24 
House & Garden 
v\ natever the reasonable 
demand of the gardener 
may be, here is his satis¬ 
faction. If he ask for 
health and vigor of 
growth, for brilliance of 
color, for a reasonably 
long season and a large 
variety, here he will find 
what he asks for. And 
if he should request a 
romantic setting, a gar¬ 
den that is a very part 
of the sun and the air 
and the soil of this ro¬ 
mantic northern island, 
he will find no denial. 
There is a reason for 
this perfection of gar¬ 
dens. Where wild flowers 
grow in profusion and 
strength, there will a 
well-watched g a r d e n 
thrive. Mount Desert is 
the very home of wild 
flowers. Professor M. L. 
Fernald, of Harvard 
University, wrote after 
twenty-five years of in¬ 
vestigation, “This ex¬ 
traordinary accumulation 
within one small area of 
the typical plants of the 
arctic realm, of the Ca¬ 
nadian zone, and in 
many cases of the south¬ 
ern coastal plain, cannot 
be duplicated at any 
point known to the 
writer.” 
I hese wild plants of 
various latitudes, which find their home on 
Mount Desert, are always sure of cool nights. 
However hot the day may have been, after the 
sun sets the cool air sweeps in from the sea 
over the island, the dew is heavy, and the 
plants are refreshed. So they are never weak 
or puny. Plentiiul moisture comes in again 
by day from the sea. The heavily wooded 
reaches of spruce, pine and hemlock aid by 
retaining much moisture in the soil. When 
cultivated, the wild flowers attain much greater 
size, like the Solomon’s seal of the Farrand 
The regular planting of the 
Murray Young garden, its bright 
colors set off by the dark spruces 
and pines, softens to informality 
along a low stone wall. The 
crests of Flying Squadron and 
Champlain mark the skyline 
When wild flowers, like the meadow 
rue in the Farrand garden, are 
transplanted with care they attain 
wonderful size and profusion of 
bloom. Against the dark green of 
the forest wall they show to per¬ 
fection. Mrs. Farrand herself de¬ 
signed the garden scheme 
The charm of different levels is 
evident in the garden of Mrs. John 
S. Kennedy. Three old millstones 
have been set in as steps, flanked 
by a low retaining wall with gera¬ 
niums bedded at its base. Here, as 
in other Bar Harbor gardens, trees 
form the background 
