On October 17, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Executive Director William Cullina was in Wellesley, Mass., to receive the George Robert White Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

“This award is given each year to a person who has made significant contributions to the spread of horticultural knowledge among the public,” wrote Katherine Macdonald, president of MHA, and Scott Birney, chair of the awards committee. “We feel that your work in establishing and developing Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens makes you worthy of this, our highest honor.”

According to Massachusetts Horticultural Society documents, the honor dates back to 1909, when George Robert White of Boston presented to the society a fund to be used to provide “a substantial gold medal” annually to an individual, firm, or institution that has done the most in recent years to advance the interest in horticulture.

The 8.5-ounce medal of coin gold was designed by eminent medalist John Flanagan and is considered a work of artistic merit. Each medal is struck at the Mint of the United States in Philadelphia.

Cullina, a celebrated plantsman who has won numerous national awards, joined the Gardens staff as director of horticulture in 2008 and became the organization’s executive director in 2011. He is the author of “Growing and Propagating Wildflowers,” “Native Trees, Shrubs, & Vines,” “Understanding Orchids,” and “Natives Ferns Mass & Grasses.”

He is co-author and took many of the photographs for “Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: A People’s Garden” and provided the photographs for “Native Plants for Your Maine Garden.”

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, on Barters Island Road in Boothbay, has welcomed nearly 100,000 guests this year. At the center of the 248-acre property are ornamental gardens, including a sensory and children’s garden. The gardens are open year-round, with no admission charge from November 1 through mid-April. For more information, visit www.mainegardens.org or call 207-633-4333, ext. 101.