Welcome to Cliff Notes!

Cliff Notes is the blog that accompanies the CliffWoodGardens.com website. Cliffwood Gardens is a private home with beautiful gardens and yearly hosts a garden tour, with a different theme. Check here often for helpful notes about gardening and upcoming events at Cliffwood.

Read an excerpt from the story of Cliffwood Gardens below:

The story behind CliffWood

The story of CliffWood Gardens goes back to 1969 when Donna Wood married Clifford Sawyer. Living in a small apartment, there was no place to plant flowers, but unbeknown to both Cliff and Donna a great hunger for growing flowers was beginning to ignite. The spark that set the fire burning was a wooden shipping box that Cliff brought home from work for his young wife. Donna planted her first flowers in that make-do wooden box and the flame has been burning brightly ever since.

By the time the couple moved to their new home in Limington, Maine, in 1971, Cliff had promised his wife she could have all the flower gardens she wanted. Today 20 gardens dot the grounds at CliffWood's 2.3 acre site and this husband and wife team compliment each other's talents when it comes to the gardens. Cliff builds all of the wooden and metal structures used in and around the yard and Donna designs and plants the gardens. Many antique plants used in the gardens are from Donna's late mother. An antique rose bush named "My Grammie Thayer's Rose" flourishes throughout many of the gardens. This rose is special because it came from the property purchased by Donna's grandmother (Minnie Thayer) in 1905.

Each of the 20 gardens has a name and Donna's whimsical personality is evident throughout the gardens. Country-type ornaments are scattered about and numerous containers explode with color each season.