Making It Count: Remembering Claire Hunt

Claire Hunt was many things to the Gardens: one of the original founders, the first membership coordinator, and past President of the Board of Directors. “I have a passion and a fire in my belly,” Claire once said, “and the Gardens is my passion.” 

Over thirty years ago, in 1990, Claire and a core group of founders began investigating land and gardens, researching and interviewing other botanical gardens, formulating a concept of what they wanted. “What we realized was that to attract membership, we had to explain to the people of Maine why we needed a garden here.” 

Luckily for that mission, Claire, a psychologist by trade, believed strongly in the restorative power of gardens. “People need a place to go with order and beauty, where they can refresh and renew. A garden can be anything you want it to be and can fit any need.” 

We know time with nature is essential, but the founders wanted to go further. “We wanted a place that would become a nexus where people in the industry would come to learn, to further their education in botany.” 

Once they purchased the property in Boothbay, “the rubber hit the road,” as Claire put it. “We still had no money and no members, but we approached everyone—garden clubs, yacht clubs, rotary clubs, church organizations, and sent out masses of letters. We knew what our mission was, where our property was, and what we wanted to do with it. We had the dream, the vision.” 

It was this kind of positive energy that kept everyone motivated. “Our volunteers were amazing. These were people who would not hesitate to come and stuff envelopes or fill potpourri bags for a holiday open house. Everyone said yes—all you had to do was ask.” 

It wasn’t only volunteers and the founders who lent their time and resources. “When I became the president of the Garden Club Federation of Maine, I asked members to bring books to donate to the future library at the Gardens. We received more than two thousand. It was that kind of kindness, those extraordinary gifts, that lifted us.” 

The draw of the Gardens and membership was, and continues to be, ownership. “In a larger organization, you could give a million dollars and you wouldn’t know where it went, but if you were to give that money to the Gardens, you would have the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses or the Alfond Children’s Garden—you see where your money is. It’s the difference between visibility and making it count.” 

Claire Hunt was a tireless force of optimism and energy, a catalyst who helped shape the Gardens, giving it the roots it needed to grow into the extraordinary space it is today. “It was a divine coming together of the right people at the right time,” she often said. “What can I say? We are blessed.”