I am a big fan of botanical gardens. Our local botanical garden is a haven for families and kids looking to grow their own pizza. It is by no means the largest of its kind, but it is a nice resource to have in the relatively small city in which we reside. Visiting the country’s top botanical gardens would require traveling some distance, and that’s exactly what some families do this time of year—-make pilgrimages to the nation’s top botanical gardens.
One fairly new botanical garden that is making headlines despite the fact that it less than three years old is the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
The 248-acre facility located on the edge of the Back River near Boothbay is home to nearly 1,300 varieties of plants, world-class rose gardens, sculptures and a restaurant that uses herbs grown on the grounds. The garden also has trails that offer classic Maine scenery, from pine and fir trees to lobster boats.
The attraction boasts 10 ornamental gardens, each with its own distinctive theme from the rose garden and the pond garden to the meditation garden and the rhododendron and perennial garden, which has a waterfall, more than 10,000 flowering bulbs and 120-plus different types of rhododendrons.
The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens also features more than two miles of walking trails, which wind through forests of towering evergreen trees and along the river, giving a view of islands, and lobster boats. Meanwhile, the pride of Maine is on full display in the garden’s visitor center, which is filled with furniture made from local products. Likewise, the restaurant features breads, produce, cheeses, mustards and other foods grown or manufactured in the state.
Besides the floral and fauna, the gardens also host permanent and visiting art exhibits. This summer it is displaying massive stainless steel kinetic sculptures (some tower more than 30 feet into the air) by Massachusetts sculptor George Sherwood that take on the appearance of birds flying or flower petals swaying in the breeze.
If you plan to visit the gardens later this summer you can look forward to hearing some classical music play while you stroll past the dogwood trees. The Portland Symphony Orchestra will be performing for visitors later this month near the garden’s main building.
Related Articles:
Botanical Gardens–A Wonderful Day Trip… And So Much More
Spring Has Sprung In Cleveland