By Johnson 
Happy Friday, GPODers!
A couple of weeks ago I was traveling up the coast of Maine for a camping trip with a friend, and found myself conveniently close to Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay. Obviously this was an opportunity too good to pass up, so I extended my stay an extra night and stopped by to check it out. To no one’s surprise, the garden was absolutely alive with color and a gorgeous assortment of plants in full bloom. Here is just a sampling of some of my favorite scenes.
Before I even fully entered the gardens, I was blown away by this ‘Kohout’s Ice Breaker’ Korean fir (Abies koreana ‘Kohouts Icebreaker’, Zones 5–8) surrounded by bright blue delphinium. Found in the beds right outside the main entrance, this combination conveyed cool and calm even on a hot and sunny day.
The calm and coolness ended as soon as I entered the main part of the garden. The beds and borders were bursting with every color imaginable, and I was frantically trying to take it all in, pick up on every detail I could, and get some decent photos. This gorgeous collage of low-growing plants under a pink flowering dogwood (Cornus florida f. rubra, Zones 5–9) was one of many standouts.
While there were plenty of huge, sweeping scenes that blew me away, some of the smaller vignettes were just as exciting. A Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa, Zones 5–8) with Multi-Blue clematis (Clematis × ‘Multi-blue’, Zones 4–10) and a bright pink climbing rose was stunning in the Arbor Garden.
If you’ve followed my travels and garden visits on the blog, you might remember that I have a penchant for woodies, and the weirder the better. This Troll ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba ‘Troll’, Zones 3–9) was tiny, but grabbed my attention from miles away. If you want to add the interesting leaf form and fascinating history of this ancient tree to your garden but have limited space, this is a fabulous option that only grows to about 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide.
Near the café, along the outside of the Great Lawn, this border of yellow, orange, and chartreuse was absolutely glowing. While all of the plants in this section were very cohesive and complementary, the lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis, Zones 3-8) cascading over the stones in front was particularly lovely.
I’m not exactly sure where this beautiful planting was spotted, as these incredible ‘Red Giant’ alliums (Allium ‘Red Giant’, Zones 3–9) were sprinkled around the garden, but I really enjoyed them planted between the golden, creeping ‘Angelina’ sedum (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’, Zones 5–8) and taller dark purple sedums.
Sometimes one plant, not even a rare or unusual one, puts on a scene-stealing performance. This ‘Josephine’ clematis (Clematis ‘Josephine’, Zones 4–10) was growing on one of the pond bridges, which give incredible views of the gardens, but the way the light was hitting this cluster of bulbous blooms captured my attention.
While plenty of sunscreen was needed, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to visit the garden. Not too hot, as long as I took things slow (and caught the shuttle whenever I could), and the bright skies were creating dazzling reflections on all the ponds and water features in the gardens.
Of course, I couldn’t share photos from CMBG without sharing a couple of the iconic trolls. The “Guardians of the Seeds” by Thomas Dambo are as big a draw to the gardens as any of the plants, and showcase how gardens and art go hand in hand. Each troll represents a different part of a plant, and one of my favorites was Søren, which represents the branches. This is obvious in his funky haircut, but Søren’s limbs reaching out to the sky also signify branches growing up to better access the sun.
Another favorite was Birk, which might be the most difficult capture and appropriately symbolizes roots. These trolls are a bit of a hike to get to but are worth the effort. The time spent under the forest’s canopy is also a nice reprieve from the sunny pathways of the gardens.
Did you visit any public gardens so far this year? If you traveled to visit a botanical garden that has been on your bucket list, or took the short journey to a local garden you visit every year, we’d love to see some of the highlights of what you saw and captured! Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
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Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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