Landscape Information
Mr. & Mrs. Schofield Andrews purchased this summer estate in 1927, one year after its construction. Architects Tilden, Register & Pepper designed the two-story home and walled garden located on the shore of Somes Sound, the only fjord on the U.S. East Coast.
The 4.5-acre property includes a historic sunken walled garden attached to the house, in close proximity to the shoreline, and later hillside gardens with a circular pool. The house and garden have a strong axial relationship, with bedroom windows and a brick terrace overlooking a panel of lawn bordered by annual and perennial beds, designed by Howard Kneedler. At the end of the garden, a 6-foot high granite wall, covered with climbing hydrangea serves as an architectural backdrop and focal point from the terrace. The brick terrace is supported by an 8-foot tall buttressed retaining wall, adorned with stone piers and ornamental iron panels that rest on the brick terrace above. Close to the house, two low garden walls accommodate unobstructed views of Somes Sound. The sunken garden’s main access is from generous stone steps and from the bedrooms that open onto the terrace, with secondary access via discrete steps from the adjacent lawn. Although the second story of the home was removed to reduce maintenance, the house and sunken garden exemplify Country Place era summer estates on the Maine coast.
