A Japanese Garden in the heart of Acadia National Park
I just sold a nice metal print of my photography “Peaceful Japanese Garden On Mount Desert Island” which was taken on Mount Desert Island in Seal Harbor at the private John D. Rockefeller estate. The 20.000″ x 15.625″ metal print of “Peaceful Japanese Garden On Mount Desert Island” will be prepared and shipped to a buyer from Lausanne, VD – Switzerland.
The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine is an Asian influenced garden on Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park. Asian inspired stone lanterns of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, Seal Harbor, Maine on Mount Desert Island just outside of Acadia National Park were brought back from a honeymoon trip to the far east where the Rockefeller’s secure a number of artifacts including pieces of Imperial Place wall.
The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine is a private garden that is generally open one day a week in late July, August, and early September to allow garden enthusiasts a chance to enjoy its beauty. The number of visitors on open garden days is limited to protect the quality of each visitor’s experience and the well being of the garden.
When we lived on Mount Desert Island over in Seal Cove (a beautiful lesser known quiet spot on the busy island), my wife worked at the hospital in Bar Harbor and was lucky enough to know a co-worker whose husband was the chief caretaker at the Rockefeller estate so we were able to take a private after hours tour. Late day sun and a nice foggy day provided the perfect situation to capture the mood of this spectacular coastal garden designed by Beatrix Farrand.
Farrand, the sole woman among the founders of the American Society of Landscape Architects, was born in New York in 1872 and died in Bar Harbor in 1959. She designed gardens for the White House, consulted at Princeton and other institutions, and had many prominent private clients, including John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife Abby.
Farrand worked with Abby Rockefeller to design the private garden in Seal Harbor between 1926 and 1930. The property is still owned by the Rockefeller family, even though just recently David Rockerfeller, son of John D. donate a large tract of land to celebrate his 100th birthday. His mother’s garden is thought to be donated at some point in the future to a trust which will maintain it and access to the public.
If you can’t get a ticket to the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller garden, don’t fret. There are two other great gardens to visit and they are open the public. The Asticou Azalea Garden and the Thuya Garden which is a gorgeous flowering garden located on a granite hillside overlooking Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine. It was originally designed and built in 1956 – 1961 by Charles K. Savage, a long-time resident of Northeast Harbor, along with financial support from John D. Rockefeller. The garden exhibits an English style influence with special input from Beatrix Farrand so that it will incorporate the unique character of the Maine coast.
Asticou Azalea Garden is an elegant and priceless natural fantasy world filled with wonderful visual delights that will stimulate your soul. The design is fluid, allowing interlacing discoveries that will bring delightful pause as you meander through the pathways that are bordered with colorful and thoughtful charm.
In Acadia park itself you can visit a the Wild Gardens which features local native plants. The Wild Gardens of Acadia in Acadia National Park, Maine is maintained by a diverse group of community volunteers. It reflects the typical habitats as found on Mount Desert Island. More than 300 native species are labeled to make identification easy in nine separate display areas.