Rock Gardens Inn Blog

Harvest Musings

With the season over we've spent much of the last month or so preparing the property for winter.  Of course we didn't expect winter to arrive quite so quickly, but our brief flirtation with a January landscape has melted away over the last few days.  Fortunately we had most of our winterization done before the snowstorm.

One of most significant projects this fall was an unexpected one.  As many of you know our apple tree by the Nineteenth Hole has seen better days.  Understandable, given its approximately hundred years (estimated from the rings).  Well, this August one of the last remaining major limbs began to let go.  Fortunately Randy was able to prop it up and strap the tree back together.  It is stable once again, and full of a ripe bounty of apples!

Which brings to mind an aspect of Rock Gardens that sometimes gets overlooked for the more obvious charms of the Inn.  In addition to our beautiful coastline, cozy cottages, and wonderful staff, Rock Gardens also takes great care to bring you as much local, sustainable food as possible.  Beyond our apple pie we also grow our own herbs and veggies, buy other veggies from local farms, get berries and other fruit from local pickers and growers, and we get our lobsters from about four miles down the road in Westpoint, and they're caught from the very same waters you see from our cottages.  This connection to our community, and the quality and known provenance of the food it provides is very important to us, and we believe that it comes through in the meals that we serve.

In the spirit of the fall harvest we have included below a couple of pictures featuring a small selection of the food we grow right here on the property.  We hope you enjoy them!

Prep Work!

Opening day is getting closer, and we are using every nice day to full advantage.  Today Will, Andrew, and Ellie scraped and painted the fence, among other tasks.  Anne Trottier worked on our gardens.  Matt Rice began preparing the grounds.  And, of course, Ona and Randy oversaw it all.  Below are some photos from our day.  Enjoy!

Colors of the Fall

With the crisp bite of fall air reminding us that winter is just around the corner, we'd like to take a moment to show you some of the beauty that the transition from summer to winter brings to Maine, as well as some of the activities it brings to the Inn.  Below you can see the gorgeous leaves giving their last, bright hurrah, and some of our flowers, still in bloom despite the chill in the air.  We also have a picture of one of the most quintessential fall symbols, the pumpkin; this one grown by Randy!  And finally a shot of our post-season work, with Randy and Chris working on the roof of Trail's End.  We hope you enjoy this little snapshot of fall at Rock Gardens Inn!

Eat Local!

We like to take every opportunity we can to serve guests local food grown right here on the property.  Today we gathered up some apples and pears from our very own trees, and voila, tonight's dessert: a fruit crisp!  It doesn't get much more local than that!  Enjoy the pics, and if you happen to be staying with us, the crisp!

    

Rock Gardens in Bloom!

As any gardener knows the appropriate mix of rain, sun, and care can yield beautiful results, and that is exactly what we want to share with you today.  Here at the Inn our gardens are in full bloom, and we have a few pictures for those of you who aren't able to share in the experience first hand.  Enjoy!

     

Spring!

Spring has finally made it to Rock Gardens Inn!  Warmth has returned, plants are starting to bloom, and we have begun our yearly spring cleaning of the property with help from Andrew Rice and Kurt Baker.  For those of you who might be interested we have posted a few pics below (including two with Andrew and Kurt).  Enjoy!

 

    

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from all of us here at Rock Gardens Inn!

Today was a gorgeous day at the Inn, giving us a taste of spring a little early.  I spent the day clearing pine boughs from the gardens and making sure everything is ready for a new season.  You can already see the tulips and the daffodils beginning to sprout.  Below you can find a couple of pictures from my day's labors.

I look forward to seeing all of you in just a few short months!

Fall Projects

Fall at Rock Gardens is a quieter time, but certainly not one devoid of labor.  After the Inn closes we set to work, making sure the cottages and grounds are ready for next summer. Painting, roofing, and redecoration are all on the list at the end of the year, along with any minor repair that might be required.

In addition to the work on the cottages, we have to make sure that the gardens are protected with layers of pine branches. The overlapping needles diffuse the effects of frost and offer a framework for layers of protective snow later in the year. We also drain the plumbing system, as well as the pool, to prevent freezing damage.  And we take advantage of the lovely fall weather for all our projects, including Julie's race to paint as many decks as possible before it becomes too cold.

One of the biggest projects this fall was Randy's focus on repairing the roofs, with help from Chris, and from Rob Stevens. They worked atop Cool Ledge, Broadview, the Main House, the 19th Hole, and Trail's End.  We are thankful both for the good help, and for the long stretches of beautiful fall weather, and now both the cottages and the grounds are ready for next year.  We are looking forward to next summer, when you can see the results for yourself.

Sunshine and Rain

Without a doubt this has been one of the rainiest summers I can remember.  Our lawns are saturated in areas where they never have been before.  One of our small cutting gardens has been sitting under water on and off for weeks now; I am amazed that most of the flowers are still alive.

Despite the rain the artists studying here have been very good natured about it all, many staying inside the studio building to work, while a few take cover in our gazebo, or out on the covered dock, to paint.

And on days like today, when the sun comes out and the water sparkles, everyone's mood is lifted, we feel renewed and hope that summer has finally come to Maine.

Springtime at Rock Gardens

We are finally seeing some warm and sunny days now in Maine; it was a very long winter.  We had lots of snow, which made for good days for skiing and snowshoeing, but also led to numerous power outages and downed tree limbs.

With the sunshine, I have been taking every opportunity to be outside, working in the gardens; beginning by taking off the protective cover of straw and pine boughs we cover the gardens with in winter.

Most of the plants have wintered well, new shoots starting to pop up, the crocus already in bloom.  Here on the coast of Maine we are usually at two weeks behind towns like Bath and Brunswick, and at least a month behind the cities in the Northeast such as New York and Boston.

O.B.