Gardens of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes

May 30th, 2017

Most public gardens are the work of wealthy benefactors or universities. Very few are started by “ordinary” people.

The Alfond Children’s Garden at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

The finest example of the latter that I’ve ever seen is the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens near Boothbay, Maine, a 248-acre waterfront gem that’s on my top 10 list of favorite American gardens.

Coastal Maine has only been open for 10 years. It already has a unique, Maine-themed children’s garden, a beautifully designed five-senses garden with terraces and waterfalls, a hillside perennial garden, and a woodland shade garden featuring rhododendrons.

The place is not even close to done, but the quality so far is on a par with Longwood (my all-time favorite garden anywhere).

What’s most impressive is that this garden was founded by a handful of area residents who thought Maine should have a botanical garden. These people actually mortgaged their houses to buy the initial 128 acres and get the plantings started.

You’ll have a chance to see it yourself as part of a 10-night, 11-day bus trip that Lowee’s Group Tours and I have put together for Aug. 12-22.

We’ll spend the first two days heading to Portland, Maine – stopping in Sturbridge, Mass., Kennebunkport, Maine, and touring Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s house and gardens along the way.

We’ll then tour a working farm with display gardens near New Gloucester, Maine, before taking a ferry to Nova Scotia – bus and all.

One of the gardens at Annapolis Royal Botanical Gardens.

The next five days feature the gorgeous scenery and gardens of the Canadian Maritimes, including the Annapolis Royal Botanical Garden, a tour of Halifax’s city gardens, the quaint Peggy’s Cove fishing village, the Anne of Green Gables House, Prince Edward Island National Park, the Bay of Fundy National Park, and New Brunswick’s Kingsbrae Gardens.

Then it’s back down into Maine to tour a blueberry farm and spend a day at Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park (with tours of three gardens there).

The next-to-last day is devoted to touring Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. We’ll hit one last garden (the Chinese-style Innisfree Garden in New York State) on the way home.

In all, we’ll be visiting 10 gardens, two farms, three national parks, and a mix of scenic, cultural and historic attractions.

The cost is $3,495 per person double, which includes 10 nights lodging, 21 meals (two of them are lobster feasts), transportation, all admissions, and door prizes and garden insights from yours truly.

You’re invited. We’ve packed a lot into this one. Plus it ought to be a lot cooler up there in August than around Harrisburg.

Call Lowee’s at 717-657-9658 to sign up or get more info. The signup deadline is next week.