Celia Thaxter’s historic garden brings visitors to Appledore Island
New Hampshire Chronicle | Sept. 9, 2026
KITTERY, Maine —
Volunteers and University of New Hampshire students are working to restore 19th-century poet Celia Thaxter’s historic garden on Appledore Island, one of the nine Isles of Shoals.
“This year the garden is close to what it would have been during Celia’s period than it’s ever been in the last 50 years,” said Terry Cook, the steward of the 15-by-50-foot garden.
Celia Thaxter and her family opened the Appledore House Hotel in 1847, a summer resort that expanded to 400 rooms. Her garden, which was located at her island cottage, was in its prime in the late 1800s and has been recreated for 50 years. She wrote about it in her poetry, painted it and nurtured a vibrant array of flowers that adorned the hotel and her parlor.
Today, the recreated garden draws visitors from around the world who are inspired by its connection to art and poetry.
“Even though this garden has been here forever and ever, we try to make it as to what Celia did originally because it’s what people expect; they’ve read the book,” Cook said. “You never know where our visitors are coming from. It’s great outreach for the Shoals Marine Lab as well.”
This year, students from the University of New Hampshire’s horticulture program contributed to the garden’s revival by growing flowers from seed for the first time.
Becky Sideman, a professor of horticulture at UNH, noted the timelessness of the garden’s design.
“In so many ways, you would think, perhaps, that the species and varieties that she grew again a long time ago might be really different than what we see in gardens now. They’re not. They are very similar to what people still value,” she said.
Once the plants are ready, Cook and a group of volunteers carefully load them onto a boat bound for Appledore Island.
“What we are going to do, we are going to do it as the map had it in 1893 when she wrote the book. There are going to be extra plants. We want it as lush as possible,” Cook said.
Celia Thaxter’s book “An Island Garden” was published six months before her death in 1894 and provides a detailed glimpse into her garden, including a map and a list of 54 plants, with an additional 148 mentioned in the text.
“We never plant anything in the garden that’s not mentioned either on this map or in the book,” Cook said. “That’s what I take as my so-called Bible to work.”
The garden is part of the Shoals Marine Lab, a field station for undergraduates jointly operated by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire.
“Celia’s garden is a really integral part of what we do,” said David Buck, associate director of the lab. “The lab has been a long-term steward of Appledore Island. This is our 60th operating season. Our founding director had the idea of bringing back the historic garden, and since then, it’s been a really important part of all of our programming.”
Cook said a goal of those managing the garden is to build back Thaxter’s home, which burned in a 1915 fire alongside the hotel.
“When you share a garden, you’re sharing wonderful things. And gardens, I think, are all meant to be shared,” Cook added.
Comments are closed.