On April 11^th we enjoyed the fourth installment of our Kitchen Garden Dinner Series of 2012. This series brings top Maine chefs to our own Kitchen Garden Café for sumptuous multi-course meals. The guest chefs have the opportunity to showcase their favorite seasonal offerings in the intimate setting of the Cafe at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

The April dinner featured Wing’s Hill Inn & Restaurant owner/chef Christopher Anderson, who offered up an evening of culinary delights. The wonderful play between flavors and textures was consistent throughout the meal, and the plating was colorful and creative. Although all courses were delicious, my favorite was the foie gras starter because of the wonderful blending of flavors between the mushrooms, bread, foie gras, and the balsamic reduction sauce. The fish from the second course was flavorful; however the sauce was the star – it made me want to run off into the garden with a baguette and a bowl of it and sit like a happy chipmunk devouring every morsel.

Wing’s Hill Inn & Restaurant is located in Belgrade Lakes on Rt. 27. It’s a charming country inn, with an award-winning restaurant. They also have a bakery for specialty cakes to order. To book reservations, call (207) 495-2400 or toll free (866) 495-2400.

Our next dinner is on May 16^th with Chef Rich Hanson from Cleonice in Ellsworth. The dinner is sold out, but we are taking names for the waiting list. Check out our Kitchen Garden Dinner Series page for the full 2012 schedule. Tickets are available to the public for all of our Kitchen Garden Series Dinners; call (207) 633-4333, ext.101 to reserve your seats. Be sure to book your reservations early this summer, as all of our chefs are sure to be a hit!

~ Frank Merrill, Rental Coordinator

The winter of 2011/12 brought big changes and lots of activity to the Gardens Gift Shop at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. To bring you a wider variety of fine items to choose from and provide a more spacious and bright location to make your shopping experience more pleasant, we’ve moved the shop to the large and airy room on the opposite side of the Visitor Center.  Hours are 9-5 daily. Please stop in on opening day, Saturday, April 7, to see the changes we’ve made. You’ll love what we’ve done with the place!

We’d like to introduce you to two people you’ll soon be seeing during your visits to the Gardens. Kris Folsom, our new director of marketing, currently spends two days a week in her office in the Visitor Center and will work full time beginning in January. Amity Beane’s position is temporary but critical to the organization’s mission. As  curriculum program advisor, she will help us extend far into the future the exciting efforts initiated during this ”Year of Education.”

“Even though I don’t ‘officially’ start until January,” Kris says, “I’m enjoying my two days each week getting to know the staff, board members, and the Gardens.”

Kris started her marketing career at advertising agencies and was fortunate to work with some really great clients over the years such as Bank of America, M&M Mars, AT&T,  and Carnival Cruise Lines.  After starting a family, agency life no longer fit their lifestyle, so she became a product marketing manager and finally spent the past eight years as marketing director at Colorado State University. Her husband’s job brought the family to Damariscotta this past summer.

“I was thrilled to see that Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was looking for a marketing director,” she says.  “I bring an understanding of the non-profit environment (Courtney has already seen me cutting post-its into thirds to get more bang for the buck) and a passion for telling our story in ways that are strategic and meaningful. It’s my goal to not just build awareness of the Gardens but to translate that awareness into visitors who will spend their time and money with us. I’m grateful to be part of this special family at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and I appreciate the warm welcome that I’ve received.”

Amity’s impressive background includes 11 years as a teacher and an M.S. in education with extensive curriculum-development experience. She will be working with Director of Education Melissa Cullina to develop an innovative, Maine-based curriculum program for 7^th grade teachers. A key part of each lesson plan will be creating a bridge between technology and nature.

“Our aim,” explains Melissa, “is to provide opportunity for hands-on, place-based learning about Maine and its natural and cultural history in outdoor settings, while simultaneously teaching fluency in 21^st century tools, such as on-line field guides, nature apps for iPads and navigation with GPS units. We intend to craft a cross-content school curriculum for schoolyard settings that will satisfy Maine’s learning standards for natural science, history, social studies, writing, and physical education.”

It’s clear that Amity is looking forward to getting started on this far-reaching project. She says, “Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is amazing!  I feel very lucky to be working for an organization that wants to bring students outside to make connections with nature, meet curriculum goals, and foster life-long learning.”

~ Barbara Freeman

I have been madly photographing for our Florafind database, and as a result, I have managed to capture many new plants added to the garden over the last year.  What follows (in no particular order) are but a few of my favorites from the class of 2011.  Bill Cullina (see notes below gallery)

Triosteum aurantiacum ‘Red-leaved Form’ (Wild Coffee)

Wild Coffee is an unusual woodland perennial in the honeysuckle family from the eastern US.  We got this form from Enchanter’s Garden.  The leaves emerge burgundy red and remain that way until well after the small red flowers fade in late spring.  Orange berries develop in the leaf axils late in the season.  Look for on the north side of the Bosarge Family Education Center.  An image of the curious red flowers appears in the Spring Has Sprung post.

Polygonatum pumilum (Small Whorled Solomon’s Seal)

We are building a large collection of Solomon’s Seal species and this is one of the cutest in flower.  Six to eight inch tall stems support whorls of three leaves from which emerge relatively large, pink flowers.  It keys out most closely to this species in Flora of China.

Polygonatum kingianum (Red-flowered Solomon’s Seal)

There are probably at least three different species being sold under the name Polygonatum kingianum.  According to Polygonatum authority Aaron Floden, this may be actually P. huanum.  In any case it is a very large, arching plant with very colorful flowers.  Look for it near the Pavilion in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses.

Plectranthus kameba (Hardy Plectranthus)

Though primarily a tropical genus, this hardy herbaceous member from Japan becomes a five by five foot mass bedecked in violet flowers in October.  It is a startlingly impressive specimen for such a late date!  It grows along the cat fence in the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden

Paeonia ‘Pastel  Splendor’ (ITOH Peony Hybrid)

We are trialing a number of intersectional or ITOH peony hybrids.  These crosses between herbaceous and tree peonies have lovely foliage and strong stems that do not need staking.  Look for this selection Near the Whales in the Alfond Children’s Garden

Lilium ‘Conca D’Or, a.k.a. ‘Golden Stargazer’ (Golden Oriental Lily)

When this spectacular lily flowers near the entrance to the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses in July, there is no finer place to be in the Gardens.  The flowers are six inches across and heavily scented.  Wow!

Leucosceptrum stellipilum (Japanese Shrub Mint) 

This unusual perennial resembles a hydrangea during the summer, but in early fall, knobby spikes gradually develop at the stem tips and finally burst into flower in mid-October.  Still in our nursery, propagator Sharmon Provan is working to increase our number so we can establish it in the garden.

Iris cristata ‘Dick Redfield’ (Crested Iris)

Named for my late friend and mentor Dick Redfield from eastern Connecticut, this is the prettiest crested iris I have grown.  Iris flowers are typically composed of three standards (upright tepals) and three falls (lower tepals, often bearing a wrinkled crest.  ‘Dick Redfield’ produces an extra set of falls, do the flowers have symmetry and patterning that is uniquely beautiful.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Quick Fire’ (Panicle Hydrangea)

Panicle hydrangeas are hardy and durable flowering shrubs.  The old cultivar ‘Pee Gee’ is a fixture in dooryards, parks, and cemeteries throughout Maine.  In recent years a flurry of new selections has hit the garden centers, and we feature a number of these in the Gardens.  Most of these bloom in late summer, but ‘Quick Fire’ is unique in that it begins blooming a full month early in July.  The colorful bracts begin white and fade to light then dark pink as the season goes on.  Look for it near the rill between the Slater forest pond and the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses.  Though Hydrangea paniculata will naturally grow into a small tree, we cut ours back to 12-18 inches in late March to keep the plants manageable and to encourage better bloom.

Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Birgit’ (‘Birgit’ Witchhazel) 

Of the dozen hybrid witchhazels in our collection, perhaps the most distinctive is ‘Brigit.’  Located near the group entrance to the Alfond Children’s Garden, this small tree flowers in March, unfurling its ruby red blossoms on warm days and furling them when the weather turns cold.

Epimedium simplicifolium (Single-leaved Barrenwort) 

As with Solomon’s Seals we are developing a large collection of barrenworts.  From the forty or so accessions in our collection, this is one of my favorites.  The large evergreen leaves make this foot-tall woodland plant an excellent groundcover, and the large, garnet and white flowers are a welcome surprise in early spring.

Disporum cantoniense (Pink Chinese Fairybells)

I just wrote about the pink-flowered form of pink Chinese fairybells from an upcoming issue of horticulture magazine.  Another woodland perennial from Central China and south, this species is related to a group of North American wildflowers that taxonomists have moved from Disporum into the genus Prosartes.  It is an elegant plant that you can find growing with yellow lady-slipper orchids in the Woodland Garden.

Baptisia × bicolor ‘Starlite’ (Starlite False Indigo)

The Chicago Botanic Garden has been actively breeding our native false indigos for a decade or so.  This introduction is a hybrid between large blue false indigo (Baptisia australis) and the demure Baptisia bracteata.  As a result it is much more compact than most false indigos – a good thing as typical Baptisia australis grow three feet tall by four feet wide.

Alstroemeria ‘Freedom’ (Freedom Peruvian Lily)

One of a series of winter-hardy Peruvian Lilies from Dr. Mark Bridgen at Cornell University, this light pink perennial began blooming in June and is still in flower now in mid-November behind the drying shed in the Alfond Children’s Garden!

Abies numidica (Algerian Fir)

The final mention is one of our most asked about trees.  Also in the Alfond Children’s Garden near the whale terrace, this prehistoric-looking conifer hails improbably from the high mountains  but looks very much at home in conifer-rich Coastal Maine.  Ruby-colored pollen cones poke out from the needles in spring.

In case you were wondering what  might be in bloom now at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, I thought I would post some images I took this week around the gardens.  The pink lady-slippers (Cypripedium acuale) are in bud and should begin opening in about a week.  The rhododendrons are starting to really come on now along with many, many other things.  I hope you enjoy the images and please pay us a visit when you can.  The recent rains have brought on an unbelievable lushless around here!   Bill Cullina

The Morning Show on WCSH6 – the highest-rated TV news program in Maine –  recently featured Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens horticulturist Justin Nichols. We thought you might like to see these informative and entertaining segments – or see them again. Thanks, Justin!

See the segments:  “Don’t Wait Until the Snow Melts to Start Spring Planting” or “Proper Storage to Keep Veggies Fresh Year-Round.”

With the structure up and sitework and landscaping yet to begin, the day-to-day progress on our Bosarge Family Education Center is mostly about the myriad details that go into a building of this complexity and “intelligence.”  One of the things I have wondered about is how this solar building is going to be heated and cooled, so I asked the folks from Johnson and Jordan, the mechanical contractors on the job.  In fall and spring, much of the heating will come from the sun streaming through large south-facing windows.  T0 supplement this and to provide cooling during the warmest days of the summer when open windows will not suffice, the building will have a heat-pump system powered by electricity coming from solar panels.  Four compressors on the east end send refrigerant through a network of copper tubing to small wall units in the various rooms.  These extract heat from the refrigerant in the winter or add heat removed from the air in the summer.  Because this building is incredibly airtight, a second sytem recirculates air inside the rooms and pulls in a small percentage of outside air to keep it fresh.  A computer controls the whole system to keep it running at peak efficiency as conditions inside and outside change.

Open or Closed

While the electricians, plumbers and drywall contractor work on the office wing, the carpentera are finishing up the interior framing of the classroom or multi-purpose wing.  To give us maximum flexibility, this space can be opened to accommodate around 200 people for lectures, performances or meetings.  Alternatively, we can divide the space into three smaller classrooms by means of collapsible dividers .  These will slide on a metal track and recess into separate bays when not in use.  To allow for optimal acoustics, the timbered ceiling roof trusses in the room can be left open in the full room or closed by means of sets of three rotating panels when the room is divided.

Diamond Rings

One of the interesting “green” features of this building wil be the polished concrete floors on the lower level.  Though typically a structural material only, in this building the concrete will serve a dual role.  We have contracted with Vermont Eco-Floors to do this work.  Before the concrete set, they added a blend of black and brown sand and small rocks from a local source.  Once the concrete cured and hardened, they came back and began polishing it with a series of diamond-impregnated pads.  It will take about 20 pads of increasing fineness to obtain the final polish, but owner Michael Frost told me they are waiting until more of the construction has been completed before doing the final set of five.

On the oustide, the roof shingling is complete and the first load of wall stone has been delivered so Gnome Landscaping can get started on wall building.  Bill Cullina

In the two weeks since my last post on the progress of our new Bosarge Family Education Center, Bensonwood has finished the exterior of the building and the roofing contractor is finishing up the two-story administrative office wing.  Our high-performance windows are on the boat from Germany and are due to arrive later in March.  Inside, the drywall has started to go up as the insulation is being laid before the last sections of the sub-floor are poured and the interior spaces are really starting to take shape.  The classoom is especially beautiful, with soaring ceiling and timber trusses lit by large window, skylight and door openings that will be outfitted with darkening shades when needed.  Bill Cullina

Despite cold temeratures and more snow than we have seen for at least six years, the crews have soldiered on with the construction of our Bosarge Family Education Center.  Over the last three weeks, the folks from Bensonwood have been erecting the pre-made frame and panels that will form the exterior shell of the building,  The 16-inch-think panels are constructed with internal structural support and chases for wiring and plumbing and then packed with cellulose insulation and sealed.  Thus each 8-12-foot-long panel can be set and connected to its neighbors in just a few minutes.  The timber frame that forms the backbone of the classroom wing arrived partially assembled as well, so it went up very quickly.  Bensonwood will complete the exterior in another week or so, and work has already begun on the interior.  Favreau Electric and Johnson and Jordan Mechanical Contractors are busy istalling the electrial and mechanical systems inside the administrative wing and this part of the building is really starting to take shape.  Bill Cullina

Emily Ellingson with CKP youth

Unlike last year’s snowy debacle, our 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Project was unimpeded by bad weather!  On January 14, 2011, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, along with The Lincoln Home in Newcastle and Coastal Kids Preschool in Damariscotta, hosted a MLK Jr. Day Service Project at The Lincoln Home. Upwards of 20 preschoolers came to The Lincoln Home to plant healthy salad and herb gardens with aides and parents associated with Coastal Kids Preschool, as well as with eight residents of The Lincoln Home.  Everyone enjoyed an array of healthy snacks and drinks while they planned and planted their gardens.  The pots were left at The Lincoln Home to germinate and grow into salad gardens that residents can harvest at a later date, hopefully with the students at Coastal Kids Preschool! 

Special thanks go to the Activities Director at The Lincoln Home, Rhonda Hanna, and the Education Director at Coastal Kids Preschool, Priscilla Congdon, for helping me organize the event.  I would also like to thank Maine Conservation Corps volunteers Becky Kolak, Stewart DesMeules, Leo Maheu, Tim Duclos, and Dee Clark who joined me to help set up and supervise the event, as well as all the aides and parents from Coastal Kids Preschool.  This project was made possible by an award to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens from the Maine Commission for Community Service.
-Emily Ellingson, Maine Conservation Corps Environmental Educator at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Emily Ellingson with Coastal Kids Preschool youth

MCC Environmental Educator, Dee Clark with CKP youth

Group of MLK Day volunteers and participants