Calendar of Garden Events
Garden happenings, exhibits, and special events can be found on the calendar below.
Calendar of Events
Sun Sunday
Mon Monday
Tue Tuesday
Wed Wednesday
Thu Thursday
Fri Friday
Sat Saturday
1 event,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
2 events,
Garden Investigators Camp: Pollinators! (Ages 4-6)
Monday, August 1-Friday August 5 Campers will spend the week getting up close and personal with the amazing pollinators making...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
4 events,
Art at the Garden
Art at the Garden
Art is essential in life! At the Gardens, we love to show off artists, both local and from afar. Join...
Summer Discoveries: The Five Senses (Ages 3-8)
Summer Discoveries: The Five Senses (Ages 3-8)
Discover all that you can see, smell, hear, feel, and even taste as we tour the Lerner Garden of the...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
4 events,
Outdoor Family Fun Days
Thanks to generous support from L.L.Bean, kids 17 and under are free every Wednesday in July and August, 2022. No...
The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab
Back by popular demand! Join us August 3-10 when perennial favorite, The Caterpillar Lab, sets up its functioning caterpillar rearing,...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
6 events,
The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab
Back by popular demand! Join us August 3-10 when perennial favorite, The Caterpillar Lab, sets up its functioning caterpillar rearing,...
New Member Orientation Tour
New Member Orientation Tour
Becoming a member at the Gardens opens up an entire world of ways to enjoy the spaces and programming that...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
6 events,
The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab
Back by popular demand! Join us August 3-10 when perennial favorite, The Caterpillar Lab, sets up its functioning caterpillar rearing,...
Introduction to Native Flora of Maine
Introduction to Native Flora of Maine
Fridays, August 5 and 12 and Saturday, August 13 | The first step to gardening with Maine’s native plants is meeting them in their wild habitats. Over this two-day class, CMBG’s Research Botanist, Melissa Cullina, will help students recognize 50 or more frequent coastal species.
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
4 events,
The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab
Back by popular demand! Join us August 3-10 when perennial favorite, The Caterpillar Lab, sets up its functioning caterpillar rearing,...
Summer Discoveries: Butterflies (Ages 3-8)
Summer Discoveries: Butterflies (Ages 3-8)
Summertime is prime butterfly time! Join us to explore our Native Butterfly and Moth House, as well as other butterfly...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
The Caterpillar Walk
The Caterpillar Walk
The Caterpillar Lab is moving in, and while the exhibit is filled with munching critters offering lots to explore, the...
3 events,
The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab
Back by popular demand! Join us August 3-10 when perennial favorite, The Caterpillar Lab, sets up its functioning caterpillar rearing,...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
The Caterpillar Walk
The Caterpillar Walk
The Caterpillar Lab is moving in, and while the exhibit is filled with munching critters offering lots to explore, the...
4 events,
Garden Investigators Camp: Pollinators! (Ages 6-8)
Monday, August 8-Friday August 12 Campers will spend the week getting up close and personal with the amazing pollinators making...
The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab
Back by popular demand! Join us August 3-10 when perennial favorite, The Caterpillar Lab, sets up its functioning caterpillar rearing,...
Beginning Mosaics from A-Z
Beginning Mosaics from A-Z
Monday and Tuesday, August 8 and 9 | Join us to learn a brief history of the intriguing art of mosaic, including information on materials, substrates, and tools. Experience hands-on the different methods of working—direct, indirect, and double reverse—by using these methods to make a tile each day of class. We’ll talk about andamento, or way mosaic tiles are laid, as well as use of color and tile shape.
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
5 events,
Marine Science: Where the Land Meets the Sea (Ages 9-15)
Marine Science: Where the Land Meets the Sea (Ages 9-15)
Tuesday, August 9, Wednesday, August 10 and Tuesday, August 16 | During this three-part, shore-based marine science course, participants will investigate how geology, weather, and climate change over time and how these changes impact the organisms and plant life living in local rivers and in the Gulf of Maine. Compare and contrast local rivers, and investigate and identify what lies between the surface and the seafloor.
The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab
Back by popular demand! Join us August 3-10 when perennial favorite, The Caterpillar Lab, sets up its functioning caterpillar rearing,...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
6 events,
Outdoor Family Fun Days
Thanks to generous support from L.L.Bean, kids 17 and under are free every Wednesday in July and August, 2022. No...
The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab
Back by popular demand! Join us August 3-10 when perennial favorite, The Caterpillar Lab, sets up its functioning caterpillar rearing,...
New Member Orientation Tour
New Member Orientation Tour
Becoming a member at the Gardens opens up an entire world of ways to enjoy the spaces and programming that...
5 events,
Plant ID & Ecology: Native Deciduous Shrubs
Plant ID & Ecology: Native Deciduous Shrubs
Interested in learning about the benefits of incorporating native deciduous shrubs into your garden? Or maybe you already have shrubs...
Summer Discoveries: The Garden Habitat (Ages 3-8)
Summer Discoveries: The Garden Habitat (Ages 3-8)
The Gardens is home to many (many!) plants. In turn, those plants become home to lots of interesting creatures! Come...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
3 events,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
Become a Guardian: Trees of the Trolls Tour
Become a Guardian: Trees of the Trolls Tour
Dive into forest ecology and discover how to become a better steward of our ecosystem, just like the Guardians of...
1 event,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
2 events,
Summer Discoveries: The Five Senses (Ages 3-8)
Summer Discoveries: The Five Senses (Ages 3-8)
Discover all that you can see, smell, hear, feel, and even taste as we tour the Lerner Garden of the...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
3 events,
Garden Explorers Camp (Ages 4-7) (Sold Out)
Monday, August 15-Friday, August 19 Budding gardeners will spend the week digging, planting, watering, and harvesting fruits and veggies in...
Beautiful Buds and Blossoms in Colored Pencil
Beautiful Buds and Blossoms in Colored Pencil
Monday-Wednesday, August 15-17 | Join instructor Kate MacGillivary for this three-day class focusing on rendering the beautiful details of garden blossoms and buds in colored pencil. Designed for students with some previous drawing experience, this class offers plenty of time to create a beautiful drawing. Kate will give students the time and attention needed to get a wonderful feel for the medium of colored pencil. Plant material for students to study and draw will be provided.
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
2 events,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
3 events,
Outdoor Family Fun Days
Thanks to generous support from L.L.Bean, kids 17 and under are free every Wednesday in July and August, 2022. No...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
2 events,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
4 events,
10 Medicinal Plants: Morphology and Uses
10 Medicinal Plants: Morphology and Uses
In this workshop and field-study class, herbalism practitioner and staff horticulturalist Lesley Paxson will review 10 specific plants used for...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
Become a Guardian: Trees of the Trolls Tour
Become a Guardian: Trees of the Trolls Tour
Dive into forest ecology and discover how to become a better steward of our ecosystem, just like the Guardians of...
4 events,
Gardening With Nature
Gardening With Nature
Our gardens and gardening practices are intrinsically tied to nature. This class will guide students through the best design and management strategies that work in unison with nature, encouraging and embracing biodiversity and sustaining healthy, low-maintenance gardens. Anna Fialkoff, Program Manager at Wild Seed Project, offers an overview of plant selection and processes for achieving beautiful gardens requiring minimal manual labor.
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
Wildlife in the Backyard: Insects (Ages 14+)
Wildlife in the Backyard: Insects (Ages 14+)
Want to enter the world of beetles, butterflies, bees, grasshoppers, wasps, and flies? Ages 14-adult are invited to join us...
Member Evening
Member Evening
Ever wonder what it would be like to have the whole of the Gardens to yourself? Members can come find...
1 event,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
2 events,
Plant ID & Ecology: Grassland Plants
Plant ID & Ecology: Grassland Plants
Whether called fields, meadows, or pastures, these wide-open, full-sun terrains all feature a dominant grass population mixed with wildflowers and smaller woody species. In partnership with the Boothbay Region Land Trust, this class will guide students on walks at the Gardens, Oak Point, and Zak Preserve. Led by Ted Elliman, participants will learn how to identify and better understand meadow culture—perfect for those interested in starting or sustaining an open grassland!
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
2 events,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
Native Plant Tour
Native Plant Tour
Our Native Plant Tour begins with a stroll down the Haney Hillside, moving from cultivated native plantings to the natural...
6 events,
Outdoor Family Fun Days
Thanks to generous support from L.L.Bean, kids 17 and under are free every Wednesday in July and August, 2022. No...
Summer Discoveries: Life of a Plant (Ages 3-8)
Summer Discoveries: Life of a Plant (Ages 3-8)
Learn about what happens as a seed becomes a full-grown plant, then starts the entire cycle all over again! We’ll...
Creating Meaningful Photographs with Ron Rosenstock
Creating Meaningful Photographs with Ron Rosenstock
Join world-renowned photographer Ron Rosenstock for this Zoom lecture. Ron will elaborate on the three main ingredients needed to create...
Chewonki at the Gardens: Mammals of Maine
Chewonki at the Gardens: Mammals of Maine
This exciting and interactive program introduces audiences to our native warm-blooded vertebrates: Maine mammals. Each participant can study a mounted...
3 events,
Dazzling Dahlias
Dazzling Dahlias
Explore the wide array of the season’s blooming dahlias! Join Courtney Locke on a tour of the Dahlia Garden. We’ll...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
12th Annual Ina & Lewis Heafitz Endowed Lecture: Centering Indigenous Peoples & Nations in Land Protection & Conservation
12th Annual Ina & Lewis Heafitz Endowed Lecture: Centering Indigenous Peoples & Nations in Land Protection & Conservation
Explore the opportunities for Wabanaki-led conservation in what is now Maine in this year’s Ina and Lewis Heafitz Endowed Lecture with Dr. Darren Ranco. In this free, endowed lecture, he will share contemporary scholarship about Indigenous conservation practices, define the terminology used by Indigenous people for conservation work, and identify best practices for partnerships with environmental organizations and Indigenous peoples.
3 events,
Designing with Specimen Trees
Designing with Specimen Trees
What exactly is a specimen tree? Good question! Specimen trees are trees that fulfill specific garden design goals, such as...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
Become a Guardian: Trees of the Trolls Tour
Become a Guardian: Trees of the Trolls Tour
Dive into forest ecology and discover how to become a better steward of our ecosystem, just like the Guardians of...
1 event,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
1 event,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
2 events,
Chewonki at the Gardens: Owls of Maine
Chewonki at the Gardens: Owls of Maine
Two live owls are the highlights of this program introducing participants to the owls native to Maine and New England....
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
1 event,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
3 events,
Outdoor Family Fun Days
Thanks to generous support from L.L.Bean, kids 17 and under are free every Wednesday in July and August, 2022. No...
Chewonki at the Gardens: Tide Pools
Chewonki at the Gardens: Tide Pools
The tide pool is home to a variety of species whose unique adaptations allow them to maintain stability in a...
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
1 event,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
1 event,
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
2 events,
Forest Therapy and Tea
Forest Therapy and Tea
Deepening your connection to nature through moving meditation offers enormous benefits for personal well-being. In this gentle class, experience how the simple practice of walking mindfully through a forest can provide deep serenity. By engaging with all five senses, we can enhance awareness and presence. Follow Susan Bickford, certified guide in the ancient Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku, or forest therapy/forest bathing, and gain the tools needed to begin your own meditation practice. The walk ends with a tea ceremony.
Highlights Tour
Highlights Tour
Join us for this hour-long tour through our central gardens. Meet by the Café building and walk through the gardens...
