The Good Life...

Years ago as a young woman starting out in the Garden Design field there were many people whose writings and philosophies shaped my thoughts, approach and ideas. Helen and Scott Nearing were two of those people. They were the original "Back to the Landers". The book I liked best was "The Good Life". Their philosophies were simple. Do good work, live from the land, less is more and everything we need is within reach. Scott was a professor of Economics in New York City during the depression. In 1935 Scott and Helen had their personal epiphany and chucked it all for a life of living off the land in Vermont. They later sold the Vermont farm and moved to Harborside, Maine. The farm they originally established in Maine they later sold to Lynn Karlin and Stanley Joseph. Lynn and Stanley went on to write a fabulous book filled with photos of living on the farm, the four seasons, the amazing produce and the seasonal events that they hosted and also featured their wreath making venture. You can still pick up "Maine Farm: A Country Year" at Amazon.com. When I moved to Maine I met Lynn, she continues to enjoy her work as a garden photographer. Lynn recently published a book with Rebecca Sawyer-Fay,"Gardens Maine Style".
After the Nearing's sold the first Maine Farm they established another smaller place down the road. They called this "Forest Farm". Scott lived to be 100 and Helen 91! This farm is now a nonprofit center it is called the "Good Life Center" and is administered and financed in part by the Trust for Public Land of Boston, an organization that preserves rural sites and crafts. You can visit and attend the many events, seminars and lectures. So in the end Helen and Scott continue to teach and lead by example, through others who are there to share the magic and inspiration of their passion.

This special area of Downeast Maine on the Penobscot Bay has attracted other influential garden writers who have chosen to call it home. Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch are successful garden writers and two of the gurus of the organic gardening movement. Another powerhouse in the area was Katherine White, wife of E.B. White. She was a very popular writer of Garden books and had a weekly gardening column in New York Times. This corner of the world is a fun area to visit in the summer when the weather is amazing and gardens are at their prime!