PORTLAND, Maine — From orchards to kiwi vines to stone borders dotted with irises, the thickly settled neighborhood of Munjoy Hill has a secret.
“There are hidden gardens tucked behind houses that you would never know are there,” said Aynne Doil, chairwoman of the Hidden Gardens of Munjoy Hill, a self-guided tour of Portland’s backyard flower, herb and stone scaped yards held Sunday, July 10. “It’s fascinating to see what people do with their space in the city.”
Celebrating its 10th year, the fundraiser for the sweeping 68-acre waterfront Eastern Promenade Park showcases new gardens each year. This year’s walking tour, hosted by the Friends of the Eastern Promenade, features nine diverse offerings.
Residents who live in townhouses, Victorians and all manner of cheek-by-jowl dwellings face challenges getting blooms to blossom, veggies to sprout and petals to push forth.
“A lot of people will not grow vegetables in their garden because of lead poisoning from lead paint years and years ago,” said Doil, a Munjoy resident who started her own garden, inspired by the tour.
As a work-around, “many are growing vegetables in containers, bring in new soil and use raised garden beds,” she said.
Variety and education abounds on this tour.
“Some are a mix of annual and perennial gardens. Some of them are people who downsized and moved into small spaces, many are master gardeners,” said Doil.
All are keen to share their knowledge.
But these colorful havens are more than eye candy.
This year’s theme is the monarch butterfly, an important and under-threat pollinator needed sorely for urban ecology to thrive.
“If you want flowers and trees in the city, you need pollinators,” said Portland Pollinator Partnership organizer Annie Wadleigh.
The monarch, like the bee, is in decline because milk weeds, its main food source, are dwindling.
“It’s a huge issue. We will have display tables to provide education. There are so many threats to all the pollinators. Without them you have no fruit, no vegetables,” said Wadleigh.
Representatives from Maine Audubon also will be on hand dispensing more information on ways to reverse the trend.
And because this is a peripatetic experience, you’ll get a chance to see what people, who are not on the tour, are doing to spruce up the city streets — from porch gardens to border gardens — along the route.
“It’s fun to see what people will do within a small area and how they make it beautiful,” said Doil. “Last year, one person had a kiwi garden. It was a vine over an arbor in his yard, and it was just breathtaking.”
Tickets to Hidden Gardens of Munjoy Hill are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the tour. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit easternpromenade.org
