Maine’s landscape is rich with beautiful gardens, state parks, farms, greenhouses and nurseries. For the plant lover, there’s inspiration everywhere. Whether that be picking wild blueberries along a hiking trail, visiting the gorgeous coastal landscapes or visiting botanical gardens throughout the state, there are plenty of opportunities for Mainers to connect with the natural world. Maine winters can be long and tough. Knowing that the beauty of spring, summer and fall will come make it all worth it to a plant lover here.
For property owners such as Sharon and Denis Suzor, using resources offered to gardeners online and through organizations throughout the state helped them immensely to learn how to garden in all four seasons. Winter is a great time for them to step away from the manual labor in the garden and focus on education. Denis Suzor is a farmer with a knack for vegetable gardening. He and his wife, Sharon Suzor, own a small property in Naples, Maine. Sharon Suzor enjoys flower gardening, as well as caring for houseplants. In the past 15 years of owning property here, they’ve learnt a lot about how to survive the winter as gardeners.
When discussing the issues they faced when gardening in Maine, the first struggle they spoke about was the long winters. Sharon said, “For someone who loves to garden outside and plant annual flowers, winter can be so dreary.” She learnt how to care for houseplants to combat the gray, dark winters. “Bringing nature in has helped. I currently have 32 plants and no plans of stopping,” she giggled.
A holly shrub on Denis and Sharon’s property in Naples, Maine, adding winter interest to their gardens. Captured by Deanna Suzor, November 2021.
Denis, who has farm animals as well as a large vegetable garden, also spoke about the tough winter. “Pipes and hoses freeze. The animals’ watering tanks freeze. Branches get heavy with snow and can become a hazard. Trees and shrubs can get damaged. There’s a lot of work going into the winter. But I’ve found ways to be prepared.” He shared
his strategies. “Burlap wrapping the shrubs helps. As well as doing a hard fall pruning and making sure all dead branches are cleaned.” Although winter can be hard, Denis said, “We love the four seasons here. We pay attention to the structure of plants and the colors of the bark and berries.”
