Chestnut tree in flower

This is a great chance to see the rejuvenated Viles Arboretum in Augusta and celebrate the rarest native tree species, the American Chestnut, when it’s in bloom.  Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens invites you to bring the family for a guided walk with Executive Director, Mark DesMeules. He’ll help you discover the arboretum’s amazing 224-acre preserve and its extensive botanical collection from around the world.

You’ll see the largest Maine-sourced collection of American chestnut trees and, because this trip coincides with the American Chestnut Celebration, you will see this species in flower and hear Eric Evans of the Chestnut Foundation discuss conservation restoration efforts. Seedlings will also be available for sale (pre-order seedlings at 207-626-7989).

Where: Viles Arboretum, Augusta (meet at the Arboretum’s Visitor Center)
Price:   $5/person (pay the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens staff member at the arboretum)

Using a microscope is a great way to explore nature. (Erika Huber photo)

Kids who love exploring the outdoors, learning new outdoor skills, and geocaching will love Nature Explorers Camp. From 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. each day, young explorers will expand their knowledge of the natural world during this inquiry-based week of outdoor activities. Using the Gardens and its surrounding forests and shoreline as a platform for investigation, we’ll spend the week exploring, geocaching and honing outdoor skills. As a final project in this fun-filled, skill-building week, campers will use these skills to create a series of caches for all Gardens guests to enjoy.

See an overview of all our 2013 camps for various ages.

Where:    Bosarge Family Education Center and grounds
Price:       $170 members, $200 nonmembers (includes Gardens admission for one child each day of camp)  

"Crabular" by Rob Smith

Photographing the Gardens is one of the joys of visiting.  What do you do with all those photos that may be languishing on your hard drive?  Join Photography Club facilitator Amity Beane as she shares how to use the popular on-line photo management system known as Flickr.  From creating a pro account to uploading, tagging, and organizing, to sharing, printing, and copyright – this class will help you make the most of a very good tool and  bring a sense of order to your hard-won shots.  Bring your laptop, full of pictures, of course, and learn step-by-step as Amity demonstrates on the big screen the various functions of Flickr. This class is designed for the person new to Flickr and social media sharing. It will be indoors, using your computer.

Amity Beane, a member of the Education Department staff at the Gardens, coordinates a state-wide learning initiative for seventh grade teachers and learners, as well as managing the photo club.  She has a Master of Science degree with a focus on educational technology and has been using Flickr to manage more than  20,000 photos for the past several years.

Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center
Price:      $60 members, $75 nonmembers (preregistration required)

Join us for another fine-dining experience in our very special Kitchen Garden Dinner Series. On Tuesday, July 9, we’ll welcome Chef Pete Sueltensuss from Restaurant Grace in Portland to the Kitchen Garden Cafe, who will prepare a delectable multi-course meal for our guests! Wine and gratuities are included. Numbers are limited; for reservations and to check availability, call 207-633-4333, ext. 101.

Please visit the calendar for dates and information about additional Kitchen Garden Series Dinners.

Where:   Kitchen Garden Cafe, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:     $75 members, $90 non-members

Join Maine State Climatologist Dr. George Jacobson and Extension Educator Esperanza Stancioff on Tuesday, July 9, for an evening lecture about New England’s ever-changing climate and vegetation. Dr. Jacobson will explain how dynamics of atmospheric and oceanic circulation are driven by forces acting at many different frequencies, all of which function in concert.  For thousands of years, these factors have strongly influenced the distribution, abundance, and phenology (seasonal life cycles) of plants on the landscape.  More recent examples include changes in the USDA plant growing zones.  Today we observe the consequences of human activities that are now perturbing some of the natural systems on a massive scale. 

Ms. Stancioff will then describe how citizen scientists in Maine, including here at the Botanical Gardens, are teaming together through the “Signs of the Seasons” project to collect phenology data so that scientists may better understand how plants respond to climate change.

Dr. George L. Jacobson is Professor Emeritus and former Director of the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute and the Maine State Climatologist. His research has focused on biological aspects of long-term changes in climate, ecosystems, and landscapes for the period since the last ice age.  

Esperanza Stancioff is an educator with the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension Her current work focuses on climate change education and adaptation planning. Since joining the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in 1988, she has designed and implemented educational programs in coastal ecosystem health, specifically in marine environment monitoring and watershed assessment and management.

Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center
Price:      $10 members, $12 non-members 

PLEASE NOTE: This class – the second in a pair of sessions – is now full. We hope you’ll check the calendar on our homepage to see many additional programs on our schedule.

The use of native herbaceous plants in a horticultural setting will be the topic of this combination classroom and in-garden course for second-year certificate students.  On one day in the spring season and one day in summer, native plant expert Bill Cullina will introduce students to native plants species to use in different horticultural settings based on their habitat preferences in nature.  Native plant selections for different combinations of soil pH, sun and shade, and wet to dry substrate, will be considered.  Selecting plants for aesthetic factors such as color and texture, as well as broader ecosystem considerations, will be introduced.  Finally, Bill will explain the use of native plants in niche garden types, such as woodland or meadow gardens, and in ecological restoration.

William Cullina is Executive Director of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  Previously Director of Horticulture and Plant Curator for the Gardens, Cullina has also worked for many years as the native plant Nursery Director for the New England Wild Flower Society.  He was recently awarded the Scott Medal for lifetime achievement in horticulture.  The 2010 winner of the American Horticultural Society’s Communication Award, he is also the winner of numerous American Horticultural Society Book Awards.  A well-known author, photographer, and recognized authority on North American native plants, Cullina lectures on a variety of subjects to garden and professional groups and writes for popular and technical journals. His books include Wildflowers, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, Understanding Orchids, Native Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses, and most recently, Understanding Perennials, published in 2009. He is co-author of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: A People’s Garden.

Where:      Bosarge Family Education Center, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Price:         $120 members, $150 nonmembers (preregistration required)

Join us as we celebrate Lunaform, the West Sullivan, Maine, studio famed for its one-of-kind planters and urns of all sizes and in a variety of finishes. You’ll enjoy the horticulture staff’s unique plantings in many of the vessels. Use your smartphone to take the self-guided, interactive tour and learn about the fine craftsmanship of these works of art.

Admission to the reception is free, and refreshments will be available. The exhibit is from May 27 to September 2.

Gardening can be enjoyable and provide healthy exercise for all ages! Did you know there are garden tricks and ergonomic tools that can minimize strenuous activity and fatigue?   In this workshop on Friday, July 12, Irene Brady Barber will share tips and equipment to help gardeners maximize enjoyment, extend their mobility and support their general well-being. She will help you consider your abilities and limitations and how you can take them into account to modify your gardening technique to create a positive gardening experience for you and/or a loved one.

Irene Brady Barber is therapeutic horticulture coordinator at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. With an academic and professional background in communications, human behavior, and horticulture, she is presently working to complete a professional certification in the field of horticultural therapy, which is the focus of much of her teaching at the Gardens.  She plans,tends and teaches in the accessible edible gardens in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses.

This class, appropriate for all adults, is part of the new “Gardening Later in Life” series developed by Irene. Each class focuses on practical, realistic options you can implement in your own garden space, whether small or expansive, so you can continue to garden long into the future. 

Where:       Bosarge Family Education Center
Price:          $30 members, $37 nonmembers – Use “Purchase Tickets” button below

Campers have fun while learning. (Erika Huber photo)

We’re offering two weeks of Nature Adventure Camp for two different age groups. Our summer nature camps provide lots of fun, as well as enriching opportunities for young people to learn about the natural world. 

During each Nature Adventure Camp week, half-day sessions from Monday through Friday fully engage children in an outdoor setting, while encouraging imagination and creativity through garden walks, stories, games, arts-and-crafts and nature-related projects. We’ll dig in the dirt, scope out the pond and take a walk through the woods to discover just who calls these habitats home. By the end of the week, Nature Adventurers will be well on their way to becoming young ecologists!   

See an overview of our 2013 camps for various ages.

The camp for ages 4-5 is from 9:30 a.m.-noon. The sessions for ages 6-8 are from 1:00-3:30 p.m.

Where:    Bosarge Family Education Center and grounds
Price:      $105 members, $130 nonmembers (includes Gardens admission for one child each day of camp)

Combining a passion for nature, art, and the written word, instructor Hillary Parker will highlight Maine poets as students are inspired to create artwork from what they have gathered and discovered at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Wear comfortable walking shoes to meander the grounds, and dress for the weather with lots of pockets or a bag to collect objects from Nature’s floor.  Painting will be indoors in a studio setting.

A keen interest in nature, art and poetry is the prerequisite for this full-day workshop on Tuesday, July 16. Some prior drawing/painting experience will be helpful but is not necessary. Bring along some of your favorite poems to share and inspire!

Hillary Parker is the Gardens’ Artist-in-Residence from July 16-19. She is a naturalist and international award-winning botanical watercolor artist with paintings exhibited and sold worldwide.  As a former resident of Camden, Maine, she now works from her studio on St. Simons Island, off the coast of Georgia, returning to Maine to spend time with family in Boothbay whenever time permits. She has enjoyed a dual career of teaching and painting for more than 20 years and enjoys keeping up with the demands of private and public commissions, juried exhibitions, lectures, international workshops, and solo and group shows with galleries that represent her. Her paintings can be found in Singapore, El Salvador, Canada, Japan, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, South Africa, Bahamas, and throughout the U.S.

Visit Hillary Parker’s website.

Where:  Bosarge Family Education Center
Price:     $120 members, $150 nonmembers, preregistration required