When we were in Maine in early July, we took a day trip to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor.
The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is very different from what Missy showed and from what I'm used to in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. For starters, it's only been open for ten years. (Compare that to the for BBG which just celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Children's Garden.)
The CMBG is also a total grassroots organization. A group of local people got together in 1991 and decided Maine should have a botanical garden. They spent 16 years planning, fundraising, and building before opening in 2007. When we were there, they were under construction again as a huge expansion is in the works because it's been so successful.
The most noticeable difference, in my opinion, was in the types of plants. This is a garden devoted to the flora and fauna native to the area. You'll see from my photos that it's much more rustic.
There is a formal garden at the entrance, and a meditation garden near the water. You can take boat rides, or get a tour. We did it on foot.
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| Meditation Garden |
They also had a section that completely enchanted me. It's called the Fairy House Village and children come and build their own fairy houses out of the natural materials. I took a ton of photos.
So, I've been on deadline and not cooking anything interesting. But the heirloom tomatoes have begun to appear at the farmer's market. There have been a lot of meals involving cheese, tomatoes and zucchini.
Simple but so good.
