the garden was made, the Savage children and grandchildren built a treehouse and rope swing in a white pine that still stands today. The present pond was once surrounded by an alder swamp. The garden is open only in the warm season, so check the dates before you go.
Thuya
A second garden, Thuya Garden, opened to the public in 1962
Thuya Garden is a semi-formal herbaceous garden in the style of Gertrude Jekyll, on the grounds of Thuya Lodge, built between 1912 and 1916 for the Boston landscape architect Joseph Henry Curtis. Savage built the border garden from 1956 to 1961, with plants from Reef Point and help from Rockefeller. It opened to the public in 1962.
Day 4, morning
Next is Somes Sound.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Asticou Azalea Garden and the Wikipedia article Thuya Garden, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.