The Gardens have had a remarkable history, and we’re looking forward to an extraordinary future. Of course our gardens will grow more and more colorful and lush with time, but we’ll also grow as an organization. More people will discover this amazing place and tell their friends, and membership will increase exponentially. Our pool of wonderful volunteers will broaden. On a basic level, the good-sized specimens we’ve planted throughout our gardens will continue to mature. We’ll add additional plants, as well, and put the greenhouse that was donated to us in 2006 to good use.
In a few years, we’ll open our phenomenal Lerner Garden of the Five Senses and The Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden. Thanks to careful consideration and master plans by landscape architect Herb Schaal, FASLA and his team at EDAW, both will be finestkind, as we say here in Maine, and are sure to become favorites with visitors of all ages.
Looking Forward
In addition to completing The Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden and Lerner Garden of the Five Senses, we’ll extend the Shoreland Trail past the Meditation Garden into the 120 acres donated to us in 2005 by the Pine Tree Conservation Society. This trail will eventually traverse nearly a mile of waterfront.
Another future plan is to add a couple of buildings – one for administrative offices when we outgrow our current location in one corner of the Visitor Center, and another beyond the Events Lawn to be used for catered functions.
Watch our progress as you visit the Gardens over the coming years. You’ll see plenty of changes. And the reason for every one of them will be to help make our visitors’ experiences at the Gardens more enjoyable and rewarding, educational and inspiring.