Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, with 248 acres (1 km²) and a mile of waterfront in the mid-coast town of Boothbay, Maine, is Maine's first and only botanical garden. After 16 years of planning, building and planting, in 2007 the Gardens opened to the public with spectacular ornamental gardens and the elegant, shingle-style Visitor Center. Miles of waterfront and woodland trails; impressive stonework in the Maine tradition; and its setting in a natural landscape of forest, ledge, and native plants distinguish Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens from other gardens. Just a few years after its opening, it has already become one of Maine's top attractions and is considered a world-class botanical garden.

The Visitor Center houses the Kitchen Garden Cafe, Gardens Gift Shop, ever-changing exhibits by fine artists, and meeting and event space. The Giles Rhododendron & Perennial Garden, which now includes a massive waterfall, was the first area completed. The 2-acre (8,100 m²) Bibby and Harold Alfond Children's Garden, with imaginative features inspired by Maine children's literature, opened on July 8, 2010. The Central Gardens area around the Visitor Center also includes the Rose & Perennial Garden, Burpee Kitchen Garden, Slater Forest Pond, Cleaver Event Lawn & Garden, and - new in 2009 - the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses. The Haney Hillside Garden, which winds its way to the shorefront and Vayo Meditation Garden, reopened in June, 2011, after extensive renovation. The waterfront Fairy House Village allows children to use their imagination to build homes for the wee folk of the forest without disturbing the environment. Sculpture by fine artists, most of whom are from Maine, enhances the plantings and forest pathways. While many of the pieces are part of temporary exhibits, a good number are part of the Gardens' excellent permanent sculpture collection.

The most-recent addition to the main campus is the Bosarge Family Education Center, which opened July 15, 2011. The two-wing structure surrounded by zoned landscaping with native plants, 'rain gardens' and other sustainable elements, is being hailed as the greenest public building in Maine. It earned the highest platinum LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) rating, and is targeted to reach net-zero-energy status, indicating that it generates more energy than it uses. The Education Center has flexible spaces for classes, workshops, concerts, and events, as well as office space for the education and administrative staff. There is also studio space for the Expert-in-Residence program.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, located on Barters Island Road in Boothbay, Maine, USA, is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, year round (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas). Members receive unlimited free admission and many other benefits. For non-members, admission fees are $12 for adults, $10 for ages 65+, $6 for children 3–17, and free for children under 3. There is no admission charge from December through March.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was founded in 1991 with the idea of creating a botanical garden in Maine. After a search along much of the coast, the idea came closer to reality in 1996 when the founders purchased 128 acres (0.52 km²) in Boothbay - a property that had previously been slated for development. With its diverse natural ecosystems, two-thirds of a mile (1 km) of tidal waterfront on the Back River, dramatic topography, and more than 300 native plant species including hundreds of pink lady-slipper orchids already on the site, this property seemed ideal. In 2005, the Pine Tree Conservation Society donated another 120 acres (0.5 km²) to the Gardens,adjacent to the original property. This extends the area to 248 acres (1.0 km²) and the waterfront to nearly 1 mile (1.6 km).

In the next several years, the Gardens will complete an expansive new area: The Wild Plants of Maine, as well as an Education Center planned to achieve a platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating and surrounded by the utmost in sustainable landscaping. These new features will offer new discoveries and opportunities for visitors to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

See also

• List of botanical gardens in the United States

External links

• Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens website (Retrieved 2009-10-02.)

Coordinates: 43°52.5′N 69°39.7′W / 43.875°N 69.6617°W / 43.875; -69.6617