Late summer inspiration from Kingsbrae Garden
A couple of weeks ago, my spouse and I made our way to Saint Andrews, New Brunswick. This seaside town of roughly 2,000 people sits at the very tip of a peninsula jutting into Passamaquoddy Bay. For most of us in Hancock County, it’s a short drive, just a couple of hours up Route 1 and about 25 minutes into Canada from Calais, Maine. Our late-summer trip north has become an annual tradition, with the highlight of our stay being a visit to Kingsbrae Garden.
The garden was created by Canadian philanthropist Lucinda Flemer and her husband, John, on property that was originally part of a family estate. Through a partnership among the Flemers, the Town of Saint Andrews, and the Province of New Brunswick, Kingsbrae Garden opened to the public in the spring of 1998. It covers 27 acres and is a short walk from downtown Saint Andrews.
One of the joys of Kingsbrae is its collection of distinct specialty gardens. Some of them could be considered garden rooms. The first defined space visitors encounter is a spacious path leading to the ticket house. This “room” has deep beds of blooming perennials, all in radiant white and enclosed on every side by tall hedges of established arborvitae. Clouds of panicle hydrangea blossoms, white echinacea, and fragrant itea, or sweetspire, fill the space. Whenever I pass through this garden, I imagine how it must glow under bright moonlight.
Beyond the ticket house, paths diverge and meander through themed gardens and woodland trails. There are formal rose and knot gardens, with neatly trimmed boxwood and Japanese barberry hedges planted and pruned in crisscrossing patterns to resemble knotwork. Espaliered apple and pear trees are carefully trained to grow along cone and column shaped iron forms. Edible and sensory gardens are filled, at least at this time of year, with juicy, glistening blackberries and raspberries. Kiwi and grape vines cover a narrow path supported by an iron arch. It is a good thing the arch is made of iron, as the vines were laden with fruit during our visit.
The children’s garden is certainly worth exploring, especially since it is right next to the goat enclosure. The friendly Nigerian dwarf goats are small, adorable, and beg for attention from passersby. The farther you venture from the entrance, the wilder the spaces become. Meadows of pollinator-friendly perennials buzz with life. At the far end of Kingsbrae, trails loop beneath tall maples, quaking aspens, and silver birches. If you make it to the woodland trails, watch out for the stinging ants, especially if you’re wearing sandals!
This was our third visit to Kingsbrae Garden. We visit at around the same time every year, so the contrasts we observed on this trip were not seasonal but reflected changes from one year to the next. The perennial blossoms in the central garden were striking, despite the drought conditions affecting Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. Most of the established flower beds were filled with drought-tolerant perennials. Rudbeckia, Joe-Pye weed, tiger lilies, tansy, eryngium, and garden phlox were arranged in incredible, deep beds of intense, mixed color. I’m sure there are notable displays earlier in the season, but late summer is certainly a showstopper.
Despite that floriferous display, my favorite stop in the garden is the collection of carefully shaped apple and pear trees. I have a fondness for fruit trees and have planted more than 30 in our home orchard. Closely observing the well-shaped forms of Kingsbrae’s espaliered apples and pears provides insight into the methods of the craft and gives me inspiration to take home.
Visiting gardens, be they professionally tended or an amateur’s planting playground, is valuable for any gardener. A visit offers a burst of creative motivation to try something new. Observing a garden that is not your own reveals what might be possible. You may discover a particularly striking color combination that would fit nicely into your own space. You may be inspired by garden sculptures and by the ways texture and hardscaping can add as much to a display as colorful blossoms.
If you don’t mind a drive of a couple of hours north and have a passport, Kingsbrae Garden in Saint Andrews is certainly worth a visit. Take the drive and bring some inspiration home.
