Designed by Charles K. Savage, owner of the Asticou Inn and designer of the gardens at Thuya Lodge, it was made poissbile through funds provided by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and plants garnered from Beatrix Farrand’s dismantled Reef Point Gardens including two of the oldest specimens in the garden, a weeping hemlock just north of the Main Bridge and an Alberta spruce near the North Bridge. The garden was constructed between 1956 and 1957.

Inspired by the Japanese landscape type known as the stroll garden, the 2.3 acre garden with meandering paths, a great pond, a lily pond and garden rooms provide space for contemplative viewing and moments of reflection, Asticou is planted with combination s of azaleas, rhododendrons, and other Maine hardy plants. Today, the garden is owned and maintained by the Mount Desert Land and Garden Preserve and a committee of volunteers.