Gardening in Maine

How could I go to Maine and not talk of gardening? It seems everything grows bigger and better in Maine. Texas has it all wrong! For huge plants, New England and Maine are the place to go. I will share some of my favorites with you, though it is never the same as being there I hope you enjoy.



My non-gardening sister "I can't see why ANYONE would ever garden!" works in the town office of her and my mother's small town. I NEVER thought I would see the day our family was kind of involved in politics at its best-the small town type. She told us the garden in front of the town office and a historical building in town were maintained by the local garden club. We had to check it out and were delighted with the neatness and color of it all. Mr. Fix-it loved the cones of the above small tree. I am not sure what kind it is, but I bet it won't grow here in Tennessee. Isn't it textural?

Here is a larger view of the garden in front of the town hall. You can just see the pine cones in the left of the picture. These are from the same tree I posted above this picture. My sister tells me the town allots exactly $100 per year for the maintenance of this garden. It doesn't sound like much but evidently it does the job. There are a few perennials, but mostly annuals. The garden is changed to reflect the seasons and I hear the fall display is excellent.

The above daylily is probably an heirloom daylily. It is growing in my mother's garden and was planted by my grandmother. I thought it very neat and grabbed a bit of the huge clumps to bring back to Tennessee. Despite 22 hours in the back of a pick up, these daylilies are still blooming and finally planted in the ground. Does anyone recognize this type? Frances?

These hostas were at the local nursery. Our small little town is blessed to have a family run nursery right in town. I have visited this nursery since I was a teenager. I still love to go. I made quite a few purchases with the help of Mr. Fix-it. I wish you could see these hostas. They are all fully 4-5 feet across! I have NEVER seen hostas that big. I am sure they have not been growing in this position for more than one or two years. I do not remember them on my visit to this same nursery last year. Hostas seem to do better up north where it is colder and not as humid. They truly love Maine.

This is the lovely hip from a rugosa rose. I like these roses but have found they don't do well down here in the south. Some tell me they do, but I have never seen them growing anywhere. Has anyone seen a good stand of rugosas? These were growing on the beach in Maine and fit in well everywhere.

Lastly, let me share a few of the plants I purchased in Maine. On our way into our little town there was a sign on the side of the road that said, "PLANT SALE, SAT-SUN 9-12". That was a big deal to me. Sunday morning I was there. The woman who was selling the plants was scheduled to be on the Garden Tour the very next weekend. I was surprised she was selling plants, but she said she had to make room to plant some new things. She had a beautiful perennial border all around her backyard. It was filled with color. I enjoyed talking with her very much. I bought some perennials here and also at a local nursery in town. My mother also gave me several other plants in addition to the daylilies. And believe it or not, I got some Siberian irises from my non-gardening-"I can't see why ANYONE would ever garden!" sister. I love them all and feel like I got some great plants. Many of these plants are not plants you will find here in nurseries or big box stores, even though they will all grow in our zone. When I spoke to the nursery owner she said regional preferences and differences dictate what is sold where. What a shame. I once had a nursery person tell me that if you can't buy a plant here, then it doesn't grow here. Funny and not true! I have had great luck with all of the plants I purchased up north last year. I expect the same from this batch I will soon be adding to my garden this year.

One of our blogging friends here at In the Garden is Jillybean of The Post-it Place. Jillybean commented on here and answered a question about some DD's I asked of my readers. She got a surprise in the mail when I packed them up and sent them to her Georgia! The blogging relationship has progressed from there and Jillybean, I am still hoping for that special dinner one day! Well anyhow, Jillybean sponsors many contests. I actually won a $25 gift certificate to a nice restaurant on a contest she ran a while back. Dave at The Home Garden was a close second behind me. Remember Dave? Another tidbit is that Jillybean and Skeeter have met in person and both Skeeter and I love Jillybean's barbecue sauce. Thanks again to Jillybean for sending me a special jar of it via Skeeter! Jillybean is sponsoring a contest for a multi-slicer. All of us vegetable gardeners or just vegetable lovers need one don't we? So you all use the link and go visit Jillybean, you may just get lucky like I did a while back and win yourself a multi-slicer, though I am seriously hoping for it to grace my kitchen.

Tomorrow's post will cover my mother's vegetable garden in Maine. So tune....

in the garden....