Creativity does seem to run in families and the Longfellow family was no exception. The evidence is on the walls of the Maine Historical Society in an exhibit entitled “Drawing Together: The Arts of the Longfellows.”

A recent slide show by Laura Sprague, exhibit curator, demonstrated just how many artists are included in the exhibit -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow himself, and also his aunts and uncles, his brothers and sisters, his children and his nieces and nephews. Their sketches, drawings, watercolors and photographs are all visible. Henry’s younger brother, Alexander, was particularly talented. As a cartographer for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, he produced many excellent charts, but he also did some charming sketches of his home life – one highly detailed picture portrays his wife, sitting in a rocker in their library, knitting, while the artist, smiling happily, assists her by holding the yarn on outstretched arms. William Pitt Preble Longfellow, the son of Henry’s brother, Stephen, was an architect for the U.S. Treasury Department. His plans were used for the handsome Boston Post Office building. In 1840, Henry Wadsworth, Henry’s uncle, drew a beautiful barkentine under full sail in his journal as he sailed the Mediterranean Sea.

Mary King Longfellow, Alexander’s daughter and Henry’s niece, won national awards for her watercolors. Hanging on the walls are views of Scarborough Marsh and of ships in Back Cove, 1882. Most intriguing, however, are the cartoons that Henry drew for his children, to illustrate the adventures of Peter Quince and Peter Piper. Done on separate, small sheets of paper and often left by the artist in the drawer of a bookcase in the library of Craigie House in Cambridge for the children to find the next day, they depict such antics as Peter Piper in a diving bell at the bottom of the sea, or balanced on a bowsprit taking in a sail. Peter Quince is not as adventurous – he is shown retired for the night (snoring in bed), on horseback (from the rear) and taking some repose after breakfast (in a rocking chair, smoking a pipe). The exhibit will remain at the society until June 3. It is a wonderful insight into the artistic endeavors of an amazing family.

Despite the incredible weather we have experienced in April – heavy snow, pouring rain and high winds – spring has definitely arrived in southern Maine. The Scarborough Garden Club has celebrated the season with several worthwhile programs.

Our March meeting was “Backyard Bird Feeding” presented by Derek Lovitch, who owns the Wild Bird Center in Yarmouth. We learned what to plant to attract various birds, what to feed them, and how to avoid having squirrels eat everything you offer. Lovitch, an enthusiastic speaker, also distributed copies of his newsletter, the “Yarmouth Bird News” with much useful information. In April we enjoyed a program on wildflowers by retired teacher Marianne Heinrich-Perry of Readfield. An amateur photographer, Marianne showed us wildflowers both close up for detail and then surrounded by their normal habitat. We gazed at everything from Indian-pipe to chicory to buttercups to stinking Benjamin.

The club has exciting plans for the coming months. Its annual perennial sale, a major fundraiser, is scheduled, as always, for the first Saturday in June at the Hunnewell House, rain or shine. This is also a good chance to see the interior of the Hunnewell House, built in the early 1700s, as it will be the location of a White Elephant Sale. For the third summer in a row, the club will sponsor a Green Thumb Award – take a look around your neighborhood for a spectacular garden and send in your nomination. Most important, on July 21, the club will be offering a garden tour, when eight gardens in Scarborough will be open for your perusal. Club member Barbara Zaharis is organizing this event. Watch for details in The Current.

Four members of the club, including Marion Nielsen, Audrey Bell, Martha Ritchie and myself, attended the 14th annual Maine Garden Day at Central Maine Community College in Auburn, sponsored by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. More than 400 gardeners attended. Twenty-nine different classes were offered – everything from organic cranberry growing to bonsai basics to garden insects to botanical painting on fabric. My classes included Bodacious Brambles (I learned how to prune my raspberry bushes), Gardening With Daylilies (I could not believe how many varieties there are – day lilies are not just orange anymore!) and Cut Flowers for the Backyard (stems must be long and straight – not much hope for me there). I was much impressed with the facilities offered by CMCC and even more impressed with the caliber of the teachers gathered by Maine Cooperative Extension. All four of us took different classes and we all agreed that our teachers were, without exception, well prepared, articulate, enthusiastic and eager to impart their knowledge to their students.

My favorite class was entitled “Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: A World-Class Garden for Maine,” led by Maureen Heffernan, executive director. She had a PowerPoint presentation that gave us a virtual tour of the Boothbay project, starting with the brand new and beautiful visitor’s center with its cafa, gift shop, library and meeting spaces.

Then we explored their 248 acres (sitting comfortably in our classroom chairs), enjoying gorgeous views of the Rose Garden, with its gazebo and granite rose medallion; the Forest Pond, with its intriguing stepping stones; the Hillside Garden, with its splashing waterfall; the Rhododendron Garden, with its natural pond and thousands of spring bulbs; and the Meditation Garden, with its carved granite reflecting basin and peaceful water views.

The garden got its start in 1991 when a handful of Boothbay residents, all avid gardeners, decided to purchase 128 acres on the coast that were scheduled for development into housing lots. Instead, they envisioned a botanical garden that would serve as an inspiration to agricultural enthusiasts, not only Mainers but also visitors from out of state. Everyone in the class agreed that a visit to this wondrous site would be high on their springtime agenda.