Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ calendar for the coming season promises enjoyment, experiences, and education for all ages. It seems that something new is added to the schedule just about every day, and there are plenty of returning favorites.
In planning for 2012, the staff is making full use of the super-green Bosarge Family Education Center that opened last summer, the elegant Visitor Center, and the 250-acre world-class botanical garden that surrounds them.
Whether through classes, walks, art shows, or special events, a lot of the activity this year will revolve around the theme Feathers and Foliage: Celebrating Bird and Plant Interactions in Maine.
The first of these, in collaboration with Maine Audubon, is Attracting Birds to Your Backyard on March 24 at the Gardens.
Nancy Bither will lead an early-morning bird walk at the Gardens on May 25, and all birders are invited to help with a bird inventory of the property on June 2. One of the in-residence experts is a bird carver, and the Gardens will feature Bird of the Week exhibits all season. There’s even a birdcall contest for kids on May 26, in conjunction with the reception for a show of bird-related student art.
Another series is also on the schedule: the seven-part set of classes, “Landscape Horticulture: An Introduction to Ornamental Gardening,” starts on March 31.
The Certificate Program in Native Plants and Ecological Horticulture developed by Director of Education Melissa Cullina is a great opportunity for serious students of botany and horticulture.
Just about anyone would find something of interest in the broad range of subjects covered in classes this year. All Maine gardeners can profit from the June 29 symposium, “So You Think You Can’t Garden in Coastal Maine,” which challenges assumptions and offers solutions.
There’s a workshop by internationally known photographer Rich Pomerantz, a class on iPhone and iPad apps that would appeal to gardeners with “gadgets,” and even a workshop on making incredibly realistic sugar flowers and using them to decorate cakes.
Concerts and art shows, indoors and out; monthly dinners by celebrated Maine chefs; and very special events will further enliven the year.
The next multi-course Kitchen Garden Series Dinner, on March 28, will be prepared by Chef Chris Bassett of Azure Café in Freeport. The DaPonte String Quartet will offer seven concerts in the Education Center, continuing a valued tradition, while the Great lawn will be the perfect spot to enjoy the Flash! in the Pans Steel Drum Band.
The Celtic duo Naia will present a free concert to preview Maine’s Saltwater festival. Music Doing Good with celebrity guests and the Y-ARTS Chorus will team up to present a benefit concert for the Gardens’ Growing Greens youth horticulture program,
Speaking of youth, the season is already underway for youngsters. Every Monday at 10 a.m. the Gardens’ own Miss Rumphius, the “Lupine Lady,” aka longtime volunteer and head librarian Pat Jeremiah, offers Storytime in the Bosarge Family Education Center.
The Aug. 3-5 Maine Fairy House Festival is expanding this year with more events, more activities, and more fun than ever – even a fairy movie night. Several week-long nature camps offer exciting discoveries for kids in different age groups; and fun, learning, and adventure happen every day during activities in the amazing Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.
Art shows, each with a free public reception, begin with the “Local Colors” exhibit of work by Midcoast artists in a partnership between the Gardens and the River Arts Gallery of Damariscotta.
The sculpture show “On the Wing,” curated by June LaCombe, will offer a number of different sculptors’ view of birds. Artists who sign up ahead of time are invited to paint en plein air at the Gardens from May 29-June 3 with no admission charge; selected works will then be on display and for sale.
In another of its many exhibits this year, the Gardens will help Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts celebrate its 25th anniversary with works by a resident from each year. The Gardens has its own In-Residence program, starting with exceptional botanical artist Linda Heppes Funk and award-winning bird sculptor Hank Tyler, each with demos and classes.
In a new partnership with the New York Botanical Garden, acclaimed artist Katie Lee will offer a multi-day workshop on botanical illustration.
This is just a taste of what’s happening at the Gardens, and it all begins this month. There’s a seemingly endless array of exciting programs and events, and other dates to save, too. For example, the “Not-Your-Garden-Variety Plant Sale” will be back during the weekend of May 26 and 27.
On July 26, the Gardens’ annual fundraiser, “A Bloomin’ Good Time,” will combine the best food, live music, and an incredible array of auction items to create the party of the summer.
For dates and details about everything the Gardens offers, whether on its calendar or in the world-class ornamental gardens and 250-acre shorefront landscape, visit www.MaineGardens.org. Please visit often to learn about new additions.
Or, for more information, call 633-4333, ext. 101. Better yet, stop by the Gardens, on Barters Island Road in Boothbay. While Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is open daily year-round, the admissions desk in the Visitor Center opens on Sun., April 1, just about the time tens of thousands of spring bulbs are beginning to put on their show. Of course, members are always admitted free.
Visitors this season will discover that the Gardens Gift Shop has been relocated to larger quarters across Kerr Hall. In its beautiful new digs, scheduled to open Sat., April 7, the shop will offer more appealing merchandise than ever, including signature items, Maine-produced items, and green products. Much of the area vacated by the shop will be a “resource room” where everyone who comes to the Gardens will have access to books and computer programs – yet another way the Gardens helps people learn and grow.
