In Which we meet the Guardians of the Seeds

It was brutally hot on the day we went to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens to meet the Trolls.  

I will admit, I overexerted myself walking in the heat.  But if you'll recall, last time I visited the Gardens, it was dreary and raining (Early Blog Installment Weirdness disclaimer).  I explored all over the northeastern side of the Gardens and it was well worth it.  Not only did I get to see my favorite gardens in the sun, it turns out that this is where the Guardians of the Seeds are hiding out.

 

As you can see in the first photo, the Guardians appear deceptively small at first.  But up close, it's like standing next to a Redwood tree or a Tyrannosaurus skeleton: they are massive and magnificent.  I made sure to get pictures of them without people, but I think the White Pine Roskva is holding here gives you some perspective.  She's huge!

The Guardians of the Seeds were created by Thomas Dambo, as part of what he calls his "Sculpture Fairy Tale", The Great Story Of The Little People & The Giant Trolls.  The installation is worldwide and there are potentially a family of his trolls near you.  They are created entirely out of recycled wood and are beautifully integrated into the landscape. 

While posted rules do not allow people (or adults at least) to climb on them, they do invite interaction.  Indeed, the two smaller (relatively speaking) trolls practically demand hugs.  Look at them!

The Fairy Garden Village sits near one of the younger trolls, and here visitors are encouraged to create their own art out of found forest materials, though on a much smaller scale.  And these are very traditional Maine coast Fairy Houses: they're meant to camouflage into the landscape, made of only found natural objects, and no dollhouse furniture or toys and certainly nothing made of plastic.  You build with what you find on the ground.  The results are adorable and I like the abstract one in the last picture.

The gardens are a spectacular place altogether and here are more highlights, including an unusual vertical garden, a sculpture by Nancy Schön (who also created the famous Make Way for Ducklings statue in the Boston Public Gardens), and beautiful water gardens (and bonus frog).

The (Rainy) Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

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.