If you are a lover of flora, the next time you make a trip to New England plan to visit one or more of three remarkable botanical gardens — two are in Massachusetts and one in Maine.

By Paul Hicks

If you are a lover of flora, the next time you make a trip to New England plan to visit one or more of three remarkable botanical gardens — two are in Massachusetts and one in Maine.

The closest of these is run by the New England Wild Flower Society, which is the nation’s oldest plant conservation organization. Its headquarters, called Garden in the Woods, is a renowned native plant botanic garden in Framingham, Massachusetts that attracts visitors from all over the world. It has more than 1,000 native plant species, including many rare and endangered native specimens throughout its 45 acres.

Their website explains that the term native refers to plants that were growing in North America before European settlement, and includes woody plants (trees, shrubs, and vines) and non-woody herbaceous plants (flowering perennials, ferns, grasses). The term wildflower also refers to native plants, sometimes only to the flowering perennials, other times to all native plants.

The garden’s two miles of meandering paths descend from glacier-made ridges into narrow valleys and lead through a canopy of trees to a pond, a wooded bog, numerous springs, and a brook. Guided walking tours are offered and cart tours for those needing mobility assistance can be arranged in advance by phone.

You can develop your knowledge of horticulture as you look at the plants in a woodland garden, by a lily pond and in a variety of other habitats. There is also a family activity area designed especially for children to create and play in a natural setting. Garden in the Woods offers a unique experience in a tranquil and beautiful place that will appeal to the entire family. For more information, admission charges and directions, visit their website at www.newfs .org/visit.

Twenty miles away, in the Jamaica Plains section of Boston, you will find the Arnold Arboretum, the first public arboretum in North America. It is part of a seven-mile-long network of parks and parkways, called Boston’s “Emerald Necklace,” that was laid out in the late nineteenth century by the famous landscape designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. The Arboretum is maintained by Harvard University under a 1,000-year lease signed in 1882 between the university and the City of Boston, which maintains the infrastructure.

Today the Arnold Arboretum cultivates around 15,000 living plants representing some 4,000 kinds of trees, shrubs, and vines. The diversity of plants and the naturalistic design of the landscape offer exceptional beauty and horticultural interest at all times of the year. In addition to exploring plants by family, visitors can enjoy a number of featured destinations, special horticultural displays, and areas of natural woods within the Arboretum’s 281-acre landscape.

One recent visitor wrote on Trip-Advisor: “I walk the arboretum frequently, by myself and with friends. I have learned quite a bit about the trees and plantings over the years. Visit the Bonsai House and the Museum — both free. Walk up to Peter’s Hill to get a fantastic view of Boston and surrounding areas. Parking can be a challenge on nice weekends, but the arboretum has many access points.”

On the Arboretum’s website you will find a calendar of free events that require no registration. It highlights different special collections in season and events each spring and fall such as Lilac Sunday in May and the Rhododendron Ramble in June. The grounds are open to the public 365 days a year from dawn until dusk. Free guided landscape tours are available every weekend April 19–November 1. Consult the website  (www.arboretum.harvard.edu) for more information.

If you are heading “Down East” from Massachusetts to the coast of Maine you will not want to miss the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which opened in 2007 after 16 years of planning.

Located in Boothbay, about an hour’s drive north of Portland, its formal gardens as well as stonework, waterfalls, ponds and overall design are impressive. But visitors also appreciate the antique stone walls, ledges covered in mosses, lichens, and ferns, native forest, and nearly a mile of sparkling waterfront as essential features of Maine.

Numerous trails wind through the 250 acres, and there are shuttles you can board at various points along the way when you would rather ride than walk. In the Children’s Garden there is a miniature lobster boat, a bear from the book “Blueberries for Sal” to admire, tree houses connected by a rope bridge, and much more. From butterflies to bees, birds to beetles – the dynamic relationship between many flowering plants and their animal pollinators is the subject of this year’s new interpretive theme at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

 
TripAdvisor rated Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens as No. 1 on the 2013 list of top-ten public gardens in the U.S. Go to www.mainegardens.org for more information and directions, including a helpful map.