Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

The Guardians of the Seeds are a set of towering trolls built by Thomas Dambo, an artist known worldwide for sculptures made entirely from scrap and reclaimed wood. Each troll has a name, a personality, and a role in a story about protecting the forest and its seeds.

They are hidden along woodland trails across the grounds, so seeing them all is a walk and a treasure hunt at once, rewarding curiosity and a willingness to wander off the manicured paths.

The trolls have drawn visitors from far beyond Maine and turned a fine regional garden into a destination, especially for families whose children race from one giant figure to the next.

Beyond the trolls, the gardens themselves are the point: rose and perennial gardens, a meditation garden, a garden of the five senses, native-plant collections, and sweeping ornamental beds designed to shine from spring through fall.

The Bibby and Harold Alfond Children's Garden is a highlight in its own right, a storybook landscape with a treehouse, a stone cottage, water features, and hidden references to Maine children's books for kids to explore.

A shoreline trail leads down to the tidal edge of the property, where the cultivated gardens give way to rocks, mudflats, and the rise and fall of the Maine tide, tying the whole place to the sea.

The gardens began in 1991 as the dream of a small group of MidCoast residents who wanted a public botanical garden for Maine. They spent years acquiring land and raising funds before opening the first gardens to the public in 2007.

Since then the institution has expanded steadily, adding gardens, trails, a visitor center, education programs, and the art installations that now draw crowds, all while conserving a large tract of coastal forest and shoreline.

Today it is both a horticultural showcase and a conservation property, protecting native habitat while welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

Spring brings the first bulbs and flowering trees and a fresh, uncrowded feel as the gardens wake up.

Summer is peak bloom and peak crowds, when the ornamental gardens are at their fullest and the troll trail is busiest, so early arrival helps.

Fall adds foliage color to the native woodland, and in winter the gardens stage a popular evening lights festival that turns the grounds into a glowing wonderland against the snow.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.