Take a tour of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and uncover a gathering floor of pure magnificence, knowledgeable design, and horticultural excellence. Nestled within the picturesque panorama of coastal Maine, this backyard presents a symphony of colours, fragrances, and serene vistas that may certainly captivate any nature fanatic. On this video, director of horticulture (and frequent High quality Gardening contributing author) Andy Model takes us on a journey by means of three of his favourite gardens and offers insights as to what makes them distinctive. This tour barely scratches the floor of what CMBG has to supply, nevertheless, with its greater than 300 acres and 16 distinctive gardens related by well-maintained paths and trails. You may spend days on the backyard and nonetheless discover one thing new.

Backyard of the 5 Senses

CMBG’s Lerner Backyard of the 5 Senses is a sensory masterpiece, inviting guests to discover the pure world in a singular and immersive manner. This backyard is thoughtfully designed to have interaction all 5 senses—sight, odor, contact, style, and sound—in order that otherwise abled guests can get pleasure from an enormous array of sensory stimulation irrespective of how they expertise the world.

Sight: This backyard is a visible delight, with a kaleidoscope of colours and plantings that change all through the seasons. From vibrant blooms to the soothing greens of foliage, each nook of this backyard presents one thing visually gorgeous.

Scent: Perfume is a central ingredient on this backyard. Fragrant herbs, scented flowers, and foliage with distinctive scents make this backyard a paradise for olfactory exploration.

Contact: Guests can work together with numerous plant textures, from the velvety leaves of lambs’ ears to the tough bark of timber. Right here they’ll discover the tactile facets of gardening and discover ways to incorporate totally different textures.

Style: The inclusion of edible vegetation provides one other layer of sensory delight. The backyard options herbs and greens, permitting guests to pattern nature’s bounty.

Sound: This backyard incorporates the soothing sounds of nature, from rustling leaves to the mild trickle of water.

As guests meander by means of this enchanting area, they are going to uncover a tapestry of textures, scents, and colours fastidiously chosen to evoke totally different sensory experiences.

Kids’s Backyard

The Bibby and Harold Alfond Kids’s Backyard is a whimsical and enchanting realm designed to captivate the younger and the younger at coronary heart. This charming area is thoughtfully crafted to have interaction youngsters’s senses and curiosity. As quickly as guests enter, they’re greeted by vibrant colours, playful buildings, and a way of surprise sure to make children desirous to discover. It’s an inviting setting the place the world of vegetation and horticulture is made accessible and enjoyable.

The vegetable backyard part is a good alternative to show children concerning the wonders of rising their very own meals. Not solely is it instructional, however it additionally reinforces the concept of sustainability and the significance of figuring out the place our meals comes from.

A charming “story barn” provides a literary contact to the Kids’s Backyard. It’s a spot the place storytelling classes happen, making the expertise not solely visually stimulating but in addition intellectually enriching. References to youngsters’s books by Maine authors are dispersed all through the backyard. Households can go on a literary “treasure hunt” to seek out all of them.

A central function of the backyard is a big pond the place youngsters can uncover amphibious creatures among the many aquatic vegetation. They will additionally fake to tug in a Maine lobster cage off a dock and play with fishing poles. One other fashionable function is the “whale rocks,” the place water spouts periodically and youngsters of all ages can go to play and funky off.

Haney Hillside Backyard

The Haney Hillside Backyard is a hidden gem that mixes the fantastic thing about horticulture with the rugged allure of coastal landscapes. It presents a singular instance of the artwork of mixing vegetation and pure terrain.

Located on a steep hillside overlooking the gorgeous Maine coast, this backyard is a testomony to the inventive potential of sustainable gardening in difficult environments. It showcases a harmonious coexistence between native vegetation and punctiliously chosen vegetation, all whereas embracing the pure contours of the panorama.

One of many backyard’s key options is its meandering pathways that lead guests on a charming journey by means of a wide range of terrains. From sun-drenched slopes to shaded nooks, the Haney Hillside Backyard offers a various vary of microclimates. The backyard’s use of stone partitions and hardscape components provides a contact of class to the rugged fantastic thing about the coast. On this backyard you’ll be able to see prime examples of incorporating stonework into landscapes, and the way hardscape components can complement the pure atmosphere.

The selection of vegetation on this backyard is each strategic and provoking. Native species are thoughtfully built-in, demonstrating how they’ll thrive and improve the coastal panorama.

See extra:

Extra backyard excursions from High quality Gardening

Articles by Andy Model, Director of Horticulture at Coastal Maine Botanic Gardens