Continued from Page 1 of Gardens
Of course, there is much more to the Maine Botanical Garden than just the troll exhibit. And there are other botanical gardens in Maine. We bumped into one of those others on this trip: Merryspring Nature Center in Camden. This is a nice little center, and free to visit, although not particularly easy to find. It is very close to Route 1, but the entrance is definitely not obvious. It is nicely maintained; there were even some volunteers planting annuals while we were there. It has a small garden area, a field that would be great for picnics, some woods, and some meadows. Plus, there is an arboretum section that has informative signs about the trees. If you have an interest in tree varieties, you would certainly enjoy a visit. This picture shows the trunk of a Striped Maple. We might need some striped maple trees in our yard.
Named for its curiously green, tiger-striped bark. The stripes are white when the tree is young, growing darker with age. The very large, 3-lobed, slightly furry leaves become a beautiful, clear yellow color in autumn. A shade-tolerant species, it rarely grows tall; however, the largest specimen in the state was once found here at Merryspring. Other common names include moosewood and goosefoot maple.
Their rock garden had some pretty plants.
Other pretty flowers there included daffodils...
... and these cool mushrooms. Okay, those aren’t pretty flowers, but they are still cool.
Of course, flowers can be found in many spots. For these next few photographs, one was taken in another park, two were taken in the woods, and one was taken at the site of a building that had been removed.
Some more pictures of the daffodils at Marshall Point Light:
But for concentration of various flowers, a variety of plants, and other interesting items, the Maine Botanical Garden is a great spot to visit. One of those other interesting items was an observation beehive (along with some other standard hives). This was a new hive, so they don't have much honey or brood yet.
The Garden includes expanses of daffodils.
You might remember the sleeping rock giant from previous years. That young fern will probably be tickling his nose soon and wake him up.
When he wakes, perhaps he will visit his brother, whom we saw in another part of the garden.
The sun was a bit strong that day, but still provided some interesting light on some of the plants.
Looking up showed the trees, not yet filled with leaves, against the blue sky as well as a bird that was extremely cooperative for the photograph.
The plants certainly appreciated the sunshine. The 'Garden of the Five Senses' provides plenty of water and sunshine.
The arbor archway by the 'Garden of the Five Senses' provided a little shade.
The woods also give some relief from the sun. We visited the Fairy Garden and the Codfather sculpture.
There are a some brooks within the garden’s acres of woods, which provide a spot for flowers that like more moisture.
While in the woods, Paul noticed Nature making its own sculpture - pieces from a tree that had broken formed a stylized horse.
After some time spent in the shade, it is easier to come back out into the sun.
Along the various paths and roadways are tucked other sculptures.
We will leave the gardens with a final picture of flowers, this time a plant with very interesting flowers that have white petals and purple specs.
Updated June 2022