Dig It! Garden Blog

At Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, we believe that mission statements should evolve as an organization does. Our mission isn’t static—it grows alongside our gardens, through expansion of programs, and to meet the increasing number of…

Tent-Making Caterpillars: Friends or Foes? Browntail Moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea)  Maine is home to many different tent-building caterpillars—some native, like the Eastern tent or forest tent caterpillars, or non-native or introduced species, like the spongey and…

Across the Garden’s, asters are blooming! Look for the purple flowers of the Raydon’s Favorite aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘Raydon’s Favorite’) in the Pond Garden and the white flowers of Chilly Winds New England aster…

Fall blooms are opening! As you explore the Garden’s, look for toad lilies including Jim’s Tall Towers toad lily in the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden (Tricyrtis ‘Jim’s Tall Towers), and Blue Wonder toad…

Across the grounds, anemones are blooming! Look for the bright pink blooms of Curtain Call Deep Rose Japanese Anemone (Anemone ‘Curtain Call Deep Rose’) in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses, and the double-petaled…

Late summer and early autumn flowers are in full bloom across the Gardens! Look for the toad lily (Tricyrtis macropoda) blooming in mass in Slater Forest Pond, the seven-sons flower (Heptacodium miconioides) opening in the…

The deep purple flowers of blazing star (Liatris spp.) are blooming across the Gardens! Compare the large flowers of Rocky Mountain blazing star (Liatris ligulistylis) and rough blazing star (Liatris aspera) in the Butterfly House…

Beautiful and fragrant sweetshrub (Clethra alnifolia) flowers are blooming across the gardens! Look the pink blooms of Ruby Spice sweetshrub (Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’) in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses and the fragrant…