Near the top of my list of gardens is this Beatrix Farrand garden in Maine. There is something extremely special about this space. I first visited the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine on Mount Desert Island in 1997. It was love at first sight. Carrie (my then-fiancee, now wife) and I vacationed on Mount Desert Island to see one of her good friends from college. Our friend had gotten exclusive tickets to a “Rockefeller Garden” that was, at that time, only open for one week during the summer.

As we drove to the garden, we thought we were lost; as a matter of fact, I think we did get lost. We somehow managed to find our way to the obscure parking area.

There were volunteers to help us park in a makeshift parking lot carved out of the woods. As we exited our cars, we were still under the eternal canopy of a Maine forest.

The signs pointed us to the garden. Following them, we eventually came to a wall with a tiled cap. The wall was tall enough not to see over it but not too tall to feel out of scale. The signs and the pathway continued along the wall until it proceeded through an opening. The closer we got to the opening, the more detailed the landscape. The forest floor was immaculately cared for. All of the moss looked neatly tended. The pine needles seemed as though they were perfectly arranged. All was in order.

We proceeded through the opening in the wall and walked over stepping stones and tree roots towards an opening in the woods off in the distance. The closer we got, the brighter the light. Eventually, we entered the clearing in the forest.

There, in the void, was one of the most beautiful gardens that I had ever seen. It was not too big, not too small. Just the right size with an ample amount of lush turf arranged as a rectangle in the middle of immaculately tended gardens.

These gardens were only open for one week out of the summer, and the staff pulls out all the stops to make the garden look absolutely perfect. Surrounding the turf were enormous delphiniums, foxgloves, see-through verbena, and other assorted cottage perennials and annuals.

The unforgettable borders and evocative walk lined with Korean scholars and soldiers carved from stone. The garden itself is small, yet perfect. I have been back to this garden at least a half dozen times, and each time, I see something new. A detail in how the moss is trimmed along a narrow rill here, a noteworthy plant combination there.

When I told Carrie I was putting this series together for PITH + VIGOR on some of my favorite gardens, she started to guess which ones I would include. The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden was top on her list.

It is a wonderful garden, and I would encourage anyone who loves gardens and garden design to visit this space. It, along with Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown, will allow you to see the genius of Beatrix Farrand, the designer.

–Rodney

Visiting the Garden:

The garden is generally open one day a week in late July, August, and early September to allow garden enthusiasts a chance to enjoy its beauty.

While the Rockefeller Garden is among Beatrix Farrand’s finest work, she is best known for designing the Dumbarton Oaks gardens in Washington, D.C., as well as the East and West gardens at the White House, and the rose garden at the New York Botanical Garden.

Photos: All images from JR P except where noted.

More Gardens in Maine and Women Landscape Designers you should Know

• Garden Gallery: Beatrix Farrand in Maine
• Influential Women Landscape Designers You Should Know
• How to find your Esopus Spitzenburg (Favorite rare apple) – A guide to Regional Heirloom Fruit
• Three Cheers for a Hotel & Landscape Regeneration Project
• Before & After: Bruce John Riddell’s Maine Slope