McLaughlin Garden & Homestead
Lilacs, woodland flowers, mature trees, a barn, and the historic house preserve Bernard McLaughlin’s patient, informal plant collecting.
Artwork inspired by N. C. Wyeth
A celebrated lilac garden grew from one gardener’s western Maine homestead. Lilacs, woodland flowers, mature trees, a barn, and the historic house preserve Bernard McLaughlin’s patient, informal plant collecting. The garden’s value extends beyond its famous spring bloom.
Visit the lilacs when in season, but also study how paths and understory plants make a small property feel layered. Bloom timing varies and special events can affect parking; the garden and house follow different access patterns. At McLaughlin Garden & Homestead, the most rewarding visit connects objects, spaces, and interpretation instead of treating the institution as a checklist.
- Founded
- 1936
- Specialty
- Lilacs
- Setting
- South Paris
Quick guide
- Start with
- Visit the lilacs when in season, but also study how paths and understory plants make a small property feel layered.
- Look closely at
- Compare woodland paths with homestead barn; the relationship reveals something the headline feature alone cannot.
Know before you go
- Start with
- Visit the lilacs when in season, but also study how paths and understory plants make a small property feel layered.
- Look closely at
- Compare woodland paths with homestead barn; the relationship reveals something the headline feature alone cannot.
- Connect the story
- Look beyond peak lilac bloom to the mature trees, woodland flowers, barn, and homestead that reveal decades of patient collecting.
- Plan around
- Check the official calendar before leaving, then protect time for homestead barn after historic lilacs establishes the main story.
Good to know
Bloom timing varies and special events can affect parking; the garden and house follow different access patterns.
Notice these
- historic lilacs
- woodland paths
- homestead barn