Gardens Aglow tickets are on sale NOW! Weekends and holidays do sell out, so get your tickets early to ensure your ideal day and time.
In this field-study course, join Sarah Callan on a walking tour of the Gardens and discover the diversity of bees in the landscape, bee identification, pollinator preferences, bee anatomy and behavior, and the latest research into these important pollinators.
Artistic, eye-catching mobiles can add whimsy and natural music to any garden as they catch the wind. Secured to posts, branches, or arbors, these features can reflect light, capture the spirit of a space, and offer depth and vertical interest to any landscape. In this creative craft class, we will make garden mobiles from found and natural objects supplied by instructors Caroline Davis, the Gardens' Coordinator of Botanical Arts and Exhibits, and Irene Barber, Horticultural Therapist and educator. Students are welcome to bring their own found, repurposed, or natural objects to incorporate in their garden mobiles. Please bring a pair of form-fitting work gloves.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 people. We are practicing social distance protocols.
Rain Date: Saturday, August 14, 2021
Join horticulturists Diane Walden and Brent McHale on a tour of their container garden designs in the Burpee Kitchen Garden, the Arbor Garden, and the Great Lawn. Learn about the different styles on display, from the organized to the whimsical, the bold to the muted, and the minimalistic to the complex. Diane and Brent will describe the plant varieties providing those stylistic differences and how plant placement can affect the design and overall management throughout the summer.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, class are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols.
Rain Date: Saturday, August 14, 2021
Join naturalist and botanical watercolor artist Hillary Parker for a fascinating three-day botanical watercolor workshop exploring the submerged plant life growing along the rocky shoreline of the Gardens' stretch of the Back River.
Led by Ted Elliman, author of Grasses, Sedges and Rushes, An Identification Guide, participants will learn how to identify and better understand New England meadow plants. This is the perfect class for those interested in starting or sustaining an open grassland.
This registration is for the online event. Please note: both online and in-person registration is available for this event.
In this conversation Abra Lee will discuss her garden roots from the dirt-road country of the rural South to a lesson in family history that helped define her life’s purpose. This is a story of failure, persistence, and how taking her Mama’s advice to “don’t be no educated fool” led her on a journey to uncover Black America’s legacy in ornamental horticulture.
The Ina and Lew Heafitz Endowed Lecture celebrates leading thinkers in horticulture, landscape design, sustainability, and more. These nationally-recognized speakers address cutting-edge and timely topics, presenting enriching talks centered around their work in nature-related fields. The annual lecture is free for all.
Abra Lee is a national speaker, writer, and owner of Conquer the Soil, a platform that combines Black garden history and current events to raise awareness of horticulture. She has spent "a whole lotta time" in the dirt as a municipal arborist, extension agent, airport landscape manager, and more. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University and alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals.
This registration is for the in-person event, which will take place indoors in our Education Center at 75% capacity. Please note: both online and in-person registration is available for this event.
In this conversation Abra Lee will discuss her garden roots from the dirt-road country of the rural South to a lesson in family history that helped define her life’s purpose. This is a story of failure, persistence, and how taking her Mama’s advice to “don’t be no educated fool” led her on a journey to uncover Black America’s legacy in ornamental horticulture.
The Ina and Lew Heafitz Endowed Lecture celebrates leading thinkers in horticulture, landscape design, sustainability, and more. These nationally-recognized speakers address cutting-edge and timely topics, presenting enriching talks centered around their work in nature-related fields. The annual lecture is free for all.
Abra Lee is a national speaker, writer, and owner of Conquer the Soil, a platform that combines Black garden history and current events to raise awareness of horticulture. She has spent ""a whole lotta time"" in the dirt as a municipal arborist, extension agent, airport landscape manager, and more. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University and alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals.
In this interactive walking-tour, students will gain insight in including art in the landscape, at any scale, while viewing examples located throughout the Gardens.
Paint a beautiful silk scarf with a botanical theme. Specimens will be provided by the Gardens to inspire your creativity and design. Students will go home with a lovely scarf and a fun new skill. Materials are provided for a $20 fee, collected on the first day of the workshop.
Join us and get mothing! The Gardens has teamed up with The Caterpillar Lab for an after-hours mothing extravaganza. Lightsheeting, or “mothing,” is the practice of providing an irresistible surface for insects to land on by illuminating a large white sheet. This favorite pastime of biologists has quickly become a popular hobby for nature lovers, gardeners, and the naturally curious worldwide. Popular events like National Moth Week and Mothapalooza have been attracting more and more attention—and now you, too, can be an explorer at this exclusive, after-hours event.
The Caterpillar Lab Director, Sam Jaffe, will arrange his ultra-moth-attracting setup and be on hand to help identify the hundreds of species we’ll likely attract. Come ready to be amazed by the diversity, size, and beauty of Maine’s nocturnal insect inhabitants. Before long, you too will be hooked on this popular pastime.
For the best experience, avoid bright clothing, wear long sleeves and pants, and bring a flashlight and insect repellant. This program is designed for anyone ages 10 and up, adults and families alike.
Interested in gardening with ornamental grasses, but aren’t sure if you’re ready to commit or how to apply them in a garden? At Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, we have a plethora of ornamental native and non-native grasses through which Syretha Brooks, gardener and garden designer, will guide you. By studying the variety of shapes, sizes, textures, and colors, students will clearly understand how to use grasses effectively in perennial gardens or naturalized settings. Discussion will include grass management, cultivation, and habits.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols. This course is alternately available in an online format.
Syretha Brooks is a horticulturist and project manager at Pretty Flowers, a landscape and design company based in Brunswick, Maine. A native of Harpswell, Maine, she has a degree in fine arts from Smith College, which has greatly aided in developing her eye for plant designing and curation. Syretha was formerly a horticulturist at New York City’s Wave Hill Gardens before returning to her home state of Maine and working as a horticulturist here at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens for four years.
The Caterpillar Lab is moving in, and while the exhibit is filled with munching critters offering lots to explore, the real story is the one happening outdoors. In our many gardens (as well as your own backyard), these creatures are living out their strange lives in the wild. Join The Caterpillar Lab Director, Sam Jaffe, on an exploration of the Gardens in search of native caterpillars and other insects. Learn how The Lab finds its caterpillars, all about host plants and parasitoids, and discover caterpillar-finding secrets from one of the world’s foremost caterpillar hunters! This walk is appropriate for naturalists, gardeners, and explorers of all ages. It may not, however, be appropriate for more casually interested younger children.
Learn from expert wreath maker Jen Dunlap, whose amazing and imaginative harvest wreaths feature dried floral and foliar cuttings from the garden. Walk the Gardens with Jen and learn which plants are perfect for dried wreaths and other dried compositions. Jen will discuss the proper time to cut and drying methods. This class pairs perfectly with the online tutorial, Making a Harvest Wreath, happening in October.
In this class, Courtney Locke, bulb grower and Staff Horticulturist, will discuss the world of bulbs beyond tulips and daffodils. Although the latter are beautiful and deserve attention, there are many varieties that bloom later into the summer and fall. Aconites, Camassia, and fall crocus are just a few that will be featured. Courtney will take you on an online visual journey; learn how to landscape with these bulbs, including naturalizing or gardening within an ornamental border, and how to manage bulb species over time—most bulbs are perennials, perfect partners in sustainable gardening.
Seeds are miracles of the plant world – a lot of power packed into a small case that sustains nature’s biodiversity. Former horticulturist and lead propagator of Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary and native seed specialist, Leslie Duthie, will guide students through the process of growing meadow plants from seed. Whether you’d like to convert a lawn into a mini meadow-scape, diversify an existing field, or start a large-scale meadow from scratch, Leslie will share the secrets of making meadows succeed. Using the palette of the Gardens’ naturalized areas, discussion will include seed collection, storage, and plant selection as pertaining to the environmental conditions of a setting.
Leslie Duthie is a lifelong gardener. She was formerly employed at the Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary where she was the horticulturist and plant propagator for over 38 years. An accomplished grower of ferns and wildflowers, she says you can't really know a plant until you have grown it from seed. Now retired, she continues to volunteer at various gardens and works to protect land for her local Conservation Commission and land trust.
Celebrate the natural world by creating a work of art honoring the relationship between an animal and a plant. Block printing, a form of relief printing, is the oldest, simplest, and most direct approach to making an impression. Experience all aspects of the process, from handling and care of tools through inking and printing your own images by hand.
Plants of salt marsh communities are uniquely adapted to tolerate and survive the stress of repeated, daily salt-water flooding. Learn which members of our wild flora can withstand these harsh conditions and the various mechanisms they’ve evolved to cope with—and even thrive in—environmental conditions that would kill most plants. Melissa will lead you on a low-tide botanical journey into an iconic and vulnerable Maine habitat. Please wear boots or sneakers that can get wet (and maybe redolent of the salt-marsh…).
Whether grown from seed or transplanted as seedlings, native woody species can adapt to changing conditions and challenging environments, benefitting urban communities and rural developments or woodlots by filling in empty spaces and protecting and bringing nutrients back to the soil.
Drip, pour, drag, layer, heat, and incise! Learn the art of encaustic painting in this hands-on workshop using pigmented wax and a heated palette! Through a rich variety of marks and surfaces, explore the various painting techniques of this seductive medium. We will also look to CMBG’s gardens as sources of inspiration.
Deepening your connection to nature through moving meditation offers enormous benefits for personal well-being. Follow Susan Bickford, forest therapy guide for the ancient Japanese practice, Shinrin Yoku, or forest bathing, as she gives you the tools to begin your own meditation practice. In this gentle class, experience how the simple practice of walking mindfully through a forest can provide deep serenity. By engaging with the forest with all five senses, we enhance awareness and presence. Despite a busy lifestyle, taking time for ourselves is enormously important—what luck that we can do so by walking in the forest!
Our Northeastern forest genera consists of a wide assortment of deciduous and coniferous species that vary throughout the macro- and micro-climatic regions of Maine. Understanding these species helps inform landowners about management, the local ecology, soils, and successional development. Join us and learn how to identify many of Maine's forest trees and about concepts like silvaculture and climate adaptive species. Autumn is the perfect time for this exploration—beyond the natural spectacle, the range of fall colors provides Allysa Gregory, Maine District Forester, the perfect palette by which to explain trees and their color choices. Leave feeling more connected to our forests and confident in identifying trees in your area.
Ever wanted to preserve your garden after the season has ended, extending the enjoyment of its bounty? Join Staff Horticulturist Jen Dunlap and learn the process of making dried wreaths from cuttings collected from your garden or surrounding property. Jen will take you through this art and craft, step-by-step. A materials list will be supplied upon registration, as will a list of suggested cuttings to have on-hand, if you’d like to make a wreath during class. If you won’t have the dried cuttings, you can still learn and keep the recorded class demonstration as reference.
The mission of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is to inspire meaningful connections between people and nature and promote plant conservation through horticulture, education, and plant science.
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