Baker Island in Maine is one of the outermost Cranberry isles located at the southwestern entrance to Frenchman Bay. A majority of the 162-acre property is owned by Acadia National Park and preserves a historical 19th century Light Station and homestead along with many archeological artifacts found along its shores.
During my most recent visit to Maine with family and friends, my niece, Sophie Herbert Slater, and her family had the opportunity to visit Baker Island and learn about its rich past.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Baker Island is best known for its Light Station, built in 1828 on the order of President John Quincy Adams to warn mariners nearby.
The island is accessible by private boat or chartered water taxis. (Photo by Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)
Here’s Captain Aubin Dupree.
Beginning in 1806 and lasting for more than 120 years, Baker Island was home to William and Hannah Gilley and their descendants. (Photo by Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)
The tour group walked the grounds that were once used for growing crops and raising oxen, cattle, sheep and other farm animals. (Photo by Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)
Sophie’s husband, Dan Slater, looks down from the top of the Lighthouse. which is still in use today. (Photo by Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)
Sophie, Silas and Felix also climbed to the top. (Photo by Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)
These are the wrought iron stairs of the Lighthouse Station.
Beautiful views of the island and Frenchman Bay in the distance.
Many of the historical structures of the Gilley Family, including the home, are still standing.
Here’s another view of the family home and Lighthouse Station.
The barns were built for the family’s many animals. (Photo by Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)
Here is the Baker Island Cemetery.
Dan, Sophie, Silas, and Felix after a very interesting and informative tour of Baker Island.
Early June is such an exciting time here at my farm. It's when my herbaceous peony garden is blooming with brilliant pinks and whites!
Every year, I’m always amazed by the dazzling display of these beautiful flowers. It’s definitely one of the most anticipated sights - we all wait patiently for the floral show. Friends and family love the peonies as much as I do and rush to see them in all their splendor. When I first planted this garden, I knew I wanted many, many peonies in one large area. I chose a location across from my Winter House, where there's lots of room and full sun - a perfect spot outside my window.
Enjoy these photos.
Of all the flowers at my farm, one of the most anticipated is the sight of these blooming herbaceous peonies. Everyone is always so excited to see this peony garden explode with color.
Before the flowers appear, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew put up stakes, so the peonies are well-supported as they grow. We use natural twine and metal uprights I designed myself for this purpose. I also make sure the beds are well fed and mulched – maintenance is very important.
Not long after, one can see hundreds of buds atop their stems. When I first planted my peony garden, I focused on pink varieties, and planted 11-double rows of 22-peony types. I chose the varieties for their colors, their forms and their long blooming periods.
By the end of May, the blooms appear. One of the reasons these peonies thrive here at my farm is because of the soil. It has a pH of 6.5 to 7.0, which is ideal. It is also amended with superphosphate and Azomite, a natural product mined from an ancient mineral deposit in Utah. These natural additives improve root systems and overall plant vigor, resulting in this fantastic profusion of blooms.
Look at the transformation – rows and rows of gorgeous blooms.
The peony is any plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America.
There are approximately 33 to 40 different species of peony.
Peonies are one of the best-known and most dearly loved perennials – not surprising considering their beauty, trouble-free nature, and longevity.
Peony blooms range from simple blossoms to complex clusters with a variety of petal forms.
The peony’s fragrance can vary, but most have sweet, clean scents. And, do you know… pink peonies tend to have stronger fragrances than red peonies? Double form white peonies are also very aromatic.
Flower colors come in pink, white, yellow, red, and coral and the various shades and tints of each.
The majority of peonies are hybrids and classified as herbaceous, or as deciduous tree peonies. The peony is showy, frilly with tuberous root systems.
Peonies are considered northern flowers – they tolerate and even prefer cold winter temperatures. They are hardy in zones 3 through 8 and need more than 400-hours of temperatures below 40-degrees Fahrenheit annually to break dormancy and bloom properly.
For the most part, peonies are disease resistant. They do, however, take some time to get established, so be patient. And if you happen to see ants crawling on your peonies, don’t worry. The insects are attracted to the sugary syrup produced by the buds. Once the flower opens fully, and the sucrose has been finished, the ants disappear.
Among the varieties in my collection – ‘Elsa Sass’, ‘Victorian Blush’, ‘Fringed Ivory’, ‘Martha’, ‘Madylone’, ‘Lullaby Coos’, ‘Vivid Glow’, ‘Angel Cheeks’, ‘Miss America’ and ‘Flying Pink Saucers.’
This peony is soft pink with many petals. The petals are part of the large, layered blooms that can reach up to 10 inches in diameter.
Here, the outer petals are medium pink, the inner petals are light pink and white, and the center stamens are red.
And I have more outside my main greenhouse! I love planting them en masse – look at all the gorgeous blooms!
This is a favorite with light pink petals and a dark pink center.
Here’ one in crisp white.
And a gorgeous deep red peony that’s bigger than one’s hand.
The only disadvantage of peonies is that each field yields one crop of cut flowers for a couple of weeks only once a year, and then that’s it – until the next season when they bloom with splendor once again.
So much is growing and blooming at my farm, especially in my flower garden.
The perennial flower cutting garden is located just outside my main greenhouse at the foot of my long clematis pergola. Every year, I add a number of flowering plants to this collection. And right now it is bursting with vibrant colors - the poppies, peonies, Baptisia, lupines, columbines, and irises are all putting on quite a show.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This garden bed is just outside my fenced flower cutting garden – both are among the first ones seen when visiting my farm.
I wanted the plants to be mixed, so every bed in this garden would be interesting and colorful.
I grow many alliums here at the farm and they continue to bloom so beautifully. These easy-to-grow bulbs come in a broad palette of colors, heights, bloom times, and flower forms. They make excellent cut flowers for fresh or dried bouquets. What’s more, alliums are relatively resistant to deer, voles, chipmunks, and rabbits.
Here are some of the many lupines. These flowers are attractive and spiky, reaching one to four feet in height. Lupine flowers may be annual and last only for a season or perennial, returning for a few years in the same spot in which they were planted.
The lupine plant grows from a long taproot and loves full sun. The flowers are produced in dense or open whorls on an erect spike, each flower about one to two centimeters long. The pea-like flowers have an upper standard, or banner, two lateral wings, and two lower petals fused into a keel.
Look at them exploding with rich colors.
The leaves of the lupine are also quite interesting. They are grey-green with silvery hairs. They are palmately compound in groups of nine to 17. Leaflets are two to five inches long, and up to an inch wide.
These are the large leaves of Rodgersia – a genus of flowering plants in the Saxifragaceae family. Rodgersia are herbaceous perennials originating from east Asia. The common name is Roger’s Flower.
And here are the Rodgersia flowers. These tiny white to pink flowers arrive in late spring into midsummer.
These bearded iris flowers get their common name from their blooms, which consist of upright petals called “standards,” pendant petals called “falls,” and fuzzy, caterpillar-like “beards” that rest atop the falls.
This is the tall and stately foxglove plant, Digitalis purpurea. These add lovely vertical interest to any garden. Foxglove flowers grow on stems which may reach up to six feet in height, depending on the variety.
Baptisia produces loads of sturdy spikes filled with rich pea-like blossoms that emerge in mid to late spring. The showy terminal flower spikes are followed by inflated seed pods. The pea-like flowers are attractive to butterflies and other insect pollinators.
This is Baptisia ‘Carolina Moonlight’. This plant produces rich buttery yellow pea-like blossoms.
The columbine plant, Aquilegia, is an easy-to-grow perennial that blooms in a variety of colors during spring.
Here is a white columbine flower. On this, bright apple-green foliage forms under the tall stems bearing pure white flowers and short curled spurs.
Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris, grows along both sides of the path of my cutting garden. It is a clumping perennial which typically forms a mound of long-stalked, circular, scallop-edge light green leaves, with tiny, star-shaped, chartreuse flowers.
Oriental poppy blossoms, Papaver orientale, last only a week or two, but during that time, they provide one of the high points of the gardening season with its bold colors. The flowers appear to be fashioned of crepe paper and can be more than six-inches across on stems up to three-feet in height.
I have peonies in this garden, but I also have a garden filled with only herbaceous peonies in shades of pink and white. Peonies love cooler climates where they get pronounced winter chill. Some will do well in warmer areas. All are also worth a try in dappled shade.
The peonies are just bursting everywhere right now. These are in a bed just outside my flower garden.
I am so proud of all the gorgeous plants and flowers that bloom in my gardens. And this year everything is showing off so wonderfully.
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