Aug. 18 - Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

"When a man moves away from nature, his heart becomes hard." —Lakota Proverb

One day we decided to drive over to Boothbay to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. There are 300 acres of gardens and natural spaces to explore, which includes a native butterfly and moth house, a children's garden and a fairy house village, just to name a few of the special features the gardens have to offer. The biggest draw for us this visit were the giant trolls. They were designed by Thomas Dambo who lives and works in Copenhagen. The pieces are staggering, and each sculpture simultaneously invites seekers into the depths of the woodlands while telling a story of conservation. The Trolls are the guardians of the seeds. Each one of the trolls represents a part of the tree and tells a story about why every part of the tree is important to the whole forest. The kids had a great time finding the trolls and learning their stories.

Roskva - Stands for the trunks. She is the heaviest, hardest and strongest of the trolls. Every day, Roskva climbs towards the sky, and every year she grows taller and wider. If a troll forgets something, they can always ask Roskva—she counts the seasons and remembers everything that happens around her.

Birk - Holds the roots. He is the wisest and most mysterious of the trolls. He hides in the shadows and listens to the whispers of the soil. He knows everything that happens in the wild, and every day he tells tales to all the other creatures of the forest.

Lilja - Holds the scent of the flowers. Just last summer, Lilja came out from her hiding place. The youngest of the trolls, she’s still just a child. She loves the colors and the scents of the flowers and when bees and butterflies fly among branches.

Søren - Sticks up for the branches. He is a very curious troll; his head is always turning and twisting, searching for places ever higher. He dreams about drifting around on a cloud in the sky, and when the wind is blowing, he loves to celebrate with a dance.

Gro - Smiles with the leaves. She is the wanderer. Every fall she disappears, but the trolls are not worried because every spring she returns to the forest. On her return, Gro walks around to make sure every friend of hers is fed. After hurrying to catch a few sunbeams and a handful of raindrops, she creates a feast for the forest.

The day was a little wet and cool, but the kids still had a great time exploring the gardens.

This is a little playhouse in the children's garden...it's one of my favorite parts of the gardens.

Legend has it that a fairy village has existed on this hilly forest clearing overlooking the shoreline since the first settlement of the mainland by the Monhegan water fairies nearly 8,000 years ago. It's a great story and the kids really had a good time adding their fairy house to the village.

I really enjoyed the butterfly and moth house.

And all the flowers were amazing.