There’s nothing like being outside on a spring day. To finally feel warmth on your cheek, the wind through your hair … wait, what was that commercial? Oh dee flowers, oh dee trees, oh dee birds, oh dee bees … No, I don’t mean the song “Let Me Tell You About the Birds and the Bees ...” - although, now that I’ve mentioned the song, the old mind’s eye brought an episode of the "King Family" show into focus and I’m now “watching” the King cousins singing that tune ….

Anyway ... back to spring and nature. We all have our favorite outdoor haunts. My favorite place in Connecticut was, and still is, Devil’s Hopyard in East Haddam. Having grown up quite near there, the Hopyard will always be special to me – it’s been a place of adventure and mischief; quiet reflection, mediation, and yes, definitely romance … O.K. another memory has come into focus, but best not share that one ...

The sound of the water rushing over the rocks of Chapman Falls and falling over 60 feet; the scents of pine and earth in the air, intensifying with each footstep; the forest cool and damp, sunlight filtering through the branches of the pine canopy … Devil’s Hopyard. If you’re ever in that neck of Connecticut's woods – go there! It’s a great place to hike as well – just watch out for rattlers. I heard that ominous sound a few times trekking around in the foresty depths.

Since moving to Boothbay Harbor (30 years ago this Labor Day – how did that happen?!) Ocean Point became my Maine Devil’s Hopyard. For the forest lover in me, some of the Boothbay Region Land Trust preserves – like Porter and Cross River ... wherever you go in this region, the scent of spring is intoxicating. Earthy, floral, laced with a hint of salt (lucky us near the sea)!

April showers bring May flowers – eventually! For those of us who garden, signs of May’s flowers are sprouting up in our yards, the forsythia’s in bloom, magnolias too. And we may have tulips and daffies up, too, but for a super visual of color and flora, a trip to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will both delight and reassure that it’s indeed safe to put away our winter warrior gear. OK, maybe not the polar fleece ...

May at the Gardens brings a dazzling display of tulips, and just in time for Mother’s Day (May 13 this year)! Moms are always admitted free on their day and there are probably some families that have made an outing on this day a tradition. Don’t miss the hyacinths – what am I saying, how could you miss hyacinth, quite possibly the most highly fragrant spring bloom ever. There are 50,000 bulbs in bloom. All I can see right now is this photo from an old history book – yep, the old mind’s eye has quite the hefty catalog of images – of a windmill surrounded, as far as the eye could see (which, in this case was the edge of the photo) by tulips in vivid colors.

Come Memorial Day the Gardens offer free admission to all Maine residents. These Maine Days span all three days of the holiday weekend – this year Saturday, May 26 through Monday, May 28. Just remember to bring your license or other picture I.D.

There are many areas of the Gardens I remember covering over the last 19 years … like the opening of the Children’s Garden that even the inner child in every adult is charmed by. Don’t miss the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses and take a walk down to the Vayo Meditation Garden. Wherever you wander at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, relax and allow the healing power of nature to do its thing. Being out in the natural world, well, it’s just another form of what I like to call Zen-surround.