Lalla's Memorial Garden

Lalla's Memorial Garden

Lalla and her husband Colgate

In 2019, the State of Maine took a long, narrow strip of land along the back field, cut down all the trees that had screened our property from the road for decades, and widened Rte. 302 and raised it higher by roughly 7 feet. The loss of that privacy barrier was strongly felt by many, so that very same year, the Board started planning to replace it.

In 2023, a new foliage and flora plot approximately 12 feet wide and running the full length of the opening, with one section extending into the field was planted. It will provide foreground interest and beauty, while establishing deciduous and evergreen trees that will gradually grow to provide screening once again.

© Nancy F. Little 2009This planted border is called Lalla's Memorial Garden in memory of Cecilia 'Lalla' Searle and her lifelong commitment to the Assembly, especially the sharing and implementation of her horticultural expertise that is highly visible and prized throughout camp today. She is directly responsible for all the perennial flowers and flowering bushes along the edges of the ravines and in front of several cabins prior to her passing on June 23, 2012.

© Shannon Costello 1997Lalla's Memorial Garden honors the plant selection criteria established in 1990 by Lalla and her sister Tina Wood (pictured at left) whereunder "the shrubs and perennials have to be very hardy and bloom in August, and suffer benign neglect the rest of the year." Each annual Work Weekend and camp session for two+ decades thereafter, the sisters donated and planted several plants both large and small, filling many empty spaces with beauty.

Donate to the Lalla's Memorial Garden Fund

NEW photos on this page in recent months:
Title or Theme Year Posted
first photos (13 pics) 2023 9/10

2023

2023

Here's the first photos of the brand new Lalla's Memorial Garden! These pictures were taken shortly after planting, and start at the end by The Treehouse (the art cabin) and move south from there towards the driveway.

[Photo Pages]