Wild Gardens of Acadia

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Conservation and Education

Acadia National Park, Sieur de Monts Spring

The Wild Gardens of Acadia at Sieur de Monts Spring was a project initiated in the 1960s by Betty Thorndike, Janet TenBroeck and Betty Owens, all members of the Bar Harbor Garden Club, at the suggestion of the Superintendent of Acadia National Park.

The site of the gardens had been burned in the 1947 fire, and the park wanted to remove the damaged trees. It was a good location to plant a garden where native flora could be preserved and propagated. Thus the Wild Gardens of Acadia came into existence as a place where visitors could identify native flora.

The gardens are now cared for and managed by Friends of Acadia. The Bar Harbor Garden Club still encourages its members to volunteer, along with other members of the Mount Desert Island community, to maintain the hard work and resourcefulness of the three ladies of the Garden Club who had the vision to create such an asset for all visitors. The Club gives a donation annually to support the Wild Gardens of Acadia.

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July 1970, Illustrated by Ruth Soper, BHGC Member

The Wild Gardens Early History For the Bar Harbor Garden Club’s contribution to the 2016 Centennial Celebration of Acadia National Park, the Garden Club conducted interviews with Club and community members who had been involved in the early development of the Wild Gardens of Acadia. The Bar Harbor Garden Club, an approved Acadia Centennial Partner, is pleased to now offer the “Wild Gardens Memories“, a selection of excerpts from interviews with individuals who shared their love and recollections of the Wild Gardens of Acadia.