Heritage Gardens and Orchard

The Heritage Gardens and Orchard complement the museum offerings with plants that span the life of Salome Sellers (1800-1909). Two garden beds display native woodland and meadow plants. An Early American bed has the plants, both medicinal and culinary, brought by settlers to the new world. The Nineteenth Century Heirloom garden features the old fashioned flowers grown when folks could afford to have gardens for pleasure.

A vegetable plot alternates between 1820 Food Crops (grains, beans, etc. grown on the island when Maine became a state) and a World War II Victory Garden, with the vegetables recommended by the Extension in 1942. The orchard contains heirloom apple trees and their young grafted clones as well as other fruit trees. The orchard is dedicated to another centenarian, the late Mary McGuire, a garden and apple enthusiast, who inspired the project. The orchard also contains a pollinator patch, and a bee garden with pollinator plants is along the archives building.

All the beds and the orchard are managed organically, and no chemical pesticides are used on the grounds. Plant lists are available and all plants are labeled with scientific and common names.