March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Camden club plans 53rd garden tour

CAMDEN — The Camden Garden Club’s 53rd annual Open House and Garden Day will take place 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. July 20, rain or shine. There will be eight houses and-or gardens on the tour this year. Tickets, a descriptive brochure and tour map are $20. Admission to any single stop on the tour will be $3.

Tickets will be on sale the day of the tour at Rockport Elementary School at the corner of Route 1 and Highway 90, or at any house or garden location. Tickets are on sale in advance at Hoboken Gardens, Plants Unlimited and The Whitehall Inn.

A car is necessary because it is not a walking tour. The John Street United Methodist Church will serve a salad and sandwich luncheon for $7 per person from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The first stop on the tour is a home with spectacular views of Penobscot Bay. The second stop is a Victorian home built in 1886, which the owner has spent four years restoring to its present condition.

The third stop is a steeply sloped oceanfront site, with entry bridge over Ott Brook, a farmhouse with enclosed perennial garden, a cottage, wildflower garden, pergola and formal garden.

Next stop is a home planned by owners and built to their specifications in 1985. Stonework abounds in the interior with a granite fireplace and Monson slate hearth.

The gardens are an ongoing project with all planting, care and maintenance done by the owners. Metal sculptures and artful lighting highlight their beauty.

Gardens at the next stop reflect the life work of the owners who have spent years in India and England. Their contemplative garden reflects the influence of both hemispheres. More than 500 tons of rock were brought in to create spaces now interspersed with more than 1,000 species of plants. This garden is open to the public once every five years.

The next stop has been a Camden landmark for more than 100 years. The current owners purchased the carriage house in 1998. During the next 10 months they constructed a home within the shell of the castle. The carriage house has 15 rooms, three granite fireplaces, 10- and 20-foot ceilings and a wine cellar.

The design and furnishings of the next stop reflect the owner’s eclectic tastes. Recycled antique pine floors and fir ceilings lend warmth while skylights fill the place with sun. A hidden Zen garden lends a charming water element.

The final stop is a white Victorian gambrel house built in 1900. It is landscaped with many species of trees, shrubs and perennial flowers. Colorful beds lead to a wisteria-covered pergola.

The Camden Garden Club is a nonprofit organization. Proceeds from the tour fund civic projects such as youth scholarships and town beautification projects.

This 53-year-old tradition has been made possible by the generosity of area residents who open their homes and gardens to visitors. The Garden Club is indebted to these people, and to many other area residents, businesses and town officials who have made the tour a summer celebration for midcoast Maine and our friends from away.


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