Garden design for old Maine homes & historic places.

Perennial-rich gardens that feel at home in the company of old buildings.

We work with houses and homesteads, inns and churches, meetinghouses and museums, lighthouses and other storied places in Maine and New England, drawing on heirloom and historically appropriate plants to create gardens with a sense of permanence that are in keeping with the architecture.

Projects are guided by the age and character of a place, horticultural knowledge, historical context, and a practiced eye for texture, color, composition, and restraint.

Around these houses, gardens wait.

In Maine and New England, old homes stand weathered and rich with story: timber frames raised by hand, silvered clapboards that lean against years of wind, stone steps that hold memories of frost and footfall.

Around these houses, gardens wait.

Our work

A historically informed planting plan for your property, ready to be brought to life by you, your gardener, or a landscape team.
Every project begins with a conversation. We’ll talk about how you live, how you want to use the garden, what you love, what you need, views you want to preserve, areas you’d like to soften, and the practical realities the garden needs to accommodate.
Then we look closely at the place itself: its history and architecture, what is already growing, the light and soil, the views, and the character of the surrounding landscape. All of this informs a garden that is beautiful and useful, generous in its planting, and deeply at home in its setting.
Your garden design includes:
- Garden visioning session
- Site visit & evaluation
- Soil testing
- Hand-drawn garden planting plan
- Plant shopping list with species and varieties selected for beauty, historical relevance, site and lifestyle suitability
- Design & implementation notes to guide proper installation
The finished plan is yours to plant in your own time, or to hand to a gardener or landscape team to carry out.
A focused hour to look at your garden together and work out what it needs.
We’ll walk the garden, or look through it together virtually, and talk about what is working, what isn’t, and what you would like to change. Bring your questions about plants, layout, difficult corners, maintenance, or simply where to begin.
Your consultation includes:
- One hour together, in person or virtually
- Plant and planting suggestions suited to your home & garden
- Advice on layout, care, and problem areas
- Plenty of time for your questions
- A written follow-up with recommendations and next steps
Gardens outlast their caretakers. An Estate Garden Stewardship Plan is a practical guide that helps the next person understand what they’ve inherited and how to care for it well. It can be handed to gardeners, groundskeepers, family members, or future owners so the garden can be kept as intended through the years. Ideal for historic properties, established gardens, family homes, and gardens intended to be passed down.
Your stewardship plan includes:
- A site visit and walk through the garden
- A record of important plants, garden areas, structures, and features
- The thinking behind the garden and what should be preserved
- Seasonal care and maintenance guidance
- Notes on pruning, dividing, replacing, and renewing plants
- Guidance for future gardeners, caretakers, and owners
Gardens change, and what they need changes with them. For existing clients, we offer seasonal visits to walk the garden together, see how it is growing, and decide what needs doing next.
Visits might include advice on pruning and dividing, moving or adding plants, troublesome areas, seasonal care, and the small changes that help a garden grow better with age.
Available seasonally or as needed.

Rooted in Maine

Old Maine Gardens is the garden design practice of Rebecka Dykstra, based at her 1849 home and gardens in South Berwick, Maine. Wife of a timber framer and historic home, barn, and church preservationist, she is drawn to Maine’s early architecture and the traditional crafts that honor it.

Rebecka specializes in historically-informed landscapes, native plants, and ecological horticulture. Along with over a decade of experience gathered throughout her journey as a designer, private gardener, and farmer, she is pursuing Maine Master Gardener certification and advanced studies in horticulture, botany, and conservation with Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and Native Plant Trust.

Her formative work includes private gardening and design in Maine, formal garden stewardship of Delphi Agrarian Arts Foundation, and work supporting the missions of Maine nonprofits including Veggies to Table and ReTreeUS.

All of this garden work is underpinned by a great love of nature. Native plants, living soils, habitat, and stewardship of the land are at the root of it all.