It was pouring rain by the time we made it to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. This fact did not dampen my spirits one bit. Still, my visit (we and the other tourists were allowed to explore the walking paths for free due to the weather) felt a tad rushed. Ah well.
I did get a lot of exploring in. I made it to the Gardens' two most famous features: the Garden of the Five Senses and the massive, massive Children's Garden. You know, I think the weather worked out all right. No crowds.
The Children's Garden feature this lovely stone labyrinth with rock sculptures that kind of remind me of tyrannosaurus skulls. No, really! Here's a closer look:
So cute!
The Children's Garden also featured this gorgeous little pond.
With resident Pitcher Plants! I didn't know they could grow this far north!
The Garden of the Five Senses is a riot of amazing scents. They also feature plants with unusual textures and shapes.
Some kind of unusually-petaled annual, I think.
A virtual forest of sweet Bee Balm.
And would you ever guess that these were artichokes left to their own devices instead of being harvested? My gosh, I need to grow these next year. I love plants that freak out the neighbors.
Sadly, I didn't get to see the famous Fairy Houses; they're on the tram tours, which were cancelled for the rest of the day. But they did have a few on display in the visitor's center. Even better, the Children's Garden had a giant walk-through one. (Which I forgot to photograph.)
And now, random photos from the rest of our week with our Florida relatives:
Linda Bean's Freeport restaurant. Oh deary me, I might have to warn people about this place. See, Linda's "secret recipe" for lobster rolls is to just dump Dill over everything. If this is the "authentic New England cuisine" available at EPCOT's food and wine fest, please don't assume this is what our food really tastes like. Thank you.
"Boom-boom baby! / Wanna get in my Mercedes? / Wanna be a little SAIL-fish! / Be a little SAIL-fish!"
Animal skulls on display in Mangy Moose.
I can't tell if this is adorable or terrifying.
This, however, is terrifying. Straight-up terrifying. I went inside and looked at it. It is indeed exactly what it sounds like: vanilla ice cream with chunks of arthropod innards in it. I didn't taste it; they couldn't pay me to do so. This is some "Fear Factor" sh*t right here. A line that I didn't even know existed has been crossed. Twice. With bulldozers.
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Art of the Day!
Foggy Boothbay Landscape.
