Cottage garden plantings by Amy Ziffer

Cottage garden by Amy Ziffer

Exuberant, colorful and adaptable, the cottage garden style is suitable for almost any property.  But how do you make and maintain one?  In this richly illustrated presentation, Amy shares practical advice on everything from planning and design to ongoing care.  She focuses on what makes a cottage garden and how to adapt a style we associate with the English gardening tradition to our more challenging climate and environment.

Amy Ziffer has been helping clients in western Connecticut achieve beautiful gardens since 1998.  She has created many kinds of gardens for sun and shade and has a wide-ranging knowledge of woody, perennial and annual plants.  Formerly a staff editor for Fine Gardening magazine, she has also worked as a freelance writer and photographer.  Her gardening articles and photographs have appeared in Reader’s Digest books and magazines such as Yankee, Fine Gardening and Horticulture.  She frequently lectures and teaches about garden subjects in New England and the lower Hudson Valley.

Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center
Price:      $35 members, $42 nonmembers (pre-registration requested)

Vertical gardens in our sensory garden

Join long-time gardener and staff horticulturist Dick Zieg on Friday, June 21, for an eye-opening presentation about how to create gorgeous vertical gardens like those in our Lerner Garden of the Five Senses – right at home!  Because planting and tending these gardens can be done primarily while standing up, people can avoid lots of uncomfortable bending or weeding on hands and knees.  Participants will learn from Dick just what goes into the planning, planting and caring for the “living walls,” and get ideas for what they might do at home. Dick will share sources for materials and will even bring examples of containers. 

Dick Zieg, who has more than 40 years’ experience as a horticulturist, was hired as the garden’s first full-time grounds employee in 2003 as director of horticulture.  He has been involved in almost every facet of the development of the gardens as you see them today, including planting trees, building walls, and maintaining plantings. While studying for a degree in ornamental horticulture and floriculture at the University of Maryland, he worked doing research in the USDA’s Turf and Grass Investigations Department.

This class, appropriate for all adults, is part of the new “Gardening Later in Life” series developed by Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ therapeutic horticulture coordinator, Irene Brady Barber. 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.  Dick Zieg and another staff horticulturist, Diane Walden, will each step in to lead one class, with Irene’s help, in their areas of expertise.

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

Caltha palustris

From Monday through Wednesday, June 24-26, 9-2 each day, we’ll present the first class for beginning students in the Certificate in Native Plants & Ecological Horticulture. With instructor Lauren Stockwell, you’ll explore the biology of a flowering plant through its life, from seed germination and seedling establishment through fruiting and dispersal.  Along the way, we’ll review the parts of the plant and see how they work together to sustain it through processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, and water and mineral uptake.

In the Gardens and in the classroom, Lauren will give you a whole new perspective on what goes on in the life of a plant! The required textbook will be Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon, available for purchase from the Gardens on the first day of class.

Certificate Program instructor Lauren Stockwell is a botanist and environmental consultant. Her business, Stockwell Environmental Consulting, Inc. provides comprehensive environmental services including natural resource identification, resource evaluation, and related permitting.  She has led many botanical field walks and has taught several prior classes at the Gardens. 

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

Please note: This class is full. Please scroll through our calendar on the homepage to find an array of exciting programs coming up this year.

"Fishing off the Hooter" by Jessica Archer

Intimidated by manual mode?  This course is designed for a small group to explore the manual settings of DSLR cameras, including exposure and metering, composition, basic macro shooting, and adjusting for different lighting conditions and effects.  This course is ideal for those who are newer to the world of digital photography and who want to learn to use manual mode to create finely composed digital photographs of greater technical quality.  Instructor Jessica Archer will lecture and then bring participants to different areas of the Gardens to practice specific skills. Materials to bring: DSLR cameras, memory card, spare batteries, tripod, and notebook.

Jessica Archer is a fine art photographer and book artist based in Rhode Island. She has an M.F.A. in Photography from the University of Iowa. Her photography has been exhibited nationally.  She owns and operates Jessica Archer Studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Find her on the Web at http://www.jbarcher.com.

We encourage Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens members to reserve now for fascinating – and free – tours presented just for you. The sessions last from 1 to 1½ hours, rain or shine, and each is limited to 20 participants. All require some walking, so please wear appropriate clothing and sensible shoes or boots. If you require mobility assistance, call Jen McKane at 207-633-4333, ext. 109.

See below for the descriptions of the members-only “insider tours.” Due to limited availability and because we’d like as many members as possible to experience these special tours, we ask that each member sign up for only one tour per year. To register, call us at 207-633-4333,  ext. 109 or 112, or reserve via the Purchase Tickets button below. Please check in at the Visitor Center upon arrival.

Wednesday, June 26
Garden Magic…Creating Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens from the Forest
Tour begins in the Visitor Center at 8 a.m.

Dick Zieg, one of the Gardens’ first employees and a horticulturalist with more than 40 years of experience, will talk about the transformation of the property in the last 20 years.  Did you know, for example, that Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was once slated to be a housing development? Do you know which stone walls are very old, and which ones are new? Dick will guide you through the land’s evolution into the garden you know and love today.

Friday, July 19
How Do We Make This Garden Grow?
Tour begins in the Visitor Center at 8 a.m.

This is a rare opportunity to see our greenhouse, which is not open to the general public.  Horticulturalists Sharmon Provan and Will Bridges and Director of Horticulture Rodney Eason will demonstrate how they propagate plants and show you what they have in the greenhouse at the moment.  They’ll also take you on a garden tour to explain the various cultural practices we use to keep our gardens lush and beautiful. 

Saturday, August 10
What’s New?
Tour begins at the Rose Arbor at 3 p.m.

Big garden improvements in 2013 include a redesign of the Rose & Perennial Garden, Great Lawn renovation, and fantastical stone construction at the shoreland Fairy House Village. We’re also busy at work on numerous smaller horticultural additions and subtractions throughout the gardens, some subtle, some bold.  Join horticulturalist Justin Nchols for his behind-the-scenes tour of what’s new in 2013, and a sneak peak at what we have up our sleeve for 2014.

AMONG THE TOURS TO BE OFFERED IN 2014:

Water Features at the Gardens

From complex irrigation to magnificent waterfalls and tranquil ponds, the Gardens’ water features create picture-perfect ambience and beauty.  A member of the horticulture staff will present a true insider’s view of how water works at the Gardens. This tour will be fascinating for anyone interested in the nitty-gritty of Gardens operations.
 

Please join us on Thursday evening, June 27, for a reception celebrating the opening of Living Wood, an exhibit that will be on view at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens through September 22. The show, curated by June LaCombe, features sculpture and benches created in wood by many of Maine’s finest artists and artisans.

Admission to the reception is free, and refreshments will be available. All sales of artwork benefit Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

Michael Dirr (photo by Dot Paul)

Quercus rubra (William Cullina photo)

Flowering fruit tree (photo by Renae Moran)

Trees can be the greatest – and most rewarding – investment you make in your gardens, adding structure, shade, color, and even fruits!  If selected and cared for properly, trees will add elegance and enjoyment to your landscape for generations to come. We’ll gather at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens on Saturday, June 29, to experience inspiration and learning from noted experts.

Our keynote speaker, renowned woody-plant author and expert Dr. Michael Dirr, will inspire you with his lecture and images of ornamental “Noble Trees.”

Next, you’ll meet the Gardens’ new Director of Horticulture, previously of Longwood Gardens, Rodney Eason. Since so much can go wrong when selecting and installing trees, Rodney will present practical “Essential Details for Buying and Planting the Best Trees” to help you choose and cultivate healthy trees. 

Finally, Maine’s own fruit tree expert, Renae Moran of the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension, will delight you with ideas for how to “Incorporate Fruit Trees into your Edible Landscape.”  She’ll introduce the surprising array of fruit trees that can be grown in northern landscapes – and right in your own yard.  Books will be available for sale.  

Where:   Bosarge Family Education Center
Price:      $80 members, $100 nonmembers –  includes continental breakfast and box lunch from the Kitchen Garden Café and Gardens admission (preregistration required)

According to award-winning woody plant expert Michael Dirr, “The art and science of plant propagation should be part of every gardener’s lexicon”. During this morning workshop, Dr. Dirr will lead you through hands-on propagation activities including seed collection and preparation, softwood and hardwood cuttings, along with demonstrations of grafting, budding, layering, stooling, and tissue culture. Come and share the joy of reproducing plants for your garden and for sharing with friends.  Handouts will be provided.

Dr. Dirr is retired professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia and the author of twelve books, including Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs, the Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation, and the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, the most widely used teaching and reference text in the United States.   He has received the prestigious Scott Medal and numerous other horticultural awards.  He has introduced more than 100 plants into cultivation and received the Inventor of the Year Award from the University of Georgia.  Currently, he and two partners own a plant breeding business, Plant Introductions, Inc., where propagation is practiced on a daily basis.

Where:        Bosarge Family Education Center
Price:           $60 members, $80 nonmembers (pre-registration required)

Variable spotted ladybug (photo by William Cullina)

Monarch caterpillar (photo by William Cullina)

Venture with us into Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens for an eye-opening view into the incredible world of insects. Children will become “bugologists” for the day as we scour the vegetable patch, turn over rocks and logs in the woods, and dip nets into the pond to discover what insects might be living there.  Through games and observations, they’ll experience first-hand some of the unique adaptations of insects and will make a special bug collector to study their subjects up close.  

Where:  Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden
Price:     $10 members, $12 nonmembers (preregister, please, or use your Gardens Activity Passport for a 10% discount and no preregistration)*

*This is one of our Gardens Activity Passport programs for kids. While you can sign up and pay for individual programs, with the passport, you’ll receive discounts and other benefits, and passport holders need not preregister. Learn more and sign up now.

Balsam-filled pillows by Leslie Evans

The Gardens Gift Shop at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will present a colorful – and scent-sational – array of balsam products using original Maine-inspired graphics by Leslie Evans of Cape Elizabeth. Stop by throughout the week for an expanded selection of these delightful products that are among the most popular items in the shop.

The spacious and bright Gardens Gift Shop itself offers a wonderful shopping experience. There’s something for many interests and all ages. The quality is high, and the prices are reasonable. Members receive a discount, too.