MOUNT DESERT – Contributions totaling $153,500 have been received in a campaign to triple the endowment for Mount Desert Island’s Asticou Azalea Garden and Thuya Garden, according to Ann Judd, Don Coates and Ken Savage, co-chairmen of the public campaign.

This leaves $520,000 to be raised to bring the endowment to $7.5 million. The Island Foundation maintains the gardens, which are open to the public with a request for contributions. Donations support 15 percent of the operating costs. Oversight by the Island Foundation is intended to maintain each garden’s unique character. Shared administration is an efficient way to preserve these special landscapes far into the future.

Charles Savage of Northeast Harbor, a self-taught landscape designer, created two nationally recognized gardens in the 1950s when Beatrix Farrand, the distinguished landscape architect, decided to dismantle her Reef Point estate in Bar Harbor. She had created an outstanding collection of plants from all parts of the world.

Savage was familiar with her garden and recognized the value of the rare collection. Robert W. Patterson acquired Reef Point and agreed to sell the plants to Savage. With the help of John D. Rockefeller Jr., Savage purchased the collection.

Savage created two gardens. Thuya Garden is an English-style garden. The Asticou Azalea Garden is in a Japanese style and spirit, combining two ponds, a brook and a sand garden.

Both properties were given to the people of Mount Desert. Until recently, they were maintained independently. To preserve these community assets, the gardens have now joined forces with the Island Foundation. A shared endowment fund for the benefit of both has been created to guarantee their financial security.

Mary Roper is head gardener of the Asticou Azalea Garden. Timothy Taylor is superintendent of the Thuya Garden and Asticou Terraces. Beth Straus is chairman of the Azalea Garden Committee. Denholm Jacobs is chairman of the Thuya Garden Committee.