The
Gardens
How
do they describe it in professional basketball, "transition"?
That's a pretty good characterization of our gardens which
hardly existed five years ago. While I have operated The Inn
at Bath for over 12 years now, getting around to creating
gardens, a passion of mine, unfortunately has taken a back
seat to improvements and renovation inside the building. My
concept has always been to create a series of individual "garden
rooms" which would eventually encircle the entire building
on our roughly 1/3 acre - an idea given to me long ago by
a professional garden design lady from West Virginia who used
to summer here. The concept called for each garden room, except
for the western garden alongside Washington Street, having
an entrance, central pathway and exit through fairly extensive
use of gates, arbors, latticework, and stone and brick walls.
I guess it's been about four years since I had the good fortune
to run into Tricia Losornio(1), a very talented garden designer
and landscaper from Round Pond, Maine who has been the creative
force behind the development of all our gardens. We started
with the area bordering our off-street parking area and the
area on the north side of our building's foundation and worked
our way through the creation of our second major project,
the sizable garden bordering the corner
of Washington and North Streets.
  
Because of my love of rhododendrons, deciduous azaleas and
mountain laurel (kalmia), I again had the good fortune
to find a person who is one of our area's "hidden jewels"
- Tom York (2) of West Bath. Tom has the most magnificent
collection of these beauties, over 200, as well as 21 varieties
of magnolias, I have ever come across. He has helped us design
and furnished the stock for our fairly extensive rhody/azalea/laurel
presentations throughout all our gardens.
   
  
Our fourth major garden project was the western garden bordering
The Washington Street side of The Inn which
we are still developing. Our fifth project, which started
several years ago also borders Washington Street and runs
along the south side of the building's front door latticework
fence framing a rose and climbing hydrangea arbor and "saloon"
doors which lead you through to our handicap ramp and eventually
another new garden room "to come".
  
  
This spring, we are undertaking a major new project which
includes a two-level bluestone patio with "sitting" wall,
a covered structure that we plan to call our "Asian Shelter"
and a large new southern-exposure garden which will have specimen
roses, herbs, cutting flowers and possibly a small waterfall
and brook.
 
 
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(1) Tricia's business is called Gardens by EarthArts
and she can be reached at (207) 529-4714.
(2) Tom York's Nursery and Display Garden (207-443-5865) has
almost 240 specimen Maine-hardy plants and ornamental trees.
Tom puts out annually, a free comprehensive plant catalogue.
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