Recognize this blooming island garden?

As you may notice, I have a Maine email address, but I live in New York. I have a vacation home in Maine and have traveled all over the state where I have known many of the "Where in Maine" locations in your magazine. This is one of my favorites that I have visited several times. It is THE AZALEA GARDENS at the ASTICOU INN in NorthEast Harbour, Maine.

I am a "Mainer" at heart but now live in NY. I have visited many of the locations from your "Where In Maine" section but never have taken the opportunity to answer until now. This particular spot featured this month I know very well as I have been there many times. It is THE AZALEA GARDENS AT THE ASTICOU INN in Northeast Harbor, Maine.

We recognized it immediately as the Azalea Gardens at the Asticou in Northeast Harbor, Maine. We live in Connecticut. Every July or August for the last thirty years or so, we have vacationed in S.W. Harbor or Bass Harbor and ALWAYS visit the gardens, rain or shine. Our son still loves to roam the paths even though he is now a college sophomore. Then we all take a book from the car and go up to the nearby Thuya Gardens, admire the flowers, read for a while, or go out the back gate for a short climb to Eliot Mt.

The "where in Maine" photo looks like Asticou Azalea Garden in Mt.
Desert.

Harry First

I received my current (April 2008) issue of Down East today. I
immediately looked at the Where in Maine section and I was surprised
that I recognized it as Astico Gardens. We try to visit the Bar Harbor
area at least once a year. Our dear friends Harry & Paula Luhrs (who
were the previous owners of Spruce Valley Campground in Town Hill,
Maine) have taken us to these gardens many times. They are absolutely
beautiful and worth the trip to see them. We live in New Jersey but our
hearts are in Maine thanks to these good friends. We look forward every
month to our current issue of Down East because it always gives us
something new to see on our next trip North.
Karen & Bob Keith
Forked River, NJ 08731

It's the garden across from the Asticou Inn...very beautiful! I was there last summer for a wedding.

One of my favorite places in Maine "Asticou Gardens, Nortwest Harbor, Maine. I try to visit there in June every year! Another reason why Maine is a great place to live.
Gail Strong
Eliot, Maine

In the 70's, I worked in a private home in Northeast Harbor and had time to explore Mt Desert Island. I recognized this picture from Asticou Garden where I would go on a summer afternoon for some quiet time. Northeast Harbor holds many wonderful memories for me.
Ruth Major
Pocono Pines, PA

We have loved going to the Asticou Gardens in Northeast Harbor for years. Of course it is specatacular when the azaleas are in bloom but in truth, it is a delightful place to visit whenever it is open. Every section of the walks brings forth a special delight from the everchanging pond to the serene beauty of the sand garden. Taking some time to sit on one of the benches in quiet reflection never fails to awaken our senses to the wonders around us.

Chris and Bobbie Nelson
Sedgwick, ME

Every year we look forward to visiting Northeast Harbor and the Azalea Gardens in the spring when it is in bloom. Though it may be incorrect, I've always called this beautiful Zen garden the Asticou Gardens. I have a photo of the salmon colored azalea across the pond from this photo that I keep as a desktop background on my work computer to help me de-stress on difficult days.

Cindy York
Vassalboro, ME

As soon as I opened this month's issue I knew exaclty where this was. I was married at the Asticou Inn in August 07 and had my wedding pictures (and engagement photos) done in the Azalea Gardens! Though more green at the time it was still a beautiful setting and would recommend these gorgeous gardens to anyone.

Michelle Boom
Biddeford, ME

Asticou Azalea Garden at the head of Northeast Harbor on Mt Desert Island is so much more than a beautiful thriving second home for many of the specimens from the Farrand grounds...thanks to the thoughtful placement of each in a living flow of water, air and energy, anyone willing to pause quietly for even a few moments ,smiling with eyes closed and breathing deeply cannot help but experience the rejuvenating currents of freshening winds and spirits...the Zen soul of Maine....carrying this to other gardens,cliffs, shores and paths one cannot help but see all of Maine with a renewed joy of place...thankyou for reminding us of these gifts close at hand...Patricia Sheley/Nature Close at Hand

We recognized this as one of the most beautiful little sanctuaries on an island that already provides ample sanctuary from life's pace, the Asticou Azalea Garden on Mount Desert Island. Everytime we visit MDI, we make it a point to stop and enjoy this gem of the Maine coastline.

My wife opened this month's issue and immediately recognized the Asticou Azalea Gardens on Mt desert Island...across the street from the Asticou Inn. We are frequent travelers to the island and enjoy this and other gardens and on this wonderful island.

Ken Deitrick
Slatington, PA

The Asticou Azalea Gardens are one of the truly spectacular places on Mount Desert Island, but they hold many more memories for me. In 1962 and 1963, I had the privilege of working summers at the Asticou Inn in the kitchen, where I worked directly with Katharine Savage. Living in the "shack" directly across from the Inn, I had as my back yard these amazing gardens as they were being nurtured and grown into what we see today. I consider meeting and knowing Katharine (and to a lesser extent Charles (CK)) one of the great fortunes I have had in my life. These gardens are a living tribute to a great family and are a lasting legacy for MDI and Northeast Harbor. Great picture and it brings back great memories.

My husband and I were thrilled to see The Asticou's Azalea Garden in April's edition! Despite being from just outside of Philadelphia, my family has summered on nearby Greenings Island for over a century and every summer we make a point to visit Northeast Harbor, the Azalea Gardens and the nearby Thuya Gardens as well. We were married in August of 2005 on Greening and had the most beautiful tented reception at the Asticou. Our wedding pictures in the gardens are some of our favorite!! MDI has so much to offer and is truly our favorite place in the world...we couldn't imagine a summer not spent Down East!
Kristen and Jack Degnan
& The Esty Family,
Malvern PA.

Thank you for the beautiful picture of the Asticou Gardens at the intersection of Route 198 and Route 3 just across the road from the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island. Our family has spent many summer and winter days enjoying the beauty of this marvelous island. We love biking the carriage trails and have often biked from our home in Bar Harbor to Northeast stopping at the Gardens for a picnic lunch.

David and Patricia Thomas

We immediately recognized the Asticou Inn Azalea Gardens and it brought back fond memories of our daughter's wedding last August at the Asticou Inn on MDI. The wedding pictures were taken in the Garden setting and what a spectacular background it made. We may reside in Virginia as the end result of many Army moves, but our hearts are in Maine. Our daughter and son-in-law now live in Maine. In the meantime we can only dream. Someday soon......

Scott & Denise Fernald
Manassas, VA

My husband and I went to Thh Asticou Azalea Garden on Mt. Desert Island on our Honeymoon May 29-June 2, 2004. The moment we opened up the magazine tonight (after how much more snow? a foot?!) we both said "oh, that's where we went on that wonderful day"...it will always be in our hearts. So we're not reminiscing about that wonderful weekend. And oh how beautiful was the garden.

Katrina & Robert Randall
Lyman, ME

Peaceful Japanese style garden at Asticou.

Darn, living in DC, I just got the April issue this afternoon. I thought sure I would be the first one to email the correct answer, but I see I surely am not. Having grown up in Millinocket, and vacationed with my family for my entire life in this area, it was a likely spot to have all our special family celebrations, including my wedding in 1984. We still pass by almost daily in the summer as we are on the island from June through August. Can you speed up your out of state mail distribution???

Oh the beauty of the Asticou Azalea Garden right across the street from the Asticou Inn. I taught my son to play hockey on the pond, performed a wedding to the left of the bridge in the picture and conducted a memorial service for a departed benefactor of the community in the glade beyond. It was a touch stone of my ministry as Rector of Sts. Mary and Jude, the Episcopal Church in town. The delicacy of the azaleas in the spring give way to the fog touching the silvery surface of the pond and then the quiet majesty of winter's kiss of snow and ice. Thank you for printing a lovely picture. The Rev. Paul Gilbert, Mt. Pleasant, SC

The Asticou Azalea Garden, Northeast Harbor. Absolutely beautiful. We were married in Bar Harbor in 2001 and chose this location to photograph our wedding party. We have wonderful pictures taken from this exact vantage point. My husband and I standing on the stone bridge, our reflection in the pond, fully surrounded by the amazing colors of the flowers and plants. The perfect place for the perfect day.
Jennifer O'Halloran Pitts and Jason Pitts
Purcellville, VA

I'm probably the last subscriber to answer the April "where in Maine?" question as being the Asticou Gardens in Northeast Harbor! Kudos to whoever is responsible for the early-in-the-month mail delivery of DownEast that began last month, at least for this NC resident who has been visiting Maine annually since 1966.

I believe that the April DownEast photograph is of the Asticou Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor. I spent a pleasant afternoon there on a gorgeous July day, as part of a drawing course I was taking at the College of the Atlantic.

The Beautiful Garden in in Northeast Harbor, Asticu Azelea Garden. I used to live in Maine and My Husband and I came across it one Day when out Riding. It was a very Tranquil place to walk. I really miss places like that and enjoy receiving Down East Magazine to visit thru reading about places I have been.
Margaret Cunningham

This is the Azalea Gardens across from the Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor on beautiful Mount Desert Island. We have visited there often and enjoyed dining at the Asticou Inn. My wife and I are former residents of Mount Desert Island and now spent several weeks of the summer near Ellsworth. We look forward to receiving Downeast Magazine each month.

Lee and Joanne Rathbun
Clearwater, FL

My husband and I recognize the beautiful garden in your April 2008 magazine. This would be Asticou Azalea Gardens in Northeast Harbor, on MDI. My husband, son, and I visited the gardens in June of 2005. We have many wonderful pictures at different locations in the gardens which are incredible. This was the one time Mom got to pick a place to visit on Mount Desert. The pictures just do not do this very serene and peaceful place justice! We hope to visit Maine again, even though we have moved to the North Carolina shore. We have vacationed and enjoyed your great state many times over the years and have terrific memories. Pamela Draper, Carolina Shores, North Carolina :)

The Asticou Azalea Garden, Northeast Harbor. My cousin, Rick Savage builds new and restores old boats in his boat house which boarders this garden. Rick's 42 foot boat is also named the Asticou.

Dale Johnson
Belchertown, MA

Finally, a place I can identify. I was starting to think I didn't know Maine! This is the Asticou Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor. Growing up in Ellsworth, I visited this place with my parents many times. Now,I live in California and come back to Maine with my family every summer. One of our first outings is to this garden so we can catch those azaleas in bloom. It has been the backdrop for at least one Christmas card. Thanks for the beautiful picture. It makes me want to be there right now! Allison Moorwood, Sunnyvale, California

After 10 years of summmer camp in Maine as a child, and then 15 years of summer vacations on Mt. Dessert Island as an adult, I happily recognized the beautiful Asticou Gardens across from the Asticou Inn. These gardens are truly spectacular and often missed by tourists in favor of the more well-known (and also beautiful) Thulya Gardens down the road. Even after 15 years on the Island, this is still one of our favorite spots, and it is one of the landmarks each year that tells us we have "come home" again.

Jan Wood
Annapolis, Maryland

I lived near Seal Harbor before there were Azalea Gardens, but not before there was an Asticou. Charles Savage hired my father (Harold Hickey) to manage the Acadia Corporation (the Jordan Pond House and gift shops at Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole) shortly after the Second World War. It was the beginning of a fifteen year relationship in which both men thrived, while vast changes rocked the world at large and the microcosm of Maine tourism. They became conservators. Charles was a gifted artist and landscape architect, who created the Azalea Gardens and the less visible Thuya Gardens. It was there, one evening when I was a young man, embracing a lovely waitress on a cedar bench, that Charles heard our murmurings, and called out to us in the dusk, that he was closing up for the night. I don't know who was more embarrassed, or more surprised--I to discover that Charles closed up the gardens himself each evening, or he that his manager's son should be of a courting age! Both men are gone now. The Jordan Pond House burned down years ago, and a new one (in frank imitation), constructed with generous donations from those with long memories of the Tea Lawn and birch bark dining rooms, guards the blueberry fields in front of the lake and the Bubble Mountains beyond. The gardens created by Charles Savage -- and the beauty, peace and grace of them -- live on. The waitress has married and has children of her own. We all may have known, though I don't recall anyone having said so--how lucky we were!

This is the Asticou Azalea Gardens in Northeast Harbor. Created by Charles Savage, using plants transplanted from Beatrix Farrand's estate in Bar Harbor, it is a classic example of how a garden's design can create tranquility. Every stop in this little oasis, even after the azalea blooms have passed, is special. While the azaleas are its signature, and the sand garden is its most known other feature, there are so many other little touches here, including a moss garden to die for, a fabulous little stream, and some very fine garden stone work. I delight in bringing first timers here on many of my annual returns to Mount Desert Island, and they are always enthralled. Perhaps our favorite moment came when we noticed some sort of bustling activity in amongst several trees near the edge of the garden. Upon closer inspection we found ourselves gazing at hundreds of hummingbirds. This is one of the many special places on a special island.

Geo
Ann Arbor, MI

My husband and I receive Down East magazine at our home in Kettering, Ohio. We immediately recognized the Asticou Azalea Garden from our trip to Maine last summer for 2 weeks of geocaching. We have found so many amazing places through geocaching that we would probably have not seen otherwise. For fellow geocachers, the waypoint for this lovely park and hidden geocache is N44 18.361 W068 16.986 or GCPXXW on geocaching.com.

This is the Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor, across from the Asticou Inn. We frequently pass through Northeast Harbor to catch the mail boat to Islesford when visiting relatives there, but a couple of years ago, my husband and I decided to stay at the Asticou. We loved strolling through this beautiful garden.

Asticou Gardens in Northeast Harbor, as pictured in "Where in Maine", is one of my favorite spots in the world. It was easy to recognize, as I have photos of the Garden on my walls at work, reminding me that in this crazy world there is a place of peace and calm. My father, Neil Lunt, was born on Mt. Dessert Island (as was his father and grandfather). Dad now lives in Nevada, but returns "home" as often as he can. My sisters and our families have joined him, travelling from Nevada and Texas, and on each trip we look forward to spending time in the Gardens. It is truly a place of magic, and seeing it in the magazine made my day.
Nevada may be my home, but Mt. Dessert Island and Asticou Gardens will always be in my heart.

I have gone to The Azalea Gardens in Northeast Harbor every year since I was a little boy. I have a family summer home on Little Cranberry Island and a visit to the gardens was a annual tradition for my family than and now. Don't miss this beautiful place no matter the weather. It is magical even in a thick fog or bright sunshine!

I recognized the beautiful Asticou Azalea Garden at the head of Northeast Harbor immediately. My husband and I visit the island often throughout the year, enduring a 5 hour automobile drive because we feel there is no beauty alike to Mt. Desert Island!
Last October I ran my first marathon on MDI and was ever so happy to see the beautiful fall colors in Asticou Garden as it was about the half way point of the very long but spectacular 26.2 miles!

Emily Gagnon
Meredith, NH

Having grown up in Maine I visited Bar Harbor and Acadia many, many times but it wasn't until I was a college student working at the Asticou Inn the summer of '94 that I visited beautiful Asticou Gardenfor the first time. I now live in the Dallas area but still try to visit MDI when I bring my family home to Maine to visit my parents who still live in Fairfield.

Jena Stone (Peters)
Prosper, Texas

My husband and I recognized this spot immediately. I grew up in Bangor, where my parents still live, and we spent all of our summers on the island. every time we went to Seal Harbor to the beach, we passed this beautiful spot in the '60's and 70's. One of my best friends lives in Bar Harbor today. My husband, originally from Massachusetts, has taken many lovely photographs of the Japanese garden at the Asticou Inn.

I can't believe I finally got a Where In Maine. After all these years of saying "It looks familiar...?"

I can see I'm not the only one who 'Harbors' (pun SO intended) great memories of Asticou.

I was a girl from Wisconsin summering in Rockland,when my future husband took me on a tour of Bar Harbor, where he grew up. I was enchanted at visiting all the backroads of 'The Island'. Asticou and Thuya were highlights. I fell in love with that guy and Mt. Desert Island.

Now, we take our daughter to Asticou every summer and always bring our out of state friends. It's the calm in the storm that can sometimes be tourist season.

This months Where In Maine is part of our history!

Maria Randolph
St. George, ME

The April 2008 "Where in Maine", the Asticou Azalea Gardens, is easily recognized by many of us fortunate enough to visit this beautiful and mystical spot conceived and executed by Northeast Harbor native Charles Savage in the 1950’s. I, like my other relatives, have unfair advantage in quickly recognizing the spot, having grown up next door to the garden. It started out from humble beginnings as a brook running through an alder swamp on family-owned property. Despite Charles’ Herculean accomplishment in transforming a backwater spot into a thing of beauty (whilst also protecting and reincarnating the living plant legacy of landscape gardener and designer Beatrix Farrand’s Reef Point Gardens), the garden is much more to me than a carefully tended, nurtured and manicured botanical garden. It is the childhood neighborhood space where my cousins, my sister and I caught brook trout in the spring (I once caught a 14-incher in the pond!), played hide and go seek in all off-seasons (favorite hiding spot under the low hanging evergreen bush in the upper right of the photo), and also where we cleared the pond for ice-skating and played ice hockey and “crack the whip” in the winters. Winter playtime extended into late afternoons and evenings because Charles, in earlier years, and other relatives during my childhood, installed Christmas lights on a huge spruce tree overlooking the pond. Of course, in the summers, and particularly in its June peak time, the garden, (like the hotel across the street and other nearby places temporarily occupied by summer folk), was strictly “off-limits” to us as a play place, but that did not always stop us. As children, the garden was just an extension of the rest of the neighborhood territory, and occasionally we would invade its borders like banshees, running down the paths, whooping, making noise and disturbing visitors and the gardeners at our own peril, resulting later in serious reprimand from our elders. Of particular temptation was the carefully raked sand garden, which more than once was disrupted with childrens’ footprints during games of tag. Now that I am an adult, I tend to appreciate the more peaceful, contemplative attributes of the garden in its own right, and would not dare to trample on the sand garden. Still, it will always be for me, first and foremost, a treasured childhood play spot. That the garden can take on so many meanings to so many people (and a perhaps unintended role as a safe and magical childhood play place for me, my sister, my cousins and all of our friends) is a testament to the importance of public open spaces. The garden, along with its sibling, the Thuya Garden, is fortunate to be protected and managed by the Mount Desert Land and Garden Preserve. For those of us who have had special experiences in these places, this organization deserves our support. You may find out more on the web by visiting www.gardenpreserve.org.

Sam S. McGee, Portland and N.E. Harbor, Maine

Thank you for the most beautiful screen saver! Though I summer in Harpswell, I make a point of visiting Mt. Desert once each summer. The Gardens at Asticou and Thuya Garden are always spectacular and inspiring.

I have been to the Asticou Garden many times in my life. I was born in Bar Harbor and grew up in Ellsworth. I need to visit it again and bring a good book to read there in the solace of the garden.

where in Maine?
I was very fortunate to visit these exquisite gardens,Asticou on Mount Desert Island in NorthEast Harbor.I look forward to visiting these gardens every summer when I come to visit family on the mid coast.Maine is my home away from home.

Wow, I knew I had been there, so many years ago, and just found photos. It has been 18 years ago. I tried to find this place 2 years ago with no avail. Will try harder next time. It isn't often that I recognize a place and after seeing all these postings, I was glad to know I was right about the Azalea gardens in NorthEast Harbor. Thank you for a wonderful magazine, gave it to my friend who now is in CA last Christmas as she misses Maine a lot!!!

I know this blooming island garden very well. My mother, Fran, used to love visiting Asticou Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor. She showed me every tree, named every flower, and we took the time to rest on every stone bench and just talk. Before she passed away last April, she told me that if I ever wanted to visit her, she would be in her "favorite spot on Earth." Thank you for such a beautiful photograph. Mom would have loved it.
Kevin LaPoint, Alfred, ME

The Azalea Gardens at the Asticou of course, we were married and had our photos there, these gardens are even extremely lovely in late October! What a place for a fabulous costal wedding!