Among the first dates Maine residents should circle on their new 2013 calendars are Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, May 25, 26 and 27.

Thanks to a generous gift from the Acorn Foundation, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay will offer free admission throughout the 3-day Memorial Day weekend to everyone who lives in Maine.

Adults will simply need to show a Maine state ID or driver’s license.

This is but one of the calendar changes in store at the Gardens in 2013. The first noteworthy difference is that there will be no Here Comes the Sun party January 1. This volunteer-run event was initially created a dozen years ago as a way to celebrate the creation of the central campus while eliminating the resulting brush piles.  

Maine Days will be a more relevant and more beautiful celebration. It will occur when thousands of plants are in bloom in the ornamental gardens surrounding the Visitor Center.

Colorful spring bulbs will still be vibrant; hundreds of flowering shrubs in the Giles Rhododendron Garden will be at their peak; and swaths of pink lady’s slippers will be starting their annual display.

And there’s more than plants, much more:  impressive stonework, lively fountains and waterfalls, and miles of waterfront and woodland trails through the 250-acre grounds. Outdoor sculptures by fine artists are the perfect complements to flowers and forest, and fascinating indoor exhibits add to visitors’ enjoyment of the Gardens. Children will delight in the storybook-themed features of the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden, and the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses appeals to all our senses.

To add to the experience, and because it’s easy to work up a good appetite at the Gardens, the Kitchen Garden Café is open from 10-3 with delicious soups, sandwiches, snacks, and dessert. The Gardens Gift Shop, relocated and refurbished in 2012, has something for just about everyone.

While anyone familiar with the Gardens has some idea what they’ll find during a visit, there are surprises around every corner, for like every exceptional garden, this one keeps growing – and getting more beautiful and more interesting with every year. Gardens hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, year-round.

Beginning April 1, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ regular admission prices will be $14 for adults, $12 for seniors (65+), and $6 for children 3-17. Admission is always free for members and children under 3.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, a nonprofit, opened to the public in 2007 and rapidly became an attraction and educational resource for all ages in all seasons. Much-lauded additions include the sensory garden, which opened in 2009; the children’s garden, new for 2010; and, in 2011, the spacious Bosarge Family Education Center – the greenest public building in Maine. The number of visitors has increased each year, with more than 90,000 welcomed in 2012.

The Gardens is at 132 Botanical Gardens Drive, off Barters Island Road, just over a mile from Route 27 and the Boothbay Common. For more information and directions, call 207-633-4333, ext. 101, or visit www.MaineGardens.org.