Take time to smell the flowers during annual garden tours and flower festivals throughout Maine. While most tours occur on only one day each summer, a few are spread out over the season. Hint: Buy tickets in advance when possible, as they usually are less expensive (but note that tours are usually rain or shine, so you take your chances with the weather).
This is a work in progress, and I’ll keep updating this with new information and tours as I receive info. Updated March 20, 2026
2026 Maine Garden Tours
McLaughlin Garden Annual Lilac Festival
What: View more than 125 different varieties and more than 200 lilac trees. Tour on your own or join the 11 am Lilac Care Guided Tour led by horticulturist. See site for other festival activities. (Note: on website, be sure to click through to each day to see specific activities).
When: May 22-25, 2026; 10am-4pm daily
Cost: $5 admission
Viles Arboretum Lilac Festival
What: Festival celebrating nature, creativity, and community. Viles’ collection includes Japanese tree lilacs, Meyer lilac, and Common Lilac.
When: May 23, 2026, 10am-4pm
Cost: $5
What else: Event includes a Makers Market featuring local vendors, American Chestnut seedlings (order in advance on website), and live entertainment.
2026 Woodfords Community Garden Tour
What: Tour more than 10 gardens on a self-guided tour of gardens throughout the Woodfords Corner Community: Back Cove, Deering Highlands, Oakdale, and Deering Center.
When: June 13, 2026; 1-4pm (June 8 rain date)
Cost: $20 donation is suggested, but pay what you can.
Hidden Homes, Gardens, and Houses of Worship
What: annual self-guided tour of private homes, galleries, and gardens in Bath
When: June 13, 2026; 10am-2pm
Cost: $40 in advance, $45 day of tour; benefits Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc.
What else: Music by the Montsweaggers.
Peony Society of Maine Garden Tour
What: Self-guided tour of five gardens
When: June 13 and 20, 2026; 10am-3pm
Cost: $5 donation per guest; benefits Peony Society efforts to educate and propagate.
What else: Tour of five gardens; details to come
Celia Thaxter’s Garden Tours on Appledore Island
What: Walking tour of the restored garden of 19th-century poet and writer Celia Thaxter, author of An Island Garden.
When: June 13, 20, 27; July 3, 11, 17, 25; August 1, 7, 15, 2026
Cost: $120, includes parking, round-trip transportation from New Castle, N.H., guided tour, and buffet lunch. Registration opens mid-March.
What else: Participants access the island via a 45-minute cruise aboard a research vessel and, once on the island, walk 2-3 miles over rugged terrain. Reservations must be made at least 2 weeks in advance, and each tour is limited to 33 participants.
Open Days at Garland Farm, Bar Harbor
What: Garland Farm, the ancestral home of Lewis Garland, property manager for landscape architect Beatrix Farrand’s famed Reef Point property, and Farrand’s home and gardens. Farrand moved here after dismantling Reef Point in 1955, and worked with architect Robert Patterson to design the addition where she lived, using some of the architectural pieces and furnishings she had saved. The house, library, and garden are open to visitors for guided house and self-guided garden tours as follows.
When: Thursdays, June 18-Sept. 17, 2026; noon-4pm
Cost: $5 donation
What else: Take a self-guided tour of the grounds and/or join a docent-led one of the house.
The Garden Conservancy Beckett Castle Open Garden Day
What: Self-guided tour of Beckett Castle Rose Garden in Cape Elizabeth. This oceanfront garden comprises more than 70 varieties of heirloom roses. A 50-foot-high stone tower entry gate doubles as a rose arbor. Sylvester Beckett built the neo-Gothic house in 1871.
When: June 27, 2026; 1-4pm
Cost: $TBA
What else: Visitors should wear sturdy shoes and expect uneven terrain and unpaved paths. They must traverse an upward slope to exit the garden. The property is home to Hogfish, a nonprofit regenerative arts movement. Live music will be performed during the day.
Secret Gardens of the Kennebunks
What: Tour seven private gardens in a wide variety of styles and plantings. a pop-up garden boutique and lunch from the Texas Grace food truck will be available.
When: July 11, 2026; 10am-3pm
Cost: $60 in advance online or at the library, day-of tix are $70; benefits Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library.
What else: View a variety of garden styles and plant collections, with volunteers at each location.
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden Open Garden Days
What: Self-guided tour of the Walled Garden and The Eyrie Terrace, the former home site of John D. Jr. and Abby Rockefeller, Seal Harbor, on Mount Desert Island. (Note: This is one of my favorite Maine garden tours)
When: July 14-Sept. 13, 2026; noon-4pm.
Cost: $15 ($10 for age 65 and older, full-time students, year-round MDI residents, and active military); reservations open March 20.
What else: Membership in the Land and Garden Preserve has benefits worth checking out; rates begin at $50 ($25 ages 65+, full-time students, year-round MDI residents, and active military). Check out the perks, such as free or very discounted passes, and consider joining for early access to reservations, even if you’re only visiting briefly.
Camden House and Garden Tour
What: 77th Annual Garden Tour presented by the Camden Garden Club for more than 75 years.
When: July 16, 2026, 9am-4pm
Cost: TBA; tickets available May 1
What else:
Brunswick in Bloom Garden Tour
What: self-guided garden tour of 8 private gardens
When: July 18, 2026, 10am-3pm
Cost: $35, available online
What else: Garden party at 3pm following the tour for ticket holders. Benefits free medical and dental services provided by Oasis Free Clinics.
Tea By The Sea Summer Home and Garden Market
What: Garden market and tea
When: July 19, 10 am and 2 pm seatings
Cost: $55 in advance; benefits scholarships for advanced education in ecology, marine biology, horticulture, botany, and earth sciences as well as YMCA Camperships for local children.
What else: This event at the Boothbay Yacht Club replaces the tour for this year.
Garden Club of Mount Desert Open Garden Day
What: walking tour of seven gorgeous gardens in Northeast Harbor
When: July 25, 2026; 10am-4pm
Cost: $50, available online
What else: benefits nonprofit organizations promoting horticulture and/or conservation projects. Gardens are not wheelchair- or stroller-accessible.
Wiscasset Homes on Tour
What: Historical private homes in Wiscasset village and the surrounding area
When: Sat. Oct. 17, 2026, 11am-4pm
Cost: TBA
What else:
Previous Maine Garden Tours
(awaiting 2026 info)
Belfast Open Garden Days
What: One garden in greater Belfast is open on Saturdays, rain or shine
When: 10am-4pm Saturdays, June 14, 21, 28; July 5, 12, 19, 26; August. 2, 16, 2025
Cost: $5 suggested donation per garden or season ticket for $35; a check or exact change is appreciated. Proceeds benefit maintenance of 12 local public gardens and scholarships for Waldo County students studying horticulture and related subjects.
What else: No restrooms at gardens. No dogs. Photography allowed only with permission.
Bar Harbor Garden Club Tour: Gardens by the Sea
What: Visit five Bar Harbor gardens
When: July 19, 2025; 10am-4pm Only held on odd-numbered years
Cost: $50 advance only; benefits island nonprofits protecting natural resources, addressing food insecurity, and fostering dedication to horticulture among youth.
What else: Free parking and shuttle service; tour includes five gardens.
Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour
What: Self-guided tour viewing gardens highlighting wildlife habitats and native plants
When: July 19, 2025; 9am-4pm
Cost: $35, available online; benefits Friends of Fort Williams Park.
Camden-Rockport Food Garden Tour
What: Visit home gardens, family farms, and community plots all growing food and meet the gardeners and farmers.
When: Sept. 5 & 7, 2025
Cost: Free, but must register to receive a password for map access.
What else: Sponsored by CamdenCan
*****
Gardens Aglow
What: Holiday light extravaganza at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
When: mid-November to late-December.
Cost: XX adult, XX ages 3-17, $XX age 65+, $XX family including 2 adults and 2 children; for specific date and time. Also available are premium flex tickets, valid whenever garden is open: $XX adult, $XX child, $XX senior, $XX family.
What else: It’s truly worth planning a visit around this annual event, which coincides with Boothbay Lights.
*****
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