If you've never been to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay,
you need to visit. It is, simply, one of the finest you'll ever see --
there's a new delight in every corner you turn and every turn you make
to take in a different view. Above is the waterfall in the Rhododendron
Garden, and I'd love to see it when the rhodies are in bloom.
The plant combinations and the hardscape in this garden are simply stunning, probably due to the fact that the executive director is William Cullina, one of the country's great authorities on plants. Maybe that's why, unlike other gardens, in this one every darned plant is -- hooray! - labeled.
And the story is even better. The gardens were the imagination of mid-coast Maine residents who formed an organization in 1991, searched for a site and finally purchased one, putting up their own homes as collateral. Funds were raised, landscape architects were hired to design a master plan and individual gardens, and the grand opening was celebrated in 2007.
Sculptures by artists are placed throughout ... these two "whale" sculptures welcome visitors into the Children's Garden, spouting water through their blowholes every couple of minutes.
There's also a maze, pint-sized furniture, a lake, a treehouse, a greenhouse, a bear cave and stump jump, and plenty of room to run around.
The Garden of the Five Senses is a terrific idea, filled with plants that you can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. Other gardens include the Great Lawn and Ledge Garden, the Meditation Garden, a rose and perennial garden, a kichen garden and a shoreland trail. Not to mention the birch allee -- some 1000 birch trees that line both sides of a path leading from the main gardens out to the wilder areas.
This is an exceptional garden, and not to be missed if you're heading up toward Maine ... well worth a detour if you're anywhere in the area. And leave at least three or four hours to see it.
