Abby Aldrich Rockefeller's Secret Garden

Maine is full of secrets, and a really good one is the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor. Designed in the late 1920's by renowned landscape designer and local Mt. Desert Islander Beatrix Farrand in close collaboration with Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., it is a historic piece of pristine but complex landscaping. In this unique garden, inspiration from the east surrounds inspiration from the west. Tucked seamlessly into the vast and lush natural setting, the garden has been passed from generation to generation and remarkably, remains in its original location, in close to its original form. (The 100 room Rockefeller residence it once accompanied, called The Eyrie, no longer stands.) This very secret garden is only open to the public for a few days per year at the peak of the bloom. I feel lucky to have experienced it two years in a row.