13 99+ The Invisible Work Beneath the Flowers. How One Garden Club Helped Shape an Island for 100 Years. What does it look like when a century of quiet volunteers chooses beauty as a way of serving a community?
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The Invisible Work Beneath the Flowers. How One Garden Club Helped Shape an Island for 100 Years.

What does it look like when a century of quiet volunteers chooses beauty as a way of serving a community?

Carrie Jones

Jul 28, 2026

A pergola covered in greenery with yellow flowering plants in the foreground. Two people are engaged in conversation under the structure.

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Thrive Juice Bar & Kitchen.

Banner displaying colorful juice and smoothie cups with the text 'THRIVE' emphasizing nourishing food and vibrant drinks, featuring a logo with a plant symbol.

MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—The gardens cultivated and enriched by the Garden Club of Mount Desert, the greenhouses the club members have funded, the trees they’ve planted, the bulbs that burst into color throughout Mount Desert Island are the visible work of a hundred years of volunteers.

The invisible work underneath all of that, though? That’s about stewardship.

It’s about the idea that people inherit a place, care for it quietly, and leave it better than they found it.

The 70 current members of the club know that they can.

Mount Desert Island looks the way it does partially because of the century of quiet work of volunteers and donors who choose beauty as a way of serving a community.

This weekend’s Open Garden Day 2026 at seven sites in Northeast Harbor and the invitation-only party for club patrons in Bar Harbor the night before were part of that celebration and also part of the fundraising. Over 1,000 attended Open Garden Day this year. Cammie Disston and Tricia Nalle were the co-chairs of Open Garden Day. Donna Eacho chaired the Patron Party.

The club’s quiet, constant work isn’t just about a weekend. It’s about schoolchildren learning in the greenhouse, flowers for hospital patients, partnerships with Wild Acadia, Partners for Plants in Acadia, preserving native plants, helping unemployed men during the Depression, running a community canning center during WWII, and restoring landscapes after the 1947 fire.

Club President Anne Green welcomed the patrons to Kenarden in Bar Harbor to kick off the weekend.

“First, our heartfelt thanks to our gracious host Ruth Marie (Colket) for opening her gates of Kenarden and sharing this remarkable place with us. Ruth Marie your generosity and hospitality mean so much to our club and to this island,” Green said.

She then thanked Mrs. Colket’s staff members for their work.

“It brings Ruth Marie and her staff great joy to see us all here this evening,” Green said.

The club’s work, she said, stems from the belief of famous landscape architect Beatrix Jones Farrand, that gardens enrich not just landscapes but communities.

A group of women chatting and enjoying drinks in a lively indoor setting with a warm ambiance.
A cluster of vibrant pink dahlias in a greenhouse, with lush green leaves and a glass background.
A pineapple plant with a small pineapple growing at its center, surrounded by lush green leaves and a colorful garden backdrop.
Three women gathered outdoors, with one woman in a blue patterned outfit opening a gift while the other two women watch with smiles. The background features dark foliage.

“The Garden Club of Mount Desert was founded in the summer of 1923. It was the inspiration of Beatrix Farrand, one of eleven original members of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Mrs. Farrand called a meeting of a small group of Bar Harbor residents to talk about gardens and the result was the formation of a garden club. At first, the club was organized as a dicot (a plant having two seed leaves) with one leaflet on the east side of the island and one on the west, but it was soon decided that this model was impractical. The club became a member of the Garden Club of America in 1926,” the club’s website explains.

Almost every era since the club began in 1923 has had its own crisis: The Depression,

World War II, The Great Fire, invasive plants, plastic reduction, COVID-19.

The club’s response is always essentially the same:

“How can we help?” members ask. Then, they take action, via spade or organizing or funding.

The methods change, but the values behind them don’t.

THE SUCCESSES

A group of seven individuals gathered outdoors, with one woman at a podium speaking into a microphone. The others stand nearby, dressed in colorful summer attire, smiling and clapping. A small round table with a floral arrangement is in front of them, set against a backdrop of greenery.

A September 1924 headline in the Portland Evening Express announced, “The Garden Club of Mount Desert Is Big Success.”

It’s been a century and two extra years since then, but newspapers could be saying that same thing today.

Back in in 1924, Mrs. J. West Roosevelt was president of the club, but the club itself was partially the inspiration of Beatrix Jones Farrand.

The goal in 1924, according to the paper, was to “stimulate interest and increase knowledge in horticulture.”

That goal is still there.

But the club itself has grown into an organization that does countless good deeds throughout the island, proceeds for its annual Open Garden Day go to numerous organizations including butterfly gardens, Friends of Acadia, Beatrix Farrand Society, libraries, village improvement societies, and schools.

A wooden plant stand displaying various potted plants for sale, with a colorful 'Plants' sign in the foreground and a bicycle and houses visible in the background.
A display board featuring various photos of children engaging in gardening activities, surrounded by plants and vegetables. The table is decorated with a flower vase and a checkered tablecloth.
A framed certificate from the State of Maine recognizing Mount Desert Elementary School for its achievements, surrounded by vibrant photos of children engaging in gardening activities.

The club’s mission now is to “advance gardening among amateurs, to stimulate and increase knowledge of horticulture, to aid in the protection of native flora and fauna, and to encourage civic planting,” it writes on promotional material.

That sounds like a great deal of work, but the club members and volunteers do it year after year, funded by patrons who were honored at the party at Ruth Colket’s Kenarden, Friday, and also through the Open Garden Day event, which brings ticket purchasers to seven different gardens on a July Saturday in an even numbered year.

A garden only survives because someone keeps tending it. The same goes for a club. The same goes for a community.

According to its website, “A summer club with over 70 members, The Garden Club of Mount Desert has four regular meetings per season, plus either Open Garden Day in even years or other special events including lectures and flower shows that are open to the public on the odd years. At each meeting, there is a judged exhibition of horticultural specimens, flower arrangements and/or photography.

“Additionally, through the work of club members, photographs of many of the island’s gardens are preserved in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.”

A HISTORY OF HELPING

A woman wearing a green apron speaks animatedly while gesturing, standing in front of a greenhouse. Another woman, seen from the back, wears a straw hat and a light pink shirt, listening attentively.

Back in 2015, club members began collaborating with the Mount Desert Elementary School on Growing Gardens, Growing Minds, a program that’s achieved state accolades and is considered a guiding star for other schools.

The club helped the school build and fund its greenhouse.

Food is grown from seed and served in the school’s cafeteria. They also sell seedlings in the spring, an event that helps fund the greenhouse but also lets the school and community interact.

“Other greenhouse projects include a pollinator garden to attract bees and monarch butterflies. In May 2019, this project was incorporated into an exhibit for the Garden Club of America’s Annual Meeting in Boston. The exhibit was awarded the Ann Lyons Crammond Award for outstanding ‘extraordinary’ Education Exhibit,” according to the Club’s website.

Patricia Kelly explained that at the Mount Desert Elementary School garden that children who sometimes have a hard time in school have an easier time learning and working in the school’s greenhouse.

Their hands touch dirt; there’s a tactile learning that happens as seeds are planted, watered, transplanted, and grown into flowers or food or sometimes both.

One garden club member Saturday said it was her favorite garden.

Why?

Because it was about community and children and there’s a sort of magic to that, she said.

“Community,” she repeated. “That’s it.”

She wasn’t talking about flowers, not really. She was talking about how gardens become places where relationships happen, where people’s lives are changed for the better.

Community is what makes the Open Garden Day happen as well. People open the gardens of their homes to have strangers wander the grounds, ohhing and ahhing over the trails by seasides, massive blueberry fields, ornately planned flower beds, meandering paths covered with soft brown pine needles, woodland gardens, a fake shark hanging from a porch ceiling, statues, art, bear buddies hugging tree trunks, an ancient apple tree.

An outdoor garden party featuring guests socializing among lush greenery, elegant tables, and decorative urns.
A group of four stylishly dressed individuals walking along a wooden pathway surrounded by lush greenery and plants.
A close-up of green hydrangea flowers in a decorative pot, with a blurred background of people mingling at an outdoor event.

Throughout Open Garden Day, you could see community happen as strangers became friends in Acadia GEM rides to destinations, as people hugged or laughed over quips at Ruth Colkets, as the volunteers and staff at the Rales’ estate helped people across ledges, offered lemonade and gardening advice, as Bill Roberts laughed down his balcony at a visitor who told him how awesome his home was. One second later, Roberts was off his balcony and down on the lawn, sharing stories.

And at Mrs. Colket’s patron party, the same happened. Staff gave tours and explained how the gardens worked. Acadia GEM drivers (seven of them) transported guests to and fro across the property and to their parked cars. Oysters from local businesses were shucked for guests. Multiple Mount Desert Island businesses and vendors supported the event.

It takes a village to create a party and a garden tour.

It takes a party and a garden tour to help fund projects in island villages.

Some visitors took quiet moments at Sargeant Head in gardens designed by Gordon and Mary Lyman. Some enthused over Deborah MIller’s work at Western Way and the Carriage House, a place she’s shepherded for 22 years. Visitors settled on the rocks past the garden and gazed at the water, the sky, the world.

A vibrant garden path lined with colorful flowers, including pink cosmos and yellow blooms, leading to a wooden gate.
Two older adults viewing informational signs at an outdoor event in a garden setting, surrounded by greenery.
A young girl wearing a floral dress and a pink sun hat stands next to a parked vehicle, holding a stuffed bunny in one hand and looking curiously.
Two people sitting on rocks by the water, one reading a booklet and the other gazing towards the water, with sunlight reflecting off the surface.

“According to club records, Mrs. Farrand was particularly interested in landscaping gasoline stations. Gracious teas followed meetings. During the Depression, vegetable plots were established by members and unemployed island men tended the gardens to supplement their incomes,” the website states.

“Our club was founded by Beatrix Farrand, and she understood so well, gardens are more than plants—they are people, place and possibility. Slow down, take note of the beauty and care for the places we call home,” Green said Monday.

When it first began, the club created a garden bookshelf in one Mount Desert Island library, to spread knowledge.

During the 1930s, Open Garden Days began so that year-round residents could visit summer gardens of members.

World War II stopped that and instead the club and locals ran a community canning center. That center enabled everyone to preserve their victory gardens’ fruits and vegetables.

The club also raised money for war relief efforts in England.

The Great Fire of 1947 changed the landscape of the island’s buildings, its forests, and the gardens of private homes.

“The idea to direct revenues from Open Garden Day toward civic projects on the island, and toward other mostly Maine horticultural and conservation efforts took root at this difficult time,” the club’s website explains.

Another member inspired Southwest Harbor’s Charlotte Rhoades Park and Butterfly Garden.

A decade ago, the club began improving the Northeast Harbor Marina. They planted and installed pavers. Flowering trees, shrubs, and irrigation was added to the site. Spring bulbs and perennials were added. There’s also a monarch butterfly waystation now.

Bulbs, thanks to the club, have also been planted at the Northeast Harbor Library, the Veterans Park in Southwest Harbor, and the Rhoades park.

Another massive project is at Garland Farm, which hosts The Beatrix Farrand Society. The farm is where Farrand spent her final years and had her last garden in the 1950s.

The club has supported the restoration of the Wild Gardens of Acadia, along with the Bar Harbor Garden Club.

“It is a 1/4-acre lot divided into 12 sections, each reflecting a typical habitat found on Mount Desert Island, and it now includes more than 400 indigenous plant species. The Wild Gardens was a GCA Founders Fund finalist in 2000, and it welcomes over 85,000 visitors each year,” its website explains.

Each time a member passes, the club plants something or purchases an ornament for the garden to memorialize them.

At a summer meeting, members create miniature arrangements that are meant to go on a bedside table or breakfast tray. Those arrangements end up at Mount Desert Island Hospital or an island rehabilitation/residential care facility.

The club is also trying to reduce the use of plastic on Mount Desert Island.

PATRON’S PARTY AT KENARDEN

A scenic garden with vibrant yellow flowers in the foreground, a stone structure with columns and a pergola overhead, and people conversing under the shade.
Close-up of raspberry plants with green leaves and ripe red raspberries against a bright sky.
A social gathering by a scenic lakeside view, with guests dressed in elegant attire, enjoying the outdoors under a pergola among greenery.
A garden party scene featuring a stone fountain surrounded by lily pads, with guests mingling in the background among lush greenery.
A close-up view of a vibrant pink petunia flower basket in a greenhouse, with blurred greenery in the background.
Two servers in black shirts holding trays with drinks engage with a woman in a light-colored dress outdoors, surrounded by greenery.

Ruth Colket hosted the invitation-only patron’s party for the garden club at her Bar Harbor home, Kenarden.

The gardens of Kenarden’s 26 acres are expansive and originally conceived by Emma Kennedy and William T. Burton, her superintendent. The previous turreted mansion hosted 40 rooms and was one of the first homes on the island to have electricity thanks to its private electrical generating plant, which made it look like “a fairy palace upon the water” when gazed upon from Frenchman Bay.

There is something still so magical about Kenarden and its grounds, which had been refined and updated by Beatrix Jones Farrand.

It was Farrand who created the Italianate formal sunken garden, a garden graced with a pergola and balustrade, where guests gathered for remarks during the night.

Gingko, Japanese umbrella pine, rhododendron that have rooted there for decades grace the grounds.

“I went to the patron’s party,” one gardener enthused the next day. “It was—It was magical.”

A couple walking on a wooden path surrounded by lush greenery and tall trees.
Three women posing for a photograph outdoors, smiling. The left woman wears a blue patterned cardigan and pearls, the center woman has long brown hair and is dressed in a dark blue shirt, and the right woman wears a floral dress.
A vibrant display of yellow and orange marigold flowers in full bloom, surrounded by lush green foliage.
Three individuals working at an outdoor event, preparing oysters on a table covered with ice and flowers. Two are focused on shucking oysters while a third person assists. The setting is lively with guests in the background.
A wooden pathway leading towards a greenhouse and gardens sign, surrounded by lush greenery and trees.
A garden party scene featuring guests mingling around a stone structure adorned with greenery. A couple stands near a fire pit, while others socialize in the background. The setting is lush with plants and flowers.
A small white vase holding pink peonies, placed on a light tablecloth with a garden backdrop featuring green foliage and flowers.

The kitchen garden and greenhouse were a plethora of plants, giant grapes, a pineapple, tomatoes that one woman said she could barely keep herself from plucking.

“They’re so beautiful,” she said with a swooning breath.

According to the Smithsonian, “Encouraged by Beatrix Farrand, Eric Ellis Soderholtz switched from photography to manufacturing garden urns and other ornaments, some of which remain at Kenarden.”

Kenarden has a long history of gardens and community.

John Stewart Kennedy had Kenarden built in 1892 and after her husband’s death in 1909, Mrs. Kennedy lived at the property with her sister before selling it to Ethel Mallinckrodt Dorrance in 1933.

Dorrance was the widow of Dr. John Thompson Dorrance. Together, they had five children. Dr. Dorrance was a chemist who found a process to create condensed canned soup. He founded the Campbell Soup Company. His family lived at Kenarden until Mrs. Dorrance died in 1953.

The Dorrances kept Kenarden pristine, a part of Bar Harbor high society, and the estate survived the Bar Harbor Fire of 1947. However, after Mrs. Dorrance died, maintaining a mansion of 40 rooms, created in the 19th century was no longer practical and the original lodge was eventually taken down.

The land, however, was not subdivided or developed by others. Kenarden preserved some of its outbuildings, as well, and those beautiful, historic buildings, greenhouses, and service building are still in use. The vine draped pergola frames Cromwell Harbor. Behind that hovers Champlain Mountain.

Colorful flowers, including pink and white cosmos, blooming along a wooden fence in a garden setting.
A vibrant garden with blooming flowers, featuring clusters of pink and purple blossoms next to lush green foliage, set against a blurred background of a greenhouse.
An older woman in a blue patterned dress and cardigan is feeding a yellow Labrador retriever a carrot, while holding a drink in her other hand.
A large gathering of people in a lush garden at an outdoor event, with several individuals speaking and others attentively listening. Tables with light-colored tablecloths are set up throughout the area.
A woman is standing in a forest setting next to a table with drinks and glasses, gesturing towards a bucket filled with bottles. The background features lush greenery and trees.

Dr. Dorrance’s grandson, the late Tristram Colket, was Ruth Colket’s husband. They’ve rehabilitated and restored the gardens.

Like the Kennedys, the Dorrances and Colkets, have hosted scores of philanthropic and non-profit activities at their home.

Today, Kenarden remains a private residential estate, remarkably still sitting on its original historic acreage along the shore looking toward the breakwater. Its gardens restored and revitalized with the help of many, including local landscape architect Dennis Bracale. Among other things, Mrs. Colket is known for her philanthropy, discerning eye, intellect, and grace. All of those qualities were evident during the party.

THE 2026 OPEN GARDEN DAY SITES

A landscaped garden featuring colorful flowers and plants, stone walls, and steps leading to a modern building under a clear blue sky.

On Open Garden Day, Saturday, attendees paid $50 per ticket before embarking on a Northeast Harbor quest to find and enjoy seven gardens. Volunteers were stationed at each site. Many had refreshments.

“Along with an incredible team of volunteers, our club members have spent months planning every detail. From welcoming guests and staffing gardens to directing traffic and working behind the scenes, they have given generously of their times and talents,” Green said Friday night.

Leslie Fogg’s artwork featuring Mrs. Colket’s favorite potting shed set the scene for the event.

The event would not happen without the generosity of the people who opened the private spaces for visitors.

“Opening a garden for hundreds of visitors is truly a labor of love,” Green said. “And we are deeply grateful.”

Western Way and Carriage House

A vibrant display of yellow lilies in bloom, with purple lily buds and a serene waterfront background under a clear blue sky.
A bronze sculpture of a reclining figure with a relaxed pose, surrounded by lush green plants and small pink flowers.
A person walking along a garden path surrounded by colorful flowers and greenery, with a decorative pergola in the background and trees lining the area.
A group of four people talking in a lush garden filled with vibrant flowers, including yellow and purple lilies, under a clear blue sky.

Roc Caivano designed a wood-shingled cottage that had been joined with a carriage house in the 1890s. Stone paths, grassy terraces and gardens full of trellis and tender care perch above Bear and Sutton Islands.

Gardener Deborah Miller oversees the properties which abound with granite steps, Robert Breeden forged iron railings, a sunken garden, and dahlias.

A path along the cliff’s side leads to a lower terrace full of Lunaform birdbaths, shrubs and evergreens. The property also has a cutting garden, fern and hosta shade garden, Japanese iris, and daylilies.

Gull’s Cove

A person wearing a straw hat is standing in a grassy area looking towards a dock on a calm waterfront, with a sailboat in the distance and dense trees lining the shore.
Close-up of pink echinacea flowers surrounded by green foliage and soil in a garden setting.
Close-up of white daisies with yellow centers against a blue sky, surrounded by greenery.
Three women walking on a path in a park, surrounded by greenery and trees, with a deer statue on the right.

According to the garden club, “This natural seaside garden is new and unfolds in a broad meadow sweeping gently toward the harbor, offering breathtaking views of Bear Island and the distant horizon. The open expanse captures the spirit of the coast—wild, airy, and ever-changing with the light and tide. It is the owners’ intent to compliment rather than compete with the natural surroundings.”

Sargent Head previously known as Stone Acres

Group of pink snapdragon flowers among green foliage in a garden setting.

Erastus Corning built and Albert Fuller & William Wheeler designed this Romanesque Revival home which hosts gardens initially designed by Joseph Curtis, co-founder of the Northeast Harbor summer colony. Curtis was also a part-time landscape architect.

The property was redesigned twice more. The last time was in 2010 by its current owners as well as Mary and Gordon Lyman.

A granite wall rises from exposed ledge. Plantings soften the lines and spill toward “lichen-accented stone,” according to the club’s materials.

Two people engaged in conversation while sitting on a stone wall surrounded by colorful flowers and greenery in a sunny outdoor setting.
A serene garden path flanked by colorful flowers and lush greenery, leading into a wooded area under a clear blue sky.
A bronze sculpture of a seated woman within a square frame, surrounded by trees and a scenic background.
A close-up of two yellow flowers with a bee on one, surrounded by green foliage and colorful flowers in the background.

“Beyond the entrance lies a small circular herb garden enclosed by a crushed granite path, its scent carried lightly on the coastal breeze. Following the path, bursts of color from Lunaform containers enliven the bluestone veranda, creating a playful counterpoint to the surrounding natural textures. Emerging onto the lawn, heather nestles in crevices of exposed ledge, seamlessly blending cultivated beauty with the wild terrain,” the club’s pamphlet explains.

It continues, “Three garden beds unfold across the landscape, their gentle curves echoing the coastal contours. Designed to enhance rather than dominate, they offer structure while providing host plants for butterflies and an abundance of flowers for cutting. The planting is soft and naturalistic, its rhythm inviting quiet contemplation of the Maine coastline beyond. Installed in 2024, the largest bed and a small shade garden complete the vision, their forms connected by a meandering path that draws us toward a breathtaking overlook of the open ocean—a serene finale to a garden that feels both crafted and timeless. On the ocean side, a terrace enclosed by a stone wall overlooks the meadow, its garden beds and artfully planted pots adding structure and color to the landscape. Border gardens gracefully frame the new home, hinting at the beauty still to come as the young garden grows into its coastal setting.”

Mount Desert Elementary School Garden

A spotted orange butterfly perched on pink flowers surrounded by green foliage.

The club has two missions at the school’s garden. The members and school officials want kids to be engaged in authentic learning and the club wants “to support community connections to nature, sustainability, healthy lifestyle choices, and food security using garden and greenhouse space as a tool and resource,” according to its public materials.

For three years, people planned and funded the Mount Desert Elementary School Garden. Robert Falt gifted the Gothic Arch Greenhouse. Community members and the Garden Club of Mount Desert donated $10,000.

A person wearing a hat stands inside a greenhouse, looking at artwork displayed on tables. The interior features a wooden frame, clear panels, and a path of stone tiles leading outside.
A close-up view of vibrant orange marigold flowers in a garden, with a greenhouse and greenery in the background under a clear blue sky.
A vibrant garden scene featuring a variety of colorful flowers in pots and hanging baskets, with a dark rabbit statue positioned among the blooms.
A vibrant display of yellow and red marigold flowers blooming in a garden, surrounded by green foliage and plants.

They installed a tool shed, built a fence and garden beds. The Garden Club of Mount Desert gave another $12,000 in 2019 to improve the soil quality and be better drained and the garden could expand.

“To help pay for seeds and tools the students start seedlings in the greenhouse and have a seedling sale each spring,” the club’s pamphlet explains. “Patricia Kelley is the Garden coordinator. Patricia Kelley does a fantastic job teaching the students and doing various garden projects, i.e.: spreading compost, pulling weeds, planting and harvesting, and learning all about plants through measuring, drawing and studying. This garden has served as a model for other gardens around the state and was chosen as the 2026 School Garden of the Year.”

According to the Bar Harbor Garden Club, people can stop by the school’s garden again.



The summer garden tour begins at 10:00 AM until 12:00 noon. The school is located at 8 Joy Road, Northeast Harbor, across from the library.

Pa’u Hana

Two lion statues on a gravel path in a lush green garden, surrounded by trees and shrubs.

A shingle-style residence designed in 1902 by C.A. Candage for hotelier Loren Kimball was one of Schoolhouse Ledge’s first homes.

“The property has been reoriented for privacy and planting opportunities, minimizing driveway and parking areas. The gardens are an ongoing experiment and learning process for the hands-on owners. During ten years of amateur design and maintenance, they have focused on soil health, pollinator habitat, and a variety of experiments,” the club explains.

It’s lovely.

It’s also a bit rare for the garden tour.

A garden scene featuring vibrant pink echinacea flowers in the foreground, with a decorative metal crane statue in the background near a small stream.
A vibrant display of pink flowering plants growing around large rocks, surrounded by lush green foliage and ferns in a sunny garden setting.
A garden arch covered in green vines, leading to a gravel path surrounded by trees and ferns.
A vibrant display of yellow lilies with some red lily buds in the background.

”Approaching the entrance, one passes a recently planted 100’ screen of native trees and shrubs, including viburnum and dawn redwood. The upper parking area leads to the front lawn. Underneath the arbor, a Roman marble sarcophagus dating to 240 AD can be found. Proceed to terraced cutting gardens which are edged with stone that is reclaimed from a wall formerly located on the property. Continue down the hill, passing a moon gate on the right which supports a climbing hydrangea. This leads to a shade walk planted with ferns and moss. A small greenhouse on the left is used for over-wintering and spring propagation,” the club explains.

And then there are the beds—rosa rugosa, hosta, rhodondendron, iris, and more create a gorgeous background for those polinators. A path with arbors for sweet pea and grapes travels by a small waterfall.

Sunset Ledge

A large wooden bear sculpture standing beside two trees in a forested area.

A Frederick Savage designed home on a steep hillside perches on a hill, built into the granite. It was once the home of U.S. Senator G.W. Pepper.

“The current owners purchased the home in 2016 and have worked for the past decade with Jen Macomber on landscape design, making improvements while staying true to its natural surroundings. Great care has been focused on preservation and on native plantings,” the club explains.

A cluster of vibrant pink astilbe flowers in a garden setting, surrounded by greenery and stones.
A large shark model hanging from a wooden balcony railing, with a textured surface and open mouth, against a backdrop of brown wooden paneling.
Two women taking a selfie in a lush garden filled with greenery and flowers, standing beside a tree.
A person standing on a stone pathway in a lush garden, surrounded by various plants and trees under a clear blue sky.
An elderly man walking on a forest path surrounded by tall trees.

Part of the joy of this beautiful site is the Katie Bell rabbit sculpture, the quirky and adorable Dan Falt bears hugging trees, Pat Toogood’s bronze rabbit, the Katsura and Japanese Maple, the unique views of Southwest Harbor. Stone steps help with climbs along the sloping granite ledges planted with ferns and berries.

“The viewer passes clethra, hydrangea, and evergreen trees selected for their beauty, variety of texture, color and suitability to the setting,” the club explains.

Driftwood Gardens

A scenic pathway bordered by lush greenery, leading to a calm lake surrounded by hills under a clear blue sky.
A vibrant flower garden featuring various colorful blooms including purples, pinks, and whites, set against a stone wall and surrounded by lush greenery.
A vibrant garden filled with blooming daisies in the foreground, with a bench and a person sitting in the background, surrounded by lush greenery and flowers.

Since it was established in 2016, the landscape of Driftwood has blossomed.

“The landscape relies heavily on native plant materials with drifts of rhododendron and select ornamentals. Gardeners and groundskeepers hone their skills with these selections while also collectively working with nature. In many instances, they take their cues from natural plant competition while investigating alternative native species placement in a changing climate,” the club explains.

There always feels like more to discover as paths lead to destinations and destinations lead to wonder.

“The first garden is a formal rectangular walled garden at the left of the house. Referred to as ‘Mrs. Scull’s Garden,’ it pays homage to the former owner’s design,” the club explains. “The pink granite walls and the climbing hydrangeas were carefully salvaged from the old garden and placed in the current design. From here a meandering path wanders along Somes Sound through lowbush blueberry and huckleberry, which rest under a canopy of large white pines.”

A framed photograph of an elderly woman standing in front of a small playhouse, accompanied by two dogs. The playhouse features flower boxes and is set in a garden. Below the photo is a label mentioning Mrs. 'Trish' Scull's wish to have afternoon tea with her grandchildren in the playhouse.
A cozy children's corner featuring a round blue table with a tea set and colored pencils, two blue chairs with teddy bears, a white writing desk with books, and a colorful woven rug.
Lush garden pathway surrounded by green foliage and blooming hydrangeas, with sunlight filtering through the trees.
A sunny garden scene featuring two older adults, one in a striped shirt and the other in an orange jacket, observing plants. A woman in a baseball cap stands nearby, with colorful flowers and greenery surrounding them.

Another walled garden awaits the visitor. The terraced garden is below the Folly, where white birches shade the site that’s “accented with a whimsical perennial garden.”

Beyond that is the playhouse, where one owner used to have her afternoon tea.

“The last portion of the path winds through a forest of oak trees and woodland plants leading to an estimated 200-year-old apple tree surrounded by a pink granite footpath,” the club explains.

All photos: Bar Harbor Story/Shaun Farrar and Carrie Jones. There will be more photos on our Facebook page.

LINKS TO LEARN MORE

Close-up of a yellow Labrador retriever's face, with a soft focus background of green grass.
Daffodil, the perfectly named pup.

The Garden Club of Mount Desert

Public gardens on Mount Desert Island:

Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden

Asticou Azalea Garden

Thuya Garden & Lodge

Beatrix Farrand Society & Garland Farm

Charlotte Rhoades Park & Butterfly Garden

Wild Gardens of Acadia

Organizations the club supports:

Sign listing organizations benefiting from Open Garden Day proceeds, surrounded by greenery.

Beatrix Farrand Society & Garland Farm

Charlotte Rhoades Park & Butterfly Garden

Wild Gardens of Acadia

Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association

Beatrix Farrand Society

Charlotte Rhoades Park and Butterfly Garden

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden

College of the Atlantic

Friends of Acadia

Garden Club of America Interchange Fellowship

Garden Club of America Summer Scholarship Fund

Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Maine Seacoast Mission

MDI Elementary School

MDI Historical Society

Mt. Desert Land & Garden Preserve

Native Plant Trust

Natural Resources Council of Maine

Nature Conservancy of Maine

Nell Goff Federation Scholarship Fund

Northeast Harbor Library

Northeast Harbor Marina

Seal Harbor Village Improvement Society

Somesville Village Improvement Society

Student Conservation Association

Wild Gardens of Acadia

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