Dear Friend,
Thank you for celebrating a fabulous summer season with us on Mount Desert Island. Here at the Land & Garden Preserve, we enjoyed welcoming thousands of visitors to our three astonishingly beautiful gardens and 1000+ acres of natural lands.
I want to congratulate our team on a very successful season. The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden was planted two weeks earlier than usual thanks to cooperative weather and excellent planning by Erin Dilworth, Brenna Sellars and their teams at the Abby Garden and McAlpin Farm led by Cassie Banning. The early start allowed the plants to fill in beautifully for the beginning of the season. The garden looked glorious from opening day in July right up to closing day on September 8.
You may be surprised to learn that after the garden closes to the public, the team leaves the beds in place to finish blooming out for the fall. This practice enables us to provide valuable nectar for late-season pollinators, and for the many hummingbirds that rely on the garden to fuel up before their long migration to Central and South America.
This was the first season during which Thuya Garden was managed under the leadership of Ben Boegehold, who previously worked in production at McAlpin Farm and gardened at the Abby before his promotion to Garden Manager at Thuya. He is a quick study and has absorbed the traditions of the garden while showing a real eagerness to evolve them to reflect ever-changing best practices in horticulture. He and the Thuya team have tackled many of the less glamorous gardening jobs that are typically unnoticed by visitors, including much needed turf repair and restoration. The details count in gardening, and the Thuya team does a wonderful job attending to them.
At the Asticou Azalea Garden, Mary Roper and her team pulled off a stunning Lantern Stroll, complete with a paper dragon that accentuated the meticulous placement of the rocks in the newer section of the garden. As always, Mary’s eye is finely tuned. Frequently as I stroll through Asticou, I am delighted to discover Mary imparting her knowledge developed over decades as she trains the next generation of garden stewards. The specialized style of gardening at Asticou is unique, and one of our key responsibilities is to ensure that we maintain a strong bench of gardeners who know the practices and standards.
At all three gardens, our greeters provided guests with a warm sense of welcome and hospitality, and our docents and volunteers contextualized the fascinating history and the interconnectedness between the gardens and landscapes of the Preserve.
Among the many features that make the Preserve a truly singular place is the connection between our gardens and our breathtaking natural lands. This summer, our natural lands crew led by Tate Bushell and dedicated volunteers meticulously cared for our paths and carriage roads, they completed repairs to the historic 1917 Cobblestone Bridge, and they rebuilt wooden bridges that traverse Jordan Stream to accommodate the high spring flows that previously overtook the old bridges, which were lower and therefore rendered un-crossable during some parts of the year.
Behind the scenes, our horticulture production crew was busy propagating thousands of plants for use across the Preserve in both the gardens and the natural lands. Our Facilities team led by Jesse Hartson managed to complete workspace improvement projects, undertake an ambitious restoration of the Rest House, which will become the home to our forthcoming Roc Caivano Artist in Residence Program, and prepare for the expansion of Greenrock, which will transform into our new administrative headquarters when it is completed in early 2026.
The upshot is that the Preserve is fortunate to have a dedicated and passionate team who accomplish a lot during a packed summer. The work does not end when the gardens close! As gardeners, we have the great privilege of spending hours poring over the seed catalogs and meticulously designing the borders which will welcome you next summer. The greenhouse crew has already been busy propagating stock plants which will provide cuttings for the gardens for 2025—the business of fine gardening never ceases! Projects continue in the natural lands, too. With luck, we will have long stretches of frozen ground which makes for easier management and knock on wood, we will be spared from any major winter storms.
As you may remember, this was my first season as CEO of the Preserve. On a personal note, I want to thank you for welcoming me to Mount Desert Island with warmth and grace. This is an astoundingly powerful and special place, and the Preserve plays an outsized role in preserving the history, traditions, and ecologies of the Island. I could not be prouder of the work that we do, and I thank you for being a part of this wonderful journey together. If I don’t see you hiking the Preserve this winter, or on one of my forays to other parts of the country to meet with supporters, I cannot wait to see you again next summer.
With thoughts for a pleasant autumn,
Patrick MacRae, CEO
Katherine Emery Photography
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