Gardening helps keep us happy and healthy. It provides exercise, increases endurance, relieves stress, and encourages social interaction. It even improves “brain power.” Gardeners reap beautiful and/or edible rewards in the form of flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables. This year, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is offering classes that show gardeners how they can enjoy this favorite pastime now and into the future.
The next program in the series, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, August 9, is “Design a Home Landscape for Today and Tomorrow.” Therapeutic Horticulture Coordinator Irene Brady Barber developed the series and will teach this class in the Bosarge Family Education Center at the Gardens. The fee, which includes Gardens admission, is $30 for members and $37 for nonmembers.
Barber will offer practical advice to participants so they can customize their garden or landscaped space, taking into account their current gardening abilities and allow for changes. Forward-thinking design support gardeners’ independence, and implementing features that encourage accessibility and relaxation will provide years of enjoyment to come.
Other upcoming programs in the “Gardening Later in Life” series are “Planting the Right Plants in the Right Place” on Friday, September 13, and “Bringing the Outdoors Indoors” on Friday, October 11.
Barber, whose background is in communications, human behavior, and horticulture, is completing a professional certification in the field of horticultural therapy, which is the focus of much of her teaching at the Gardens. Each year she plans and tends and teaches in the accessible edible gardens in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses.
To learn more and sign up for these and other programs, visit www.mainegardens.org, call 207-633-4333, ext. 101, or stop by the Gardens, located off Barters Island Road in Boothbay, just over a mile from the town common.
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