June is the time to visit the renowned Asticou Azalea Garden, a serene blending of Down East Maine landscape with finishing touches of ancient Japanese gardening.
On June 10, when these images were taken, many of the famous Azaleas were in full bloom and the Rhododendrons buds were about to explode.
The Garden is located in Northeast Harbor in an area of amazing waters that the Native Americans called “asticou,” a boiling kettle.
The Garden was conceived by Charles Savage in the 1950s, primarily as an area to relocate many of the exquisite azaleas and trees in the nearby Bar Harbor garden of Beatrix Farrand, the pioneer American landscape architect.
Ms. Farrand famously asked: “Should it not be remembered that in setting a garden we are painting a picture?”
With financial help from John D. Rockefeller, the Asticou Azalea Garden was completed in 1957. It’s now a popular attraction to garden lovers worldwide.
The primary focal point of the Garden is Asticou Pond, which is surrounded by a landscape that evolves throughout the gardening year -- from flowering cherry trees in May to blazing fall leaves in October.
(Northeast Harbor, Maine)