Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Recently I went home for vacation and had the privilege of spending time at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Some people know this place because for a while online it was famous for the Giant Trolls made by Thomas Dambo, a recycled-materials artist from Copenhagen. The trolls are still there and are a huge hit at the gardens. They were awesome to see up close and it was crazy to think that someone built them there. There are 5 of them at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and I had the opportunity to see and takes pictures of 3 of them!

The last picture I used has my baby sister in it for reference to how massive these actually are. She's 4 years old and pretty tall for her age.

This trolls name is Roskva. She is the first troll you see when you get into the gardens and her eyes always seem sad or worried to me when I look at a picture.

The botanical gardens are a way to reconnect with nature. In fact, their website states that:

"Each one of our trolls represents a part of the tree and tells a story about why every part of the tree is important to the whole forest. "

It is a learning experience for people that want to know about helping preserve the forests and land, and how biodiversity plays a role in keeping forests (not only in Maine) but everywhere around for generations to come.

The next troll we met is named Lilja. She is the youngest troll of them all. I like that every troll seems to convey an emotion. It speaks not only to the artistry of these installments but also to the fact that we as humans should have a better understanding of the world around us outside of our phones (and yes blogs!).

The last and silliest troll we got to see is named Søren. He is definitely the most animated of the trolls we got to see. I like how they used all the small twigs and branches to make the hair on this one.

There was actually a short wooded path that we took that came out right under his left leg which was cool. At the beginning of the path we also got to see a rare plant that is actually endangered in most places called a Pink Lady's Slipper. They are a member of the orchid family and are easily killed by habitat destruction because the conditions in which they grow are very specific and they can only be pollinated by bees.

Aside from the trolls which are the main reason people go to the gardens we saw a lot of amazing other plants and scenery. The gardens are over 300 acres but they do have electric shuttles and they will do tours that are ADA accessible. If you'd like to see the gardens they are in the beautiful town of Boothbay, ME. Which coincidentally is close to Boothbay Harbor which has amazing seaside lobster places!

I'll leave you with pictures of the other amazing plants we came across. I hope you continue to stay updated on my travels and other informative posts that might help you be better at trivia. And as always comments and questions are always welcome.