Fodor's Expert Review Asticou Azalea Garden

With many varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas, the Japanese-style garden is spectacular from late May to mid-June as the pink, white, and blue flowers not only bloom but reflect in a stream-fed pond. Whatever the season there’s plenty to admire, especially in fall when the many native plants brighten the landscape. You can contemplate on a bench along the winding paths as intended, perhaps by the white sand garden—raked to evoke moving water. Created with azaleas from famed landscape designer Beatrix Farrand’s Bar Harbor garden, Asticou was designed by Charles Savage, a self-educated garden designer who managed his family’s nearby Asticou Inn.