Visitors to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens this summer can enjoy a deliciously colorful new art exhibit: "Garden To Table," on display in the Café from now until the end of the season on Oct. 18. Included in the price of admission, this exhibit features over a dozen Maine artists whose paintings and photographs explore the many ways a garden can nourish the body and mind.

Featured artists include: Caroline Clare Davis, Edward Scott Elliot, Virginia Forrest, Carolyn Gabbe, Margaret Gibson, Joy Grannis, Heather Kelly, Amity Libby, Mindy Lighthipe, Irene Plummer, Susie Porter, Susan Bartlett Rice, Robert Smith and Liz Starr.

A special Exhibit Opening and Artists Reception will take place in the Gardens’ Café on Friday, Aug. 14, from 3 to 5 p.m. The exhibition opening is open to the public and included in the price of Gardens’ admission. If the price of admission is a barrier, guests may use library passes or access discounted or Gardens for All Tickets.

Several of the exhibiting artists are also teaching late summer and fall classes at the Gardens. On Aug. 24 and 25, Joy Grannis teaches techniques used by science illustrators to draw preserved plant samples and magnified specimens in her class, Drawing From the Herbarium.

Mindy Lighthipe will be teaching a week-long course, from Sept. 21, focused on the Farmers Market. Each day of this engaging series, a stand-alone subject is offered, including buzzing pollinators, vintage hand-lettered banners, and heirloom vegetables.

South Bristol artist Susan Bartlett Rice returns to the Gardens on Oct. 14 with her popular "Painting with Acrylics: The Gardens in Autumn," where students will create their own paintings inspired by the stunning autumn surroundings. For a full listing of classes, head to MaineGardens.org/learn

Running alongside the Garden To Table exhibit is a season-long presentation titled "Plants Over Time: Unlocking Herbarium Collections." Displayed in the Bosarge Family Education Center, pressed plant species and artistic renderings by Joy Grannis highlight the Gardens’ Herbarium and Plant Science collections through the lens of art.

The Gardens, at 105 Botanical Gardens Drive in Boothbay, are open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from now until Oct. 18. Guests can save $4 per ticket by purchasing online in advance.

About Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens At over 325 acres, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is New England’s largest botanical garden. Set along the rugged Maine coastline, the Gardens is home to thousands of different types of plants and visited by hundreds of thousands of guests annually.

An inclusive place of learning, beauty, and whimsy, the mission of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is to inspire meaningful connections between people and nature and promote plant conservation through horticulture, education, and plant science. To learn more, visit MaineGardens.org.