BOOTHBAY

If you haven’t yet visited Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens this summer, don’t put it off any longer. The Gardens, located in Boothbay (not the Harbor) off Barters Island Road, features a clutch of formal gardens, kitchen gardens, a children’s garden and more, grouped near the main entrance. If that’s all you have time to do, it’s worth the price of admission.

But there is a lot more to CMBG. A series of trails along the Back River frames the sleepier side of the gardens, draping them in a cool, foggy mist part of the day. Getting there is half the fun. There are trails that put one deep in the woods; you’d never for a moment believe yourself to be in a well-cultivated garden space. It’s possible to get lost in the 250-acre garden.

Among the jewels in the crown of the garden system is the Giles Rhododendron Garden, located in the northeast part of the property. You can walk there, or take a shuttle that will take you right to the door of an amazing bit of horticulture.

Numerous cultivars of rhododendrons and azaleas make there home in a shady glen that also boasts a waterfall, other shade-lovers such as hostas and astilbe, and a rocky gorge.

Along the way to the rhododendron garden you’ll see a fairy village with a stone henge placed in it, a shoreland gazebo, and a dock where you can, for an additional fee, see the gardens from the water.

Also along the waterfront is the Vayo Meditation Garden, and several trails that follow the water.

In the more formal gardens, visit the rose and perennial garden, a formal garden that gradually gives way to a naturalized hillside garden, the Lerner Garden of the five senses, where people are encouraged to explore the plants contained within by sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste.

The visitor’s center also has a cafe, and you are invited to sit in the kitchen garden … where your lunch probably came from … and enjoy truly fresh food.

The Bibby and Harold Alfond childen’s garden is a complete delight, and you don’t have to be a child to enjoy it.

In our opinion, some of the art in the gardens distracts the eye from the real show. Some of the art is complementary to the exhibit, and some is simply an expected part of a formal garden, such as a fountain or a sundial. But some, such as a series of metal pinecones that were seemingly everywhere, didn’t enhance the plantings and often seemed out of place in the locations where they were sited. But that was a minor jarring note in what is otherwise a magnificent symphony for the eye. Don’t let another summer pass by without seeing this amazing Mid-coast treasure.

Getting there from here:

Take Route One to Route 27 to Boothbay Harbor. Follow it to the Boothbay rotary, and take the road on the right (Barters Island Road). The gardens are on the left after a little more than a mile.

Hours and Admission:

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens are open year round from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission from April 15 to October 31 is $14 for adults, Seniors $12, and children 3- 17 $6. Between November 1 and April 14, you can visit the gardens for free.

There are free guided walks, cart tours for $10 per person, and boat tours for $25.

Special notes:

Dogs are not permitted in the gardens, but there is a special dog trail leading from one of the parking lots. Except on particularly hot days, there is plenty of shade in the parking lot. There are picnic tables in the parking lot areas. Scooters can be rented for $25 per half-day, and wheelchairs are available on loan.