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Tent with sign

The spring lilac festival and plant sale draws gardeners to its grounds each year.

Building exterior

The McLaughlin house contains the library, the Tea Café, and a store with gardening and flower items.

Library interior

A fine collection of gardening books including those of Bernard McLaughlin are housed in the library.

McLaughlin Foundation Library

The McLaughlin Garden, located in South Paris, is best known for its spring lilac festival.

The McLaughlin Garden

Located on three acres in the heart of South Paris, Maine, this serene perennial garden was designed and created by Bernard McLaughlin over a period of sixty years. It is open to gardeners and the general public who can tour the paths filled with wildflowers and garden flowers. The garden is known for its extensive lilac, wildflower, hosta, sedum, daylily, astilbe and iris collections. Built on open pasture next to a handsome 1840s farmstead, it is open free from 9 to 5 seven days per week during the summer. The center is open year-round.

The Library

The McLaughlin Garden library, available to all for browsing and to members for borrowing, is a collection of nearly one thousand books relating to gardens, gardening and botany. These books have been almost entirely donated and catalogued by volunteers. The Kate Starbird Herbarium consists of one thousand specimens -- collected, carefully preserved, and identified over a century ago. Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation donated funds to the library.

A Sampling of Spring Events

  • Wildflower Festival: A plant sale specializing in wild flowers and perennials.
  • Kid's Art at the Wildflower Festival: Children decorate and fill plant pots.
  • Lilac Festival: 2007 is the 10th annual year for this celebration showcasing the many lilacs on the garden grounds.
  • Lilac Care Workshops
  • Lilac Lap Walk/Run: Free lilac shirts and prizes awarded.


Learn more about McLaughlin Foundation Library