Each spring, since the Christmas Cove Inn opened in 2004, the “Public Rose Garden” sign has gone up at the corner of Rt. 129 and Coveside Road inviting passersby to come up to view the annual spectacular “Spring and Summer Explosion of Color” put forth by the 80 rose plants in the hill top garden.
The rose garden is neatly assembled in four separate squares separated by walking paths. Benches and ceramic garden stoles are strategically placed to provide an opportunity for visitors to relax and admire Mother Nature’s wide variety of beautiful colors and rose varieties.
Informally, in past years, women and children were occasionally provided a free rose and a bud vase as a reward for their venturing the 1000 foot long road leading up to all 11 of the inn’s perennial gardens.
Each year many of the bud vases were generously provided by the Miles Hospital Thrift Shop.
This year innkeeper and amateur rose grower Richard Munson realized more people might be encouraged to grow roses, if the inn donated $2 for each rose and bud vase given away to the Miles Memorial Thrift Shop. The result might be a significant contribution from a summer-long effort and perhaps a size able contribution to benefit the hospital.
The first check of $50 was already donated by the Miles Thrift Shop and roses already given away by the Christmas Cove Inn to ladies and children (since Memorial Day) was presented to Joy Wright at the Miles away Thrift Shop on June 18.
The inn’s goal is to give away 200 bud vases with “a choice of rose” over the course of this summer’s rose growing season.
Residents from Freeport to Camden are welcome to donate clean reusable bud vases to the Miles Memorial Thrift Shop, at 114 Church St. in Damariscotta. Phone 563-8733 for directions and hours.
The donated bud vases will be accumulated at the thrift shop and picked up weekly by the Munsons and put on display next to the rose garden.
Children and adults with questions about the challenges of establishing and maintaining a rose garden will be fielded by Munson spontaneously as families come up to take advantage of the opportunity to not only pick out a bud vase of their choice but also get that “good feeling” that comes from knowing that their effort to come up to the inn and get the free rose and bud vase will result in a much needed and appreciated donation of $2 per rose and bud vase given to the Miles Memorial Thrift Shop’s fundraising program by the Christmas Cove Inn.
The Christmas Cove Rose Garden is on Rutherford Island, South Bristol and is open seven days a week from dawn to dusk. Ample parking is available and well-behaved family pets are welcome to come along for the outing.
Directions can be easily obtained by going online to: www.thechristmascoveinn.com and/or www.uniqueyankeeofmaine.com.
