Scenes from Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park
View from The Boathouse at the Claremont Hotel, Southwest Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. They make an excellent blueberry martini!
Of all the subjects that I write about, I get the most positive feedback from my customers on my posts from Maine. For the last three years, Michael and I attended the Camden (Maine) House and Garden Tour, and I featured photos from the Camden-Rockport-Rockland area in my Maine posts. This year is the 100th anniversary of Acadia National Park located on Mt. Desert Island, which is about two thirds of the way up the Maine coast southwest of Bangor. As we had never visited that area we decided to spend four days in and around Acadia and attend the Garden Club of Mt. Desert Open Garden Day.
Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.
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Northeast Harbor, Mt. Desert Island: Many families from the Philadelphia area where I live summer on Mt. Desert so it was fun to see all the locations I have heard so much about.
In the days before the garden tour, we visited three public gardens on Mt. Desert, many of the little villages on the island, and most of the major sites in Acadia National Park. I hope to do more in depth posts on the gardens once I figure out how to transfer my photos efficiently from my Apple iPad, which I used to take the pictures, to my PC, which is where I compose posts. Its not as easy as it should be—if anyone has any tips let me know.
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US native fireweed in a field on a back road. Mt. Desert was much less developed and crowded than I thought it would be. We were often the only car on the road.
Acadia National Park was gorgeous and not crowded at all even though it is one tenth the size of Grand Teton National Park and gets the same number of visitors, in 2015, 2.8 million. One reason that I have never visited it before is that I thought it would be similar to the Maine Coast that I am used to around Portland. I couldn’t have been more wrong—the geography is totally different even down to the type of rock, which is an arresting pink granite. Beautiful lakes have been scraped out of the rock by glaciers, and there is even the only fjard on the East Coast, Somes Sound. Mountains abound and, although they are not tall by many standards—Cadillac Mt is the tallest at 1,530 feet—they soar straight up from sea level. Gorgeous coastal vistas and lovely beaches abound.
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Somes Sound at sunset
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Sand Beach in the park looks just like beaches I have visited in the Caribbean, although the resemblance stops at the water line as the water temperature was 54 degrees F (12 C). There was much warmer swimming in the ocean at Otter Cove and at Echo Lake.
In this first post from the area, I am just showing some beautiful scenes to give you an idea of the setting. Once I get my images straightened out, I hope to go into more depth about the gardens in the area.
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Beautiful stands of moss are everywhere, here the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden.
Northeast Harbor
Delphiniums and monarda at the Thuya Garden in Northeast Harbor. I wish delphiniums would grow like this in Pennsylvania, but it gets too hot and humid for them.
I hope that you will have a chance to visit Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park. A special thanks to my wonderful customer and friend Charlotte F. who welcomed us into her beautiful home during our trip and provided crucial planning advice.
Carolyn
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Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.
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CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS 
July 27, 2016 at 11:22 am
It looks to be a truly delightful place to visit, I will just have to enjoy it through your eyes and lens.
July 27, 2016 at 12:00 pm
Pauline, Many beautiful places to visit in Maine should you cross the pond. Carolyn
July 27, 2016 at 11:51 am
I went to the Camden House and Garden tour this year based on your recommendations last year. It was well worth the visit.
Susan Gay
Rome, Maine
July 27, 2016 at 11:58 am
Susan, I am so glad you enjoyed the tour, and that my hard work leads to some concrete results in the form of garden enjoyment for my readers either in person or virtually. I love the Camden area especially the restaurants. Carolyn
July 27, 2016 at 1:35 pm
love your newsletters – when can I order galanthus?
July 27, 2016 at 4:09 pm
Glad you enjoy the blog. The galanthus catalogue for 2017 will be posted on the website around mid-December 2016.
July 27, 2016 at 1:45 pm
Dear Carolyn,
I live in Bryn Mawr and you might remember me as the customer who arrived at your last sale via golf cart and driver after having become confused with your neighbor Carolyn Smith’s property.
Right now I am in Maine on Seal Cove Pond where we have had a small cottage for many years. Although I am hardly in the same league as the grand gardens of this wonderful island, (or yours in Bryn Mawr) I would be happy to have you visit this pretty place.
My number is , and the house is not far from the Auto Museum. Family and friends are welcome and we have kayaks, and a canoe. (Don’t dial 207 when you are in Maine.)
Look forward to hearing from you. Susan
July 27, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Thanks for the offer, Susan, but I am three hours away in my family’s house on an island. Have a great summer. Carolyn
July 27, 2016 at 9:46 pm
My daughter has been trying to get us to visit Maine–she’s working there at a girls’ camp for the summer. To me, it sounds and looks very much like N. Wisconsin, which is beautiful, too. Enjoy your time in Maine.
July 28, 2016 at 12:01 pm
Beth, It probably does look like northern Wisconsin with one crucial difference—Maine is on the ocean. You should visit. Carolyn
July 27, 2016 at 10:47 pm
Our family has been vacationing in Southwest Harbor (and eating on the Claremont dock) on Mt. Desert Island for the past 12 summers. The island is as special and spectacular as you have described it and the gardens are amazing. Your pictures capture the beauty perfectly. I hope you found some blueberries in your travels!
July 28, 2016 at 12:03 pm
Elizabeth, I am so glad you liked the photos since you have been there. There were low bush blueberries in abundance, and the plants were used in the formal gardens as groundcover. I wish they grew so well at home. Carolyn
July 27, 2016 at 11:59 pm
Hi Carolyn, I love getting your blogs. These pictures brought back many happy memories. We have friends who now have a house on a cove in Pretty Marsh–the quiet side of the island. We’ve visited them and went to the Northeast Harbor garden tour. All the gardens were on the ocean. Thuja gardens were resplendent with dahlias when we visited. The hiking is so much fun there. Easy with wonderful views. Cheryl and John Sent from my iPad
July 28, 2016 at 12:06 pm
Cheryl, The Quiet Side of Mt. Desert was indeed quiet and undeveloped, but the rest of it was nicely uncrowded too. Hiking there is ideal. Enjoy BC. Carolyn
July 28, 2016 at 9:56 am
Hello Carolyn,
Fabulous photos of what looks like a very beautiful part of the world – particularly under such lovely blue skies,
best wishes
Julian
July 28, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Julian, The skies have been beautiful all summer so far but we do need rain. It makes for great swimming though. You should come visit—it’s not that far from Wales! Carolyn
July 28, 2016 at 3:54 pm
We’ll add it to our bucket list for when we downsize, and lose land/livestock responsibilities!
Best wishes
Julian.
July 29, 2016 at 2:18 pm
Well let me know when you are coming!
July 30, 2016 at 3:54 am
Will do!!
July 28, 2016 at 8:05 pm
I’m amazed that you’ve spent all these years in Maine and never gotten to Mt. Desert before — but I suppose it’s just far enough not to be a day trip. I used to spend every summer solstice camping at Acadia, and always included a hike from the campground to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, a day of hiking around either Northeast Harbor or Somesville, visits to the Asticou Azalea Gardens and Thuya Gardens, and afternoon tea at the Jordan Pond House. I haven’t done this in several years now; your post reminds me that I need to go back.
July 29, 2016 at 2:17 pm
Jean, It is six hours round trip from Portland and I am seven miles out on an island, but I am amazed I haven’t gone either. I thought it would be similar to my island but it isn’t. If you go, you have to visit the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Gardens, which are only open on Thursdays by appointment. I noticed that all the Thursdays except one are reserved until 2017. Reservations become available May 31, and that’s when I got mine. One of the most beautiful gardens I have ever visited. Carolyn
July 30, 2016 at 5:30 pm
Very nice! My husband has always wanted to visit Arcadia, and now that we live up north we are a lot closer to it. We just went to Maine for the first time this summer, and hopefully before too long will be able to make it to Arcadia!
July 31, 2016 at 9:36 am
Indie, You will love Acadia—so different from the other parts of Maine that I have visited. Carolyn
August 1, 2016 at 9:53 am
Very beautiful place. I hope to get there one day. My friend and I twice planned a visit, and instead traveled abroad.
August 1, 2016 at 1:19 pm
Donna, I think you would love it there—so much to photograph. Enjoy your UK trip. Carolyn
August 1, 2016 at 1:53 pm
Just signed up for your emails & imagine my pleasure with this article about Acadia. I am headed there later this summer after touring around NS & NB with a stop of course at St. Andrew for a visit to Kingsbrae Garden. Thanks for the photos.
August 2, 2016 at 11:43 am
Charlene, I plan to do more posts on gardens in the Acadia area. Stay tuned. Carolyn
August 1, 2016 at 6:14 pm
Beautiful pictures and you really capture the feeling of “down east” 🙂
Acadia used to be an annual destination for us after we spent the first two weeks of vacation at my aunt’s in Cape Elizabeth. They are both such beautiful coastlines.
August 2, 2016 at 11:46 am
Frank, I am totally devoted to the coast line around Portland/Cape Elizabeth. What’s fun about that area is the multitude of small islands to explore and all the beautiful beaches not to mention the wonderful City of Portland, one of the best cities for restaurants in the US. Acadia is very different and dramatic, but I still prefer this area. Carolyn