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.

The trail to the summit is only 1 mile and affords scenic views of Megunticook Lake, the interior and coastal mountains with distant views of Penobscot Bay.

Trailhead

Access to this trailhead can be found off route 52 in Camden, however you may take longer hikes through various trails within the Camden Hills State Park trail system to reach Maiden Cliff.

Starting Off

The trail is not difficult yet steadily climbs upward through the woods over rocks and tree roots.

Over Some Rocks And Roots

Footbridge Over A Seasonal Stream

Along the  way  you will cross over a wooden footbridge. This time off year it is relatively dry however in the spring there is usually a steady flow of water rushing under the bridge.

Trickling Water

Water Under Footbridge

Lots Of Tree Roots Along The Way

Plenty of exposed tree roots along this part of trail.

Half Way There

Halfway along this trail one of the other trails intersects. We stay on course to the cliff.

Continuing Along The Trail

A Westerly View

At the summit gazing at interior mountains and pristine Meguntiook Lake.

Southerly View

Distant views of Penobscot Bay and Islands to the south. The cross was erected some years after Elenora French fell off the cliff and died in 1864.

Osprey Flying Just Above Us

Incredible opportunity to see Osprey, Eagles and Turkey Vultures soaring just above, below, and at eye level.

Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn is on the oceanside and just 1 mile from the incredibly beautiful Camden Hills State Park. To download a trail map click  here.

It’s an exciting time of year in our vegetable garden when our garlic crop begins producing those mild and delectable scapes. If you don’t grow your own garlic they can be commonly found at farmers markets. Although there are countless ways to incorporate scapes into recipes and various cooking methods, our favorite way  is to roast them. By doing so it brings out a most subtle and delicious deep garlicky flavor. We call them garlic scape frites.

Garlic Scape

If left untouched the tip of the scape will develop into a top heavy seed pod laden with several pea-sized seeds.  When the seeds mature they will drop to the ground, root themselves, and eventually produce tiny garlic plants. It takes several years before a seed can produce a bulb worth harvesting. If anyone is interested we will post photos of this growing sequence.

Clipping The Scape

Clipping the garlic scapes puts the plant’s energy into the bulb (develops a larger bulb) and not the seeds. We clip the scapes promptly after they curl before the seed head (white tip) puffs out. This ensures tender scapes not tough and stringy ones.

Rinsing Scapes

An Abundance Of Scapes

After the garlic scapes are rinsed they are chopped into 3-4 inch pieces and placed into a large bowl. The arrow is indicating a scape that got away from us and would be too tough when cooked for our liking so we enjoy watching it transform its shape in a vase.

Chopping Scapes

Scapes Drizzled With Olive Oil

A judicious amount of olive oil, kosher salt, and sugar are added to the chopped scapes then tossed and scattered onto a baking sheet. They are placed into a preheated oven at 425 degrees and roasted for approx. 25 min.(we have a large heap) checking and tossing several times with tongs in-between to ensure even roasting.

Roasted Garlic Scapes

We let them roast until the tips get crispy.

A Delicious Side Of Tender Scapes

We love roasted garlic scapes  as a side dish with practically anything, this time around they are served with marinated and grilled strip steaks with crispy roasted panko encrusted little red potatoes.

Grilled Strip Steak With Scapes And Roasted Reds

Schooners in Camden Harbor

Impeccably restored old schooners fill the harbor and offer day trips or overnight cruises.

Camden, Maine

Mount Battie, Camden Hills

The arrow indicates the turret at the Mount Battie summit (Camden Hills State Park) which can reached by driving the auto road or by hiking the various trails in the park.

Camden Harbor Views From Turret Atop Mount Battie

Overnight Schooner

Beautiful Yachts In The Harbor

Day Sailer

Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn has been selected as a “special highlight” for Midcoast’s Camden/Rockport Maine area lodging in the 2010, 15th edition of Maine: An Explorer’s Guide.

Maine: An Explorer's Guide

The author writes about Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn’s fabulous oceanviews, the luxuries of our unusual accommodations and the landscaped grounds, including a 100-bulb dahlia garden.

Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn's Review

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.

Sunrises are beautiful and so is the Maine Coast. Combine the two and you have the ingredients for a memorable stay. Fall is a beautiful time of year to take advantage of a quieter time in addition to our Bed and Breakfast’s Fall Special Stay 2 Nights And Receive A Third Night Free.  All of our oceanfront accommodations are private, offer exceptional water views, tastefully decorated and comfortable.

Wake up to ocean waves gently lapping at the shore, enjoy our fresh home-baked breakfast, explore the Camden area with its quaint shops and beautiful harbors, take a sail on a schooner and then dine at one of the many noted chef owned and operated restaurants. Or just relax and enjoy the beauty and serenity that surrounds you.

Beautiful Waterviews Along Our Shore

View Schooners From Your Private Oceanfront Deck

Relax on your deck and watch schooners sail by, working lobster boats a stones throw away,  porpoise frolicking offshore, with eagles and osprey soaring above.

Sunrise From Our Beach

Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn’s idyllic oceanfront location provide opportunities to view beautiful sunrises.

Sunrise At Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn

Private Oceanfront Decks

Local lobster fisherman checking his traps.

In the April/May 2010 issue of  Virginia Sportsman magazine, travel writer, author and photojournalist Chiles T. A. Larson writes about his cottage on the water at Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn and his windjammer sails out of Camden Maine’s picturesque harbor and beyond.

“It was the intermittent low muffled cadence of a boat’s engine that pulled us out of our deep slumber. Stepping out onto the deck of our comfortable cottage in the pre-dawn light, I could make out a string of colorful lobster buoys just a stone’s throw away, bobbing gently on the incoming tide. Moving slowly but resolutely, bee-like from pot to pot, was a small craft with a lone lobsterman checking the day’s offerings. This not unpleasant low drone served as our wake-up call for each of the three mornings during our stay at Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn. The sweeping views out over Penobscot Bay from our cottage were matched by an impressive display of perennial flower borders scattered with care all around this Eden-like landscape.”

“Because we were not acquainted with the Inn prior to our arrival, this early stop turned out for my wife and me to be a relaxing surprise, as we reacquainted ourselves with the many scenic, cultural, and recreational facets of our Down East vacation.”

Read the full story about his stay and view his stunning photography of the windjammers sailing along the dramatic Maine coastline.

The Windjammers Of Maine

Epimedium - "Bishop's Hat" Blossoms

We love Epimedium’s heart shaped leaves with delicate pink and white flowers. Large patches grace numerous shaded garden spots. This one sits at the base of an old and very large Ash tree that shades the plant almost entirely from the sun.

Bergenia - "Pigsqueak"

A small mass of Bergenia receives a good dose of mid-morning sun and remains shaded for the rest of the day. This plant has been moved countless times over the years before finding its happy place here among a Hosta patch.

Euphorbia - "Spurge"

Color, color, color! Fluorescent Euphorbia is a real eye opener and loves full sun.

Trollious "Globle Flower"

It is said that Trollious may re-bloom if you remove faded flowers promptly and cut back foliage to the ground in the summer. We have yet to have such luck with this magnificent spring bloomer twice in a season, but that’s okay.

Dicentra "Bleeding Heart"

Flower cuttings from our old fashioned Bleeding Heart mixed with striking variegated Hosta leaves fill vases and grace all the accommodations at our bed and breakfast.

Anemone "Windflower"

The bright welcoming faces of Anemone cultivar “Macrantha” spreads quickly and on occasion will re-bloom later in the season. Be sure to dead head in a timely fashion to control its abundant self seeding nature.

What’s bloomin’ in your garden???