My Maine "Vacation"

Well it's been over a week since I returned but the "crud" knocked me down and it's taken me forever to get my photos organized to share with you. Most of you know my "summer projects" were put on hold when I traveled to Maine to landscape my daughter and son-in-law's new home. I probably won't get everything posted today but I'll start it off with a few photos from our visit to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. http://www.mainegardens.org/ I've been wanting to visit these gardens ever since they opened three years ago and it just so happened the second weekend I was there they were holding their second annual Garden Fair! The weather wasn't cooperating with my planting schedule but fortunately, even though they received 4" of rain the day before, the rain subsided just long enough for our visit to CMBG. The gardens were absolutely incredible and hard to believe they were so "young" - the plantings were so lush and everything was HUGE! I was disappointed however that a lot of my photos were MIA - I was so excited and frantically snapping pics so quickly that I guess I wasn't paying attention and didn't press the button on the camera all the way down :(

This planter was located along one of the paths and perched at the top of the stone ledges which were throughout the gardens. The planter was made by Lunaform, another place I've wanted to visit for years along the Maine coast. Their pieces are beautiful but a little too pricey for my budget! http://www.lunaform.com/index.html

Another photo giving you a better idea of where the planter was placed on the ledge.

Taken from a distance, the Visitor Center on the left and the new Lerner Garden of the Five Senses and new plantings which were unveiled in June. http://www.mainegardens.org/discover/Garden-of-the-Five-Senses.php

The Rose and Perennial Garden pergola which is located above the terraced gardens below with trails leading to the shore and waterfall.

Looking down from the pergola, it's hard to see from this picture, but the S-curved trail leads you through the Conifer plantings and ends on a plateau with a lovely stone pool and fountain overlooking the shore trail. I took 3-4 shots of this view but only one actually made it - just clicking too fast!

Back on the trail leading through the woodland gardens, on the right in the back of this photo shows some of the largest Hosta 'Krossa Regal' I've ever seen! On the far right, you can barely make out a gentleman's arm, to give you some idea of their size - I swear, these Hostas were over 3' tall! Everything looked like they were on steroids and not just one or two of each plant, but giant sweeps of them! I took a photo of one of the plantings of Astilbe 'Vision in Red' (another photo which never made it) - there must have been 50 individual plants in the planting!

This hillside will look spectacular when the Hydrangeas are blooming! All of the Kousa Dogwoods were in full bloom and the ornamental Rhubarb at the top of the photo was spectacular.

A close up of the Rhubarb foliage with Virginia Fringe Tree blooming in the background.

I took several pictures of the beautiful plantings of Hosta but this is the only one I have. Lakeside Shore Master, again at least a dozen or more planted together for impact!

Along the same woodland trail, a common sight - nature at work, no gardener necessary! Looking down from these ledges, pink Ladyslippers could be seen throughout the woodlands.

What was most amazing to me were the combinations which could be used in the cooler climate of the coastal location. We saw huge specimens of Hosta, Lady's Mantle, Cimicifugas and Heucheras all planted in full sun! One combination planted here: Corydalis, Dicentra, Chrysoganum with Hens and Chicks!

My only regret is that the weather wasn't better because we never even made it to the trails along the shore which led to the waterfall - next visit! Last one of the gardens, one of the newer plantings. Outstanding red Lupines combined with the soft yellow flowers of a plant I can't remember and blue Fescue grass in front. What impressed me the most was how the plantings were designed to enhance the natural surroundings - probably one of the most beautiful botanical gardens I've ever visited!

Now for the report on the actual purpose of my "vacation" - the landscaping project! All things considered we were fairly successful in getting almost everything accomplished in the week I was there. Left bright and early on a Friday morning, only to encounter a "snag" two hours later :( I-81 had been closed in WV because of an accident involving a gas tanker earlier in the morning! A quick detour in Winchester to avoid the backed up traffic led me through Frederick, MD and finally back to I-81 at Harrisburg. On a positive note, I found the most beautiful state park, Catoctin Mountain State Park, just above Frederick when I stopped to give Phoebe a break! We had plans to stop there on our return home but we were just too tired plus it was still raining. After spending a week in the rain gardening, all I wanted to do was get home! With traffic delays in CT and MA, extra stops to give Phoebe a break, I finally arrived in Maine 17 hours later - normally it's a 12-13 hr trip :( Beautiful weather the first day and Phoebe and I headed to the shore for her first trip to the ocean!

Most of the beaches don't allow dogs but this one was open until 8 AM and after 5 PM. Phoebe was thrilled to meet so many new friends!

Later in the week she had an opportunity to make more friends, my son's roommate's dogs, Pal and Ozzie.

After spending the day scoping out the local nurseries, taking measurements, lining up sources of topsoil, mulch and stone, Phoebe and I had a chance to relax in the evening in the area where we would eventually be building a new firepit. My son in law caught a quick shot of us with his cell phone :)

By morning the rain had returned and our plans were cancelled to start with the rototilling :( We finally got bored waiting for the rain to subside, put on our raincoats and decided we could at least get started digging for the firepit.

By the end of the day the firepit was done and we had our first camp fire! The next day, landscape cloth had been laid and a load of stone dust applied to keep the area free of weeds.

My plan was to have a taller tree along the driveway but my daughter didn't want anything tall in that area. Change of plans, if we could just get that rock moved from the edge of the woods, it would be perfect for the corner of the beds I was planning! My son dragged it as far as he could with his truck and then all they had to do was "flip" it a few times to get it into position! He finally cheated and drove across the front lawn and dragged it into place. LOL

Debbie, I've been anticipating hearing about and seeing photos of your Maine trip!

I took the week off from work, and have been working outside from sunup to sundown - mostly weeding and general yard cleanup so far. Sounds crazy, but I've been truly enjoying myself - I actually like pulling weeds LOL. I have music playing on the outdoor speakers, jump in the pond to cool off when I get hot, sit on the dock and eat when I get hungry, and have my dog Jordan to keep my company (she even swims out to the raft to float with me on the pond :-)) It has been absolutely wonderful!!!

I'll check for more photos when I come in for my next break... Terri

I posted this on the Summer Projects thread but I'll post it again for those who haven't seen it. This is my daughter and son-in-law's new home, before and after with the front porch painted and enclosed, which I'll be landscaping.

LOL Terri, sounds like you're enjoying yourself and everything about your week off sounds wonderful! My only regret about my trip to Maine is that I didn't have enough time to relax!

Also posted on the other thread the "design". By Monday morning the skies have cleared just enough to jump in the truck and pick up the rototiller!

My daughter had to work on Monday so my goal was to have everything rototilled, the path at least started and possibly some planting done before she got home later in the day! By mid afternoon, everything had been rototilled, rototiller returned and pavers picked up for the path, and the landscape cloth was laid for the path from the front steps. I sent my son and son-in-law off to pick up a load of stone dust while I continued placing the pavers along the path. We basically finished with the path and planting of the trees and shrubs by the time my daughter arrived home and she was pleased :) We still needed to pick up more stone dust and a few more pavers to edge the beds along the driveway but Tuesday morning the sun was shining and with the extra help from my daughter things were looking good with only two days' work!

A different view of the front path. The stone dust initially looks "white" but once it was hosed down the chalky color turned more gray. Most of the shrubs to the left of the path were chosen for their height - they shouldn't be much taller than the porch railing. We had chosen a shorter blue Spruce for this area but missed out when we didn't pick it up the first day. When we returned, all three beautiful specimens had already been sold :(

My daughter had purchased two trellises (on my recommendation :) to be hung on the east and west sides of the house which are tall and "bare". We needed something to build up for planting a Rose to climb this trellis and opted to build a semi-circular planter with the same pavers used along the front path since she didn't want the entire area enclosed. We then added a planted container to fill the void between this area and the edge of the bed. I've "pasted" three photos together to show you the full area.

Not much exciting here but after all the rain we decided to add a few more cement pavers at the steps to help with all the gravel we'd been tracking in the back door.

Along the driveway at the side of the back steps we opted for a planter which could eventually be moved when they're finally able to build their garage. My son, Ben, was able to work under the cover of the front porch when it was raining on Sunday morning and did a superb job with the construction of this planter. By Tuesday Emily had it painted and after a late afternoon trip to the nearest nursery we already had it planted! Hibiscus 'Fireball' in the center, Stargazer and Casa Blanca Lilies on either side so she'll enjoy their sweet fragrance right by the door, deep burgundy Snapdragons (one of her favorites from childhood), Dusty Miller, Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' and 'Blackie' Sweet Potato Vine to eventually trail down over the edges.

More pics later!

This message was edited Jul 1, 2009 8:00 AM

Beautiful, Debbie and how nice to see Phoebe! That planter is stunning and that big stone area with the thyme I assume planted between the stones is too. I think that's lupines in the background there?

Great pics of the botanical gardens.

Looks wonderful, I can wait to see it when the plants are all full.

Love the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, will have to put that on my "must see" list for when we get up north.
Your daughter's home is looking more beautiful in every slide. LOL on that rock moving. That fire pit will be a great place to lounge on a cool evening after work or weekend with a few friends. Love the planter box really makes a big difference for that side entrance(?) looks much more substantial. I noticed the trellis even before you pointed it out. They will look wonderful when filled in. What about a Clematis to go with the roses? That front walkway looks just lovely. Waiting for more pics, when you have time. LOL

Nice tour, what a beautiful natural garden, and you projects look great too. ^_^

Finally have a chance to continue the tour!

Hart, Phoebe had an absolute ball on her vacation :) Lots of "firsts" for her on this trip - first trip to Maine and a romp in the ocean, first doggie sundae, first time meeting my son, his dogs AND my mother - who normally isn't a "dog person" but she loved Phoebe :) First time meeting turkeys - a flock of six were walking through my daughter's backyard one morning! First time on an elevator! AND, first time meeting the "cat", my daughter's cat, Belle! I love her cat but she definitely has an attitude! Not only did I have to get Matt to remove her from the stairs when she attacked me as I tried to get into my room, on one occasion when I was in the shower I heard all this commotion only to open the door and find Phoebe cowering next to the bed where Belle had chased and cornered her! You'd never suspect she's such a brat looking at this picture - relaxing after we left for a day to visit my mother :)

Oops, and yes, those were Lupines in that photo, the most beautiful color of cherry red, just stunning! I just can't rave enough about those gardens, I wish more of my photos had come out :( One of them I took of the 'Hillside Black Beauty' Cimicifuga was so you could see the size of them, the base of the stems were almost the size of my wrist!

Holly, I had thought about adding a Clematis to climb with the Rose but my daughter thought it would look too "messy"! She's a total newbie - I'm just going to be patient and give her a few years to 'adjust' :) LOL

Jen, I can't wait for everything to fill in! My daughter is continuing to give me reports on how everything is doing - so far only one problem with a larger tree we planted and possible trouble with one of the Hostas. If it ever stops raining up there and the sun finally comes out maybe everything will finally start to grow. At least she hasn't had to water anything!

Okay, on with the tour! A view of the front walk looking back to the driveway. You can see her neighbor's driveway in the background. On the other side of her driveway we planted two Dawn Redwoods http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31760/ at the bottom of the driveway. It's pretty wet there so they should grow quickly and in just a few years will start to block the lower portion of the neighbor's driveway. The tree on the right is a Tricolor Beech http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58512/. I was so pleased to find one for her at the local nursery with such a beautiful form and reasonable price! Between the Redwoods and Beech are two False Spireas http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2622/ which you can't actually see in the photo. They'll quickly grow to 6'-8' and look like giant Astilbes along this edge! On the far left is a Smoke Tree (bush) 'Grace' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/79232/. I brought this one with me and although it's only about 3' high right now, it's another fast grower and should easily fill this corner within three years!

This is another photo of where the area where the Tricolor Beech is planted. Sorry for the red arrows/numbers, I'm trying to work on photos for my daughter with ID's of everything :) This is the driveway turnaround and they wanted a hedge to block the neighbor's view. Tricolor Beech (1) on the left with 4 evergreen Arborvitaes (2) (Thuja occidentalis) planted along the edge of the turnaround with Hosta 'Torchlight' at the base. (3) is a Star Magnolia ('Royal Star' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/80569/) and (4) is a Purple Beautyberry (Callicarpa 'Issai' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/76359/) with Hosta 'Krossa Regal' planted between them and Hosta 'Gold Edger' on the right.

Back to the front walk - there's that rock again :) Dianthus 'Firewitch' planted in front which should fill in around the rock, Campanula 'Blue Eyed Blonde' and Geranium 'Rozanne'. I really wanted something tall planted behind the rock so at the last minute before leaving, I finally talked my daughter into letting me planted one of my favorites, 'Gold Cone' Juniper http://www.helmers.de/pflanzen/nadelgehoelze/juniperus_communis_gold_cone.php here. It's small right now, only about 18" tall, but it grows fast and within 3 years will be taller than the rock!

I couldn't resist - when we were at the Garden Fair at CMBG, I had to buy her a "garden object"! I'm a dragonfly nut and told her she had to have something in her garden to remind her of me :) She accepted the gift graciously but told me that's the ONLY garden whimsy she wants in her garden! LOL

Looking towards the front steps again, it's tough to see the individual plants here but the bright gold Conifer in the front is a Gold Mop Chamaecyparis which will eventually be about the size of the rock. Lady's Mantle and Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' are planted in front of it with a few creeping Thymes to fill in along the edge of pavers. I planted a staggered row of four different Baptisias behind the Gold Mop which will give some height to the area next year. Another lower growing Conifer - Juniperus squamata 'Holger' is planted farther back, behind the purple foliage of Heucheras. It has gorgeous blue foliage with bright gold tips and when it eventually spreads its wings, some of the Heucheras will undoubtedly have to be moved.

Our original plan was to use something like flagstones for the front walk - however our time was limited as well as their budget and we opted for the stone dust. If, or when, they decide to add the flagstones the stone dust will be perfect as a base :) But then we needed a few stones to give them access to the front lawn and bench area without stepping in the beds or having to go all the way around to the driveway. When I was visiting my mother I found the perfect "stones". She had dug up flagstones recently and found a whole stack of thick granite blocks under them! After convincing her to let us have a few for Emily's garden, we found three which were the perfect size to span the bed and easily walk through to the bench :) Heucheras planted on the right, Astilbe and more Heucheras on the left with a burgundy Threadleaf Japanese Maple ('Inaba Shidare' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/77192/).

A closer look at that bench! I had posted a picture of it on one of the "Garden Objects" threads http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=6629710. My daughter wanted to know what my plans were for it :) The slope along the edge here drops off so we built it up with the some of the dirt we dug out for the firepit and added some of the leftover stone dust as a pad for the bench. When the sun finally came out on Tuesday, my daughter got busy and sanded it and painted it white! It still needs a couple more coats of paint but I thought it looked lovely against the backdrop of the woods :) Planted three Taxus 'Margarita', which has bright gold tips and will form a nice deep green background for the bench. Hydrangea 'Quickfire' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/133907/ is planted on the left with a variegated Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parviflora 'Frosty') behind it. Even though the Elm has the potential to get really tall, they'll keep it trimmed so it won't be more than 6'. On the right we planted a row of Hostas and more will be added in the future - we were running out of time! What you can't see in this photo is a Japanese Tree Lilac (Syringa reticulata 'Ivory Silk' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/73483/) just to the right of the Hostas which will form a nice canopy when it matures and an Oakleaf Hydrangea further along the edge of the lawn which completes the border which ends with the Smoke Tree seen earlier.