The Boothbay Region Garden Club, the local nonprofit dedicated to gardens, art, education and beautification of the peninsula and Mother Earth, held its annual Home and Garden Tour on Friday, July 25 under sunny skies. As usual, the yearly fundraiser that opens doors to some of the most beautiful and interesting homes of the region was sold out.

I’d never been on the Garden Club’s tour and I expected to be wowed ... by flora. So I admit to being a little disappointed at first when I realized this year the theme was historical homes. At our first stop, closely trimmed, immaculate lawn and an incredible view of the Damariscotta River dominated the outside scenery. Inside, everyone oohed and aahed over wallpaper, artwork, paint colors and furnishings: the kind of stuff that generally doesn’t interest me. I steeled myself for a long day. But I was wrong. Each house revealed its own surprises and a few places (on Southport and Barters islands) even turned up some fine, even manageable gardens. 

Photography inside the houses was prohibited so all I can provide are outside scenes, which on a crystal clear Maine summer day, were outstanding.