An Enchanting Escape to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Tucked along a mile of Maine's craggy coastline, where the sea laps the shore and the tall pines sway in the salty breezes, an oasis of natural beauty is home to five towering trolls tasked with its protection. A visit to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (CMBG) has been on my bucket list for several years now, and I was finally able to make this summertime dream a reality last weekend. My maternal grandparents lived in Boothbay, and I spent many a childhood summer visiting relatives there, many of whom lobstered for a living and sometimes took us along to pull traps. Despite my longtime connection to the area and frequent visits, the gardens were never truly on my radar until recycling artist and activist Thomas Dambo of Copenhagen, Demark, chose the site for the construction of five of his massive scrap-wood trolls in 2021. With names like Soren, Lilja, Gro, Roskva and Birk, it took Dambo and a team of 150 volunteers about two months to build his trolls on trail locations throughout the gardens. These "Guardians of the Seeds" serve as ambassadors of the forest and seek to encourage a deep connection to the earth and nature, as well as promote sustainability, biodiversity and conservation. Each troll represents a part of the tree, telling its own story of why every tree's part serves a vital role for the entire forest. They are massive, impressive and captivating. Seeing them all up close was truly everything I had hoped it would be and more. They do indeed feel like guardians who hold within them an aura of ancient secrets and inherent protection. Open since 2007, what began as a grassroots effort is now the largest botanical garden in New England, spanning more than 300 acres along the coast of Boothbay, Maine. A shuttle and large number of wheelchair-accessible (and stroller-friendly) paths make the gardens an inclusive environment for all ages and abilities. Tours are also available, and the gardens are often host to educational activities and performances. In addition to the towering trolls, there are art sculptures, large water features, hardscapes, an interactive children's garden, a butterfly house, a café for refueling with refreshments, a fairy house village, wooden bridges and many, many more beautiful spaces to explore that will captivate all your senses. It was raining on the day we went, pouring cats and dogs at times. Although it was disappointing not to visit on a sunny day, we were in town specifically for a family member's wedding and could not reschedule. While the rain made for a more challenging experience as we struggled to hold umbrellas and navigate maps, it was a beautiful experience nonetheless. (Wear sturdy walking shoes, especially if there is rain, as some of the woodland trails became quite puddled!) Being woefully unaware of the gardens' vast area and traveling a distance to get there, we had allocated only about two hours for our visit. I'd plan for at least twice that for next time and certainly recommend that others do the same. Truthfully, I could probably spend a relaxing full day there with no problem, meandering slowly through each area. We had a 9-year-old and an 18-year-old in our party, and both were equally entertained and engaged by the many interactive areas, observation of living creatures (turtles, frogs), and the troll hunt, of course. Open May to October, there is a discount when you buy tickets online in advance, though you must choose a time for arrival. While you can visit for as long as you'd like, only a limited number of tickets are sold for each timeslot. In November and December, sections of the gardens are lit up with Christmas lights for its annual Gardens Aglow event, which attracts thousands of visitors each season. My family members say that this event brings in a vast amount of tourism dollars during a time of year when Boothbay can be low on visitors. Though the summer traffic can be brutal, rest assured that these botanical gardens and trolls are worth a few hours in the car and won't disappoint. The Guardians of the Seeds await your arrival. For more information about Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, visit www.mainegardens.org or follow on social media @CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens. To learn more about Thomas Dambo and his worldwide troll adventures, visit www.trollmap.com.