PARIS – Sales are off to a brisk start for a sequel to the wildly successful 2003 McLaughlin Gardens nearly nude calendar.

The 2005 calendar, Altogether for the Garden Too, features black-and-white images of 12 new male and female models in “tastefully revealing photographs” by Skip Churchill, said Lee Dassler, executive director of the McLaughlin Foundation.

The 2003 calendar – inspired by the women of Rylestone, England, as portrayed in the movie “Calendar Girls” – raised more than enough to allow the foundation to pay off its $155,000 mortgage, Dassler said.

The nonprofit foundation was founded in 1996 to preserve the public garden and farmhouse of the late Bernard McLaughlin on Main Street in Paris. The garden is known for its extensive perennial collection, especially lilacs.

Proceeds from the 2005 calendar will be used to make needed repairs on the farmhouse and meet general operating expenses. The group is printing 5,000 copies, half the amount printed last year.

Churchill’s artful photos, staged on the garden property, are again paired in the calendar with humorous and provocative garden quotes.

Dassler said that since the first calendar came out, the foundation has received similar, nearly nude calendars from gardening organizations all over the country.

“Most of them were pretty boring – like a person standing holding a pot in front of themselves,” Dassler said. The McLaughlin calendar evokes images such as Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and Norman Rockwell’s famous painting of Rosie the Riveter.

The models this year are:

• Husband and wife William and Meg Wheeler of Waterford, garden volunteers and supporters.

• Marcia Pottle of Oxford, board member.

• Susan Butler of Buckfield, garden supporter.

• Kristin Perry of South Paris, full-time horticulturist for the foundation.

• Michael Desplaines of Albany Township, garden volunteer coordinator.

• Marilyn Hammond of South Paris, board member.

• Tony Elliot of Kennebunk, garden supporter.

• Mercedes Hersom of Otisfield, garden volunteer.

• Harriet Rudd of Sumner, garden volunteer.

• Harriet Robinson of Otisfield, board member.

• Doug Johnson of Hollis, garden volunteer.

People may order a calendar by sending $19.50, which includes shipping and handling, to the McLaughlin Foundation Calendar, P.O. Box 305, South Paris, ME 04281-0305, or they may order online at www.mclaughlingarden.org. People may also order by phone at 928-2298. Maine residents must add 80 cents sales tax.

The garden is open daily through October. The foundation offers educational programs and events throughout the year, and operates a year-round gift shop and seasonal cafe on site.