The Asticou Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, United States, is a popular visitor attraction. It was created by lifelong resident of the village, Charles Kenneth Savage, in 1956. Much of the initial plant collection originated at

Reef Point Estate Reef Point Estate was located in Bar Harbor, Maine, United States, on Mount Desert Island. Reef Point was the coastal “cottage” of Mary Cadwalder Rawle and Frederic Rhinelander Jones, the parents of landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand (1872– ...

in nearby

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire ...

, the summer residence of renowned landscape architect

Beatrix Farrand Beatrix Cadwalader Farrand (née Jones; June 19, 1872 – February 28, 1959) was an American landscape gardener and landscape architect. Her career included commissions to design about 110 gardens for private residences, estates and country ho ...

. The collection was moved with the financial assistance of

John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...

, including the weeping hemlock, just north of the main bridge. Located at the intersection of Route 198 and Route 3 (Peabody Drive), the garden and its pond are open to the public during daylight hours from May 1 to October 31. It features a selection of rhododendrons and azaleas, including the '' Rhododendron canadense'', Maine's native azalea. Styled after a Japanese stroll garden, the fine- gravel paths are raked regularly in a manner that suggests flowing water. There is also a sand garden, where this effect is repeated but with the addition of stones, which are meant to represent islands. Savage was also the owner of the

Asticou Inn The Asticou Inn is an inn in Northeast Harbor, Maine. It was built in 1883. In 1899, it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt over the course of two years. The rear of the building overlooks the Northeast Harbor inlet, which opens out to the Atlantic ...

, which is located on the opposite side of Peabody Drive."History of the Asticou Inn"
- Asticou Inn website Prior to the establishment of the garden, the Savage children and grandchildren had made a

treehouse A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a hang ...

and

rope swing A swing is a seat, often found at playgrounds for children, at a circus for acrobats, or on a porch for relaxing, although they may also be items of indoor furniture, such as the Latin American hammock or the Indian oonjal. The seat of a swing ...

in the

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

still standing today. The present-day pond was formerly surrounded by an

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

swamp.Interview: Rick Savage, Asticou
– Coastal Walk Project, 2017 Group photographs for weddings at the inn are often taken in the Garden.

Gallery

File:Asticou Azalea Garden 2006 1.jpg, A sign at the entrance from the Routes 3/198 parking lot near the northeast corner of the Garden File:Asticou Azalea Garden 2003 4.jpg,

Concentric circles In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center poi ...

in the sand garden File:Asticou Azalea Garden 2003 3.jpg, An example of the Japanese influence File:Asticou Azalea Garden 2003 2.jpg, More raking effects File:Asticou Azalea Garden 2006 2.jpg, A 2006 view from just inside the Peabody Drive entrance

Notes

References

#Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve. "Asticou Azalea Garden"

External links

Asticou Azalea Garden at the Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve's website
{{Coord, 44.305, N, 68.284, W, display=title Northeast Harbor, Maine Mount Desert Island Gardens in Maine Tourist attractions in Hancock County, Maine 1956 establishments in Maine Japanese gardens in the United States Japanese strolling gardens Protected areas of Hancock County, Maine