Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens has had not only the foresight, but also the good fortune, to retain fine landscape architects, architects, contractors, and other professionals as we plan and build the Gardens. Here are a few of the individuals and firms responsible for the success of the project.

Leighton and Associates in Boothbay
The first master plan for our first 128 acres was by Leighton and Associates. This forward-thinking design laid the foundation for the work that was to follow.

Thanks to them, and to the boards of directors and overseers and staff members who oversee the project and are partners in the planning, the Gardens has won several design awards. In 2006, the master plan for the Central Gardens received the President’s Award of Excellence from the Colorado Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Merit Award from the Boston Society of landscape Architects. Individual designers have won awards and other recognition for their work at the Gardens, as well.

Herb Schaal, FASLA of EDAW, Inc., Fort Collins, Colorado
The master plan used to create the Central Gardens surrounding our Visitor Center was created in 2004 by landscape architect Herb Schaal, a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Herb, who’s had about 40 projects recognized with ASLA awards, is a principal of the international firm EDAW. He has more than 30 years’ experience in a broad range of projects but specializes in public gardens, including educational gardens for children and contemplative gardens for health care facilities.
Bruce John Riddell is principal of Land Art in Bar Harbor, Maine, and an award-winning member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. A native of Ellsworth, Maine, Bruce received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maine and then, in 1986, received a masters degree in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He immediately joined Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, the Washington, D.C. firm credited with creating the New American garden style, and which also undertook some planning for the Gardens. After eight years at OvS, Bruce returned to his Maine roots and started his own business in Bar Harbor.

During a process that began with a multi-day planning charrette, Herb and his team from EDAW in Colorado and Terrence J. DeWan & Associates in Yarmouth, Maine, spent time really getting to know the nature of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens site before creating the master plan. Herb has returned many times since then to present programs at the Gardens, to observe progress and refine the plan for the Central Gardens as needed, including creating detailed plans for the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses and the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.

Bruce John Riddell, ASLA, of Land Art, Bar Harbor, Maine
Bruce has a feel for the nature of Maine and the materials that work best in northern landscapes; he is also a master at designing with stone. He is responsible for most of the massive stonework in benches, steps, paving, and waterfall designs that enthrall visitors to Gardens areas including the Rose & Perennial, Hillside, Shoreland, and Meditation gardens. He designed and implemented the Hillside and Meditation gardens and created planting plans for those and other gardens on the property. Not only is Bruce responsible for major donations of materials and artwork that you’ll enjoy at the Gardens; he is also one of our most effective ambassadors. Bruce’s unique design approach is showcased in The Perfect Home¸ a book from Sandow Media that features one landscape architect or designer from each state.

Quinn Evans Architects, Washington, D.C.
Designing a multi-purpose building that will serve Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens visitors and staff very well now and into the future was the task admirably completed by Quinn Evans | Architects of Washington D.C. when they designed our 9,500-square-foot Visitor Center. The public marvels at the spacious rooms, intriguing cottage-style details, lofty ceilings, sumptuous colors, fieldstone fireplace, and stunning curved wall of windows.

Quinn Evans Architects is a full-service architectural firm founded in 1984 in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Washington, DC. While the firm has grown over the years and has earned a solid reputation for design excellence, its members retain a genuine desire to contribute to their architectural legacy. With projects in most of the 48 contiguous states to their credit, the firm is engaged in the adaptive use of historic structures and the traditional design of new buildings, projects that revitalize neighborhoods and commercial centers, and preservation of cultural landscapes and important community icons. They are attentive to each project’s unique requirements, responsive to clients’ missions, and have a zeal for creative problem solving.

Ouellet Associates Inc., Brunswick, Maine
The construction company that built our Visitor Center is Ouellet Associates, Inc. of Brunswick, Maine. In 1992, after 15 years working on northern Maine projects with his father’s construction company, and with a degree in engineering, Mike Ouellet started his own firm in southern Maine. Mikes goal, and the “secret” to his success, is fairness and honesty. He feels that “once a project is his, it’s his for life.”
Landscape architect Terrence DeWan, ASLA, and other members of his award-winning Yarmouth, Maine, landscape architecture and planning firm worked with the EDAW team on the master plan for our main campus, and also helped to design some of the gardens on our property.

In addition to using Ouellet’s own craftsmen, the contractor brought in fine artisans and specialty contractors who took on the formidable job of building the Center and creating the infrastructure that will keep all systems running smoothly. Marcel Cyr, Ouellet’s project manager for the Visitor Center, was meticulous in his attention to detail.

Jorgensen Landscaping, Bath, Maine
Red t-shirts emblazoned with the words Jorgensen Landscaping were everywhere at the Gardens year-round during the creation of the main campus, and during the more-recent construction of the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses and Bibby and Harold Alfnd Children’s Garden. Owner Mark Jorgensen, who’s been in the landscaping business since 1969 and founded his own firm in 1982, and his hard-working crew led by project manager Jason Lang moved huge amounts of earth and massive boulders, created beds according to the master plan, and then planted the plants, including sizable shrubs and mature trees.

Jorgensen Landscaping has also been responsible for implementing the designs for stonework in the main campus – from the Kitchen Garden to the two-toned granite rose under the Rose & Perennial Garden gazebo. They even worked under tents throughout the winter of 2006-2007 completing the broad stone terraces that extend from the Visitor Center entryways and beside the Kitchen Garden.

Terrance J. DeWan & Associates, Yarmouth, Maine
Terry DeWan established TJD&A is 1988 after 11 years as a founding partner of Mitchell-DeWan Associates, where he was involved with more than 300 projects in New England. He has more than 35 years’ experience as a professional landscape architect. TJD&A is dedicated to approaching land use opportunities with creativity, environmental sensitivity, and an awareness of client needs.

Kevin Rodel Furniture & Design Studio, Brunswick, Maine
If you admire the furnishings in our interior spaces, including the café and gift shop, you can thank Kevin Rodel. He has been involved every step of the way, designing many of the pieces in their entirety and devising embellishments for others, helping with the selection of still more furniture, overseeing the craftsmen who created some pieces from his designs, and working on many himself.

The distinctive and beautiful bench outside the gift shop in Kerr Hall, the tables in the café and library, the pergola-topped shelving and hatch-cover tables in the Gift Shop, and even the trash receptacles and condiments table in the café are either partially or entirely his design.