Dan and Lyn Lerner happened upon the gardens during a lunch at the Kitchen Garden Cafe to celebrate their granddaughter's graduation from elementary school.

"We fell in love with the place," says Dan Lerner, founder of KISS-100 FM (which later became Y-100).

While the Lerners' donation of more than $1 million made the Garden of the Five Senses possible, it was the mission of Mollie Moore, an original board member and resident of nearby Southport.

Moore and her husband were on a garden research trip in England when she lost her sight to pneumococcal meningitis. When a friend told her about the Brooklyn Botanical Garden's sensory garden, the notion of incorporating something similar into the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens began to take shape. They researched sensory gardens in places such as Osaka, Japan; Singapore, and Montreal.

"We go to the garden to relax, to slow down," Dan Lerner says. "It's such a beautiful, joyful place."

From Botanical Gardens to Boothbay Harbor

Visiting the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens can easily be a day trip from the Portland/Freeport area, just an hour to the south, where you can stay at the Harraseeket Inn, shop at the flagship L.L. Bean store, and browse the outlet stores along Main Street.

In Boothbay, stay at one of the harborside motels or, just out of town, at the funky Linekin Bay Resort, a ramshackle collection of comfy cottages on pristine Linekin Bay. A great option for families, with an all-inclusive rate that starts at $100 per adult, including meals, kayaks, sailboats, and sailing instruction, the property has been family-owned for more than 100 years.

If you're looking for upscale, the tony Spruce Point Inn offers a spa, waterview dining, and rates in the $169-$269 range for rooms with garden and ocean views.

You can have local lobster every which way at casual eateries like the Lobster Dock and Kaler's Crab & Lobster House downtown. But for a change of pace, get dinner at Ports of Italy, owned by Milan-born Davide Rossi and his wife, Christa.

The Thistle Inn is a favorite for happy hour, and live music at McSeagulls draws an amiable crowd. The restored Opera House offers live theater and musical entertainment.

THINGS TO DO

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Barters Island Road
Boothbay
207-633-4333
www.mainegardens.org

Tidal Transit Kayak Co.

18 Granary Way
Boothbay Harbor
207-633-7140
www.kayakboothbay.com

Cap'n Fish's Boat Cruises & Whale Watch

Pier 1, Boothbay Harbor
207-633-3244
www.boothbayboattrips.com

Boothbay Railway Village

586 Wiscasset Rd. (Rte. 27)
Boothbay
207 633-4727
www.railwayvillage.org

Kenneth Stoddard Shell Museum