On Thursday, July 15, the Camden Garden Club hosted its 73rd annual Garden Tour, which included five lovely Camden gardens and the historic Conway House. Our club members, including five Master Gardeners, guided participants through outdoor wonderlands featuring gazebos, harbor views, ancient trees, relics from 18th Century farms, water features, rare specimens and much, much more.

The tour, which was suspended in 2020 due to COVID, also paid homage to Camden’s historical past by including two historic barns and the Conway House, believed to be the oldest dwelling in Camden.

This l event is the Garden Club’s major fundraiser for various projects in and around the town of Camden.  They include hanging baskets and holiday wreaths for lampposts, plantings in traffic islands, horticultural programs throughout the year and post-graduate scholarships.

For the second time, the tour also featured a plein air artist who painted in one of the featured gardens on Tour Day. This year, noted local artist Cali Veilleux donated her painting of the Alden House to the Garden Club, and the painting was raffled at the end of the day to benefit the Club’s Scholarship Fund.

The Camden Police Department, along with many other community volunteers, guaranteed that our more than 460 participants were safe and secure as they ventured about town.

Tickets were picked up and sold at the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce office at the Public Landing, as well as at many shops in town.

This event has become a fixture of Camden’s summer season, and participants from all over the country, and all over Maine, plan their vacations around it.

The Camden Garden Club is grateful for the support of Maine Home + Design, many local businesses, organizations and the town of Camden, which helps make the tour a success. And of course, our heartfelt thanks goes out to the homeowners who every year allow us to invade their spaces to share Camden’s beauty with the world!

Debra Stokes, President 
Susan Reider, 2021 Tour Chair