We started nearly 300 Dahlia plants during the first week in April (plenty of snow still on the ground and 25°F) and they are now rewarding us with their colorful blooms. They are all so beautiful but our pick of the week is the lavender white beauty April Dawn.

April Dawn

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Lots of late spring color right now,  here are a few pics of  some plants currently in bloom.

One of our many perennial gardens

A patch of bright orange-red Oriental Poppies stands out along our 200 foot long serpentine garden.

Spires of Lupines Lend Height And Texture To The Garden

Lupines are in bloom, we have  the traditional purple, white, and pink variety blooming throughout the gardens.

Colorful Mix Of Hosta Plants

Hosta plants almost completely fanned out.

rose arbor garden

Purple, lavender, and yellow German Iris align the pathway leading through our rose arbor garden.

A shade garden

These Rhododendrons pack a colorful punch in one of our shade gardens on the Northwest side of the property.

Some photos of our favorite Iris in bloom. The Yellow Flag Iris was started from seed and took 3 years before it reached maturity.

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The time has come once again for us to dig up our Dahlia tubers and prepare them for winter storage. A substantial undertaking as any one of our guests can attest to due to the number of plants that we grow.

Cutting Down Our Dahlias

All Dahlias are cut down leaving enough stem for a handle, this allows for us to attach a tag to the stem identifying each Dahlia variety. It also aids us in transferring the Dahlia clumps to the rinsing station after we dig them up.

Ready For Digging Up

To date, we have not had a frost which is unusual at this time, so psychologically  it was not easy cutting down these beautiful plants that were still pumping out  spectacular blooms.

Mingus Nichole

Taiheiyo

Show-N-Tell

Mingus Nichole, Taiheiyo, and Show-N-Tell were a mere few that were remarked upon by our guests for their extraordinary size and color.

An abundance of colorful perennials and annuals blooming right now. Here are just a few pics of some gardens at our oceanfront Bed and Breakfast Inn Camden, Maine.

One Of Our First Gardens Created

This garden has developed over 15 years of planting, back breaking lifting, dividing, & transplanting.  Like all of our gardens we are never fully satisfied with all the colors and textures within, it is a continual work in progress.

Lots Of Color

Lavender plants border this colorful garden filled with Asiatic and Oriental Lilies, Poppies, and Rudbeckia.

West Side Of Guest Registration

Guest Registration Entrance

Guests are greeted with a beautiful mix of colors at our guest registration entrance. Nearly all of our annuals are started by seed, most of which are purchased from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Winslow Maine, then germinated and nurtured in our greenhouse until planting day.

We Love Sunflowers

Many colorful varieties of sunflowers dot numerous spaces around our Inn. We have created a special haven for all kinds of birds, bees, butterflies, and moths. It is an incredible sight to watch all of the hummingbirds zoom around like fighter jets from garden to garden and it’s especially enjoyable watching them quench their thirsts from our garden hose while we are watering the plants.

This Pathway Leads To Another Water Fountain

This perennial garden is set on the eastern side of our property and contains a water feature that attracts green and brown frogs.

We Built This In 2001

All of the gardens that we have created have been done the old fashioned way with hand tools,  pick axes, shovels etc.. With that being said, over the years we have amassed a hefty amount of rocks and boulders from the earth while preparing new flower beds. These stones are saved and piled in an area for future use. Every stone wall and stone feature, and we have quite a few, is our creation using the stones and rocks unearthed over the years.

Rose Arbor And Cherub Garden

This garden is situated on the northeastern side of our property and features a cherub fountain at the end of the crushed granite pathway.

The pathway wyes out to lawn and our grape arbor, apple trees, cutting flower garden and one of our vegetable gardens containing squash, basil, swiss chard, pole beans, bush beans, snow peas, and pumpkins!

Rose Arbor and Cherub Garden

Our Rose Arbor

Cherub Fountain

Squash And Pumpkin Patch

Plenty of squash to sustain us through the winter and the pumpkins will decorate the entrance to our Inn come Fall Harvest season.

Camden, Maine

So hard to choose what to highlight with so much happening at once. But here are a few picks.

Oriental Poppies

Oriental poppies add a colorful punch in our expansive perennial “S” garden with a large and fragrant Lilac shrub in full bloom in the background.

Bearded Iris

Intense blue Veronica provides a dramatic background for the delicate colors of this German Iris.

Rhododendron

One of many blooming Rhododendrons here at our Inn. This one receives the perfect amount of dappled sunlight.

Dianthus

Large mats of fragrant Dianthus are easy to grow. We have been meaning to divide these for years now.

Peonies

Several raised gardens in the foreground with our “S” garden in the background. Peonies starting to pop.

Peony "Jules"

Peony “Jules Elie” with its extra large pink flowers.

Cherub Garden

Eye-popping blue Amsonia planted alongside the brilliant yellow flowers of Coreopsis line the pathway leading through a rose arbor and down to the cherub water fountain.

Digitalis (Foxglove)

Tall spikes of Digitalis grace numerous spots in the gardens, here they attract hummingbirds and bees to our vegetable patch.

Yes, we are excited! We picked our first dahlia bloom on June 1st! Remember those tubers that we potted up back in March? Well, some of the potted tubers have grown stems to over 2+ feet laden with buds,  and they were begging to get out of their pots! Being mindful of a possible frost we waited until May 22 before digging them into the ground. We have 125 plants in the dahlia garden to date with approx. 175 yet to be planted.

Dahlia "Prom Queen"