Fall color has reached the Boothbay peninsula right along with some chilly weather, and Gardens guests delight in the mix of colorful foliage, graceful grasses and late-season flowers. Lovely.

The Kitchen Garden Café is still open until the end of the month with a limited menu. For those who want to get a jump on holiday shopping, or just want to celebrate the change of seasons, the Gardens Gift Shop is full of beautiful, decorative and useful items. The shop is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through October 31 and then again for special events in November and December.

For information about the Gardens and fall programs for all ages, call 207-633-4333, ext. 101; visit www.mainegardens.org; or stop by the Gardens, off Barters Island Road in Boothbay.

A spine-tingling exhibit

Diane Walden’s Harrowing Harvest Folk will tickle your fancy while sending shivers up your spine. An exhibit of her small scarecrow sculptures will be in the Education Center Lobby until Halloween. Two are in the Visitor Center to whet guests’ appetite. All are for sale.

Walden says she constructs her one-of-a-kind “mini meanies,” as she calls them, using “a wild array of botanicals, grasses, seedpods, shattered shells, straw, and woodie trimmings.” She also refers to her sculpted beings as autumnal totems, seasonal santos and scarebots.

Walden, who lives in Thomaston, is a horticulturist on the Gardens staff. While her macabre-yet-whimsical creatures are her fall passion and are proving quite popular with visitors, she is even better known for her spectacular floral arrangements and garlands made of a variety of greenery entwined with flowers. On December 7, she will teach Festive Holiday Greens workshops for two levels of expertise: traditional and advanced.

A few more fall happenings

Chef Christopher Anderson of Wings Hill Inn & Restaurant will prepare a Kitchen Garden Series Dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 16. On Thursday and Friday, Oct. 17 and 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, staff horticulturist and educator Justin Nichols will present an intensive course for Maine gardeners on selecting and using native trees and shrubs. The workshop combines classroom time in the Education Center and forays into the garden and nearby sites. Fees are $120 for members and $150 for nonmembers, and preregistration is required.

Justin Nichols has been professionally maintaining gardens for 20 years, including five years at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. He is a certified Organic Land Care Professional. He also has a master’s degree in education, and enjoys teaching horticulture to people of all ages.

Fall in the Children’s Garden

The Bibby and Harold Children’s Garden will be open through the end of October. Now that Columbus Day has passed, the only activity is Storytime at 10 a.m. every Monday, which continue all winter on Mondays at 10 a.m., the season for children’s and family programs is winding down. The final session of the “Little Diggers” gardening program for kids from 3-5 years old is from 9:30-11:30 a.m., on Thursday, Oct. 17. Fees per child are $12 for members and $17 for nonmembers, and reservations are required.

During the final Cider Sunday, 1-3 p.m. on October 13, visitors can enjoy a cup of cider they press themselves. Each day of the season’s last weekend of children’s activities, October 12 and 13, includes Storytime at 10 a.m., Garden Puppet Theater in the Story Barn at 11 a.m., and chicken feeding at 12:30 p.m. Because of Cider Sunday, the 2 p.m. Nature Investigation will be on Saturday only.

Reminders

On Friday, Oct. 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., horticulturist Irene Brady Barber will show how to bring outdoor plants inside for the winter to provide color, scent, and a healthy environment; and everyone will get to pot up and take home a plant to brighten their own home “greenscape.” Fees for this workshop in the Education Center are $35 for members and $42 for nonmembers.

Horticulturist and floral arranger Diane Walden’s creepy-but-cute Harrowing Harvest Folk are fun and easy to make out of plants and other materials. She’ll teach a workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12. Fees are $35 for members and $42 for nonmembers.