PUBLIC EDUCATION section:
About Celia Thaxter's Island Garden
Celia
Laighton Thaxter (1835-1894) was born in Portsmouth, NH, and when she
was four her father became the lighthouse keeper on White Island, Isles
of Shoals, NH. Eight years later he resigned his keepers job and built
a large hotel on Appledore Island, ME. This would become one of the
first resort hotels to be built on the New England coast, and a
gathering place for the literary and artistic greats of New England in
the latter half of the 19th century.
At age 16,
Celia married Levi Thaxter, her father's early Appledore House Hotel
business partner, and later her tutor. After ten years of marriage and
three sons, Levi's poor health forced them to live most of their
marriage apart. Celia returned to the islands to care for her mother
and assume her hostess duties at the hotel. The considerable fame she
received for her poetry and prose never did diminish her love of nature
and her garden.
In the last year of her life, Celia published her most famous book AN ISLAND GARDEN.
In it she describes her garden (pictured above, photo by Priscilla Chellis) and its flowers in detail. She refers to
it as a cutting garden of old fashioned flowers. Her arrangements, done
in many small bottles and vases, filled her living room and decorated
the hotel. The plants in her garden were not arranged in any color
scheme at all, but merely by height. Because the garden is only open
from the end of June through August, the spring flowers represented in
Celia's 1893 plan are not represented in the garden today. Also, many
of the vines that shaded her piazza cannot be grown for there is no
porch to support them: Celia's cottage burned along with the Appledore
House Hotel in 1914. As is the case for many Appledore's old cottages,
Celia's cottage foundation remains. Visitors, however still enjoy the
exuberant color that captivated hotel guests and American Impressionist artist, Childe Hassam, over a century ago.
The garden was reconstructed in 1977 by Dr. John M. Kingsbury, the
founder and first director of the Shoals Marine Laboratory. The garden
is just where it was during Celia's lifetime and the raised beds and
flowers follow her plan. Some of her original plants are still in the
garden: the snowdrops, the hops vine and day lilies. The other plants
for the garden are raised annually in the greenhouses of the Thompson
School of Applied Science at the University of New Hampshire, under the
direction of Mr. Christopher Robarge. Mr. Robarge also provided and
installed the garden watering system and assists in many ways.
The Garden is supported in part by donations, and the hard work of its
loving admirers and caretakers, Virginia Chisholm and Pamela
and Mark Boutilier, Mary Smith and
Priscilla Chellis. Additional volunteers and supporters include many New Hampshire and Maine
seacoast area residents.
Celia's book, AN ISLAND GARDEN has been reprinted by Dr. Kingsbury.
This special reprint of the 1894 first edition contains all of Childe
Hassam's original color lithographs, a description of the 1977
reconstruction project, and a valuable index. It is available for sale
in the Shoals Marine Laboratory's book store in Kiggins Commons. Also
look for Dr. Kingsbury's book, HERE'S HOW WE'LL DO IT, An Informal
History of the Construction of the Shoals Marine Laboratory, which
contains additional information about the garden's reconstruction, as
well as an overview of the teamwork that prevails, to this day, for the
continued functioning of the Shoals Lab.
The Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) hopes you enjoy your visit to Celia
Thaxter's Garden and to Appledore Island. Each summer, SML offers adult and family education programs for the general public.A Garden is a Sea of Flowers is a casual, two night, three day program. Participants learn about Celia's life and the
history of her garden. A sight-seeing cruise, lobster bake, and free
time to enjoy the beauty of the Isles along with plenty of free time
for photography, art or birding are included in the weekend activities.
A List of Flowers in Celia's Garden:
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