Annual Garden Symposium
Designing Your Signature Maine Landscape
Annual Garden Symposium: Designing Your Signature Maine Landscape
with Bill Cullina, Jan Johnsen and Bruce Riddell
Friday, June 16
10 am – 3 p.m.
Education Center
Zealous gardeners take note! This June, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens brings you three acclaimed speakers, landscapers and garden writers to share their passion for sustainability and natural Maine systems. Join us for a day celebrating the beauty of the Maine landscape – and be inspired to add native plants and design to your own garden.
Includes continental breakfast, box lunch, and Gardens admission.
LandArt: Deriving Creativity from Nature & Art
with Bruce Riddell
Landscape Architect Bruce John Riddell of Boothbay Harbor will describe his garden design philosophy : “LandArt”. LandArt combines plants and design elements to create sustainable beauty. Riddell’s designs reflect a deep respect for ecological sustainability and natural systems as well as the intrinsic beauty of plants and stone in a variety of forms and colors as art mediums. LandArt is an artistic expression of design where all elements are thoughtfully combined to reinforce a feeling, or mood, or sense of place. Plants are selected for color, texture, seasonality and range from native ecosystems to historically inspired cottage style arrangements. His gardens are typically built and framed in stone and the design goal is twofold: the creation of beauty and nature and natural beauty inspired by art.
The Spirit of Stone
with Jan Johnsen
Celebrating the publication of her new book, “The Spirit of Stone,” landscape designer Jan Johnsen will showcases the many ways that stone can be used to enhance an outdoor setting. She will illustrate the creative techniques you can use to include stone in a sustainable Maine landscape. Jan will inspire you with images of stone walls, rock gardens, and walks and reveals tips to create a stepping stone walk that is both functional and beautiful.
Planting the Design
with Bill Cullina
Plant selection is an integral part of any garden design. In addition to choosing plants for hardiness and adaptability, considering the colors, forms and textures of plantings is critical for an outstanding garden result. Plants with interesting features set the mood for your garden, be it fanciful, mysterious, formal, bold. In this illustrated lecture, Bill will delve into these topics, featuring images of some of his favorite plants and plantings for creating different moods, vibrant color, interesting textures and beautiful form to our coastal Maine gardens.
Our Speakers
Bruce John Riddell
Bruce John Riddell, Landscape Architect of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, is principal of his one person firm known as “LandArt”. Bruce received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maine and a Masters of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986. He is the winner of 2011 Merit Design Award from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects for Outstanding Residential Garden Design for the Wright Garden: “Pardisan.” He is also the winner of the prestigious 2010 American Horticultural Society’s Landscape Designer of the Year Award. His present design focus is on intimate coastal gardens. His landscape designs for Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens include the stonework, planting, and waterfall designs for the Meditation Garden, Rhododendron Garden, Rose Garden, Entry Garden, and Great Lawn.
Jan Johnsen
Jan Johnsen is a well-regarded landscape designer and author with a passion for plants, rocks and beautiful gardens. An advocate of the power of Nature upon our well-being, Jan is an award-winning instructor at the New York Botanical Garden and writes the garden blog, “Serenity in the Garden.” Trained in landscape architecture, planning and professional horticulture, Jan has worked in Japan, Hawaii, Kenya, among other places. She is a co-principal of the design/build firm, Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, in Westchester County, New York. Her firm received a merit award in 2014 from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). For many years she taught at Columbia University and now speaks around the country. Her Facebook page is ‘The Spirit of Stone’ and ‘Serenity in the Garden Blog.’
Bill Cullina
Bill Cullina, President and CEO at CMBG, previously served as Director of Horticulture for the Gardens and before that was Nursery Director for the New England Wild Flower Society. He is a well-known author and recognized authority on North American native plants. He lectures on a variety of subjects to garden and professional groups and writes for popular and technical journals. His books include Wildflowers; Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines; Understanding Orchids; Native Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses; and most recently, Understanding Perennials.
