My daughter Liz and I set off early for the Brunswick Garden Tour in mid- July on a blistering hot day, armed with sunhats, water bottles and good walking shoes.

We were treated to lovely gardens and met some of the nicest people along the way. Hostesses at each site provided helpful tips as to navigation of the gardens.

We were greeted at the gazebo on the mall by Mary Biette and Pat Currier who were distributing the brochures. Ron Carroll, chairman of the garden tour and his assistant, Priscilla Smith, had prepared a brochure with excellent descriptions of the gardens and precise driving directions.

This was a boon for driver Liz as she was able to bring us to each garden easily. The tour even had helpful arrow signs as some of the gardens were several miles away. Would that all tours were so meticulously directed!

Our first stop was at two Federal Street gardens, beautifully laid out. We lingered in the shaded gardens at the home of the Bowdoin College president and his family.

Perhaps our favorite garden was Bob and Nan Morrell’s on Coffin Street. It was a delight to see the large variety of perennial flowers surrounding their home. And what a surprise to see they had their own green house.

These were serious gardeners! In addition to the gardens, fruit trees and a vegetable garden thrived, as well as a large towering blueberry bush.

We were told, “Nan is the gardener and Bob digs the holes.” That sounded good to us.

We were charmed by Deborah Zorach’s New England home, built around 1830, right in the middle of town on Maine Street. Her backyard gardens had perennials and annuals and a well and pump to obtain water. Fruit trees graced the front yard.

The Tom Settlemire Community Garden opened in May 2012. The 73 plots created by the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust have produced vegetables and flowers for many happy gardeners. A large “Common Good” bed provides vegetables for the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. (Volunteers were out watering and weeding the gardens.

MCHPP is the reason for the garden tour, as funds raised from this event benefit the program. Some of the programs at MCHPP include the Brunswick Soup Kitchen, Food Pantry, Food Bank, Homebound Clients program and Summer Feeding Program.

The Linton and Bonnie Studdiford gardens were extensive and boasted a large variety of perennials with hardly any duplication and so beautifully arranged. Sunny and shade gardens flourished, as did shrubs, fruit trees, blueberry bushes and a vegetable garden that exceeded all expectations. Produce is sent to MCHPP.

Michael Arnold’s vast gardens on Woodside Road covered huge fields which included two vernal ponds, a habitat for the bull frogs who called to us as we passed by.

One of the loveliest spots on the tour was the play house for children on the grounds of Dr. and Mrs. Dan Chase. A vigilant cat kept track of the visitors from its window perch in the main house.

We were pleasantly surprised to come across a Free Lending Library mounted on a post by the side of the road offering passersby to “take a book, leave a book.”

The final stop on the tour was Bob Metivier’s mountaintop gardens encompassing four major elevations. It is not your typical home garden. Still “under construction,” it featured fire pits (some for cooking) rock walls, boulders, ledge, rock arrangements, water features (not yet functioning), terraces, fruit trees, flowers, vegetables and a succulent garden.

Patrons of the tour were pleased to access the shuttle provided to the gardens!

Bob’s plans are one day to build a house surrounding the gardens.

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