Library Service: 5 Gardening Resources to Help Your Green Thumb Grow!
- Rachel
- Jun 20
- 5 min read
As we transition from spring into summer, gardening is in full swing! Whether you are growing veggies or flowers, we have 5 gardening resources that can help you, and your kiddos, with your green thumbs!
Gardening Resource #1 - The Seed Library
The Seed Library is housed in an old card catalog in the Audio/Visual Room on the main floor of the library. As you begin your gardening adventure, you can visit the library to pick up 10 free seed packets to take home and experiment with. While plants such as tomatoes and peppers should be started in late winter or early spring, the seed library offers several other types of seeds that can still be planted at the start of summer.
There are various types of beans, squash, melons, radishes, and salad greens that can still be planted for a summer harvest. Haven't begun your herb garden yet? We offer several annual herbs that flourish in the summer, such as basil, chives, and dill.
Perhaps you're considering starting a flower bed? The Seed Library offers various types of sunflowers, anise hyssop, bee balm, blackberry lily, and hollyhocks. Or maybe you're interested in growing your own luffa sponges!
So how does the Seed Library work? It is pretty simple. Browse the library and select up to 10 packets of seeds you'd like to try in your garden or flower bed at home. Take these seed packets to the circulation desk to "check out," and then you're ready to plant them in your garden! Once your seeds grow into thriving plants, we'd appreciate it if you let a few go to seed. Collect these seeds in a labeled bag and return them to the circulation desk so we can replenish our stock for the next year. Simple and easy! Do you have seeds you didn't use, or like my family, planted okra only to find out that no one really liked it? You can donate any unwanted seeds to the Seed Library.
Gardening Resource #2 - Adult Gardening Books
On the main floor, the Gardening & Landscaping section of adult non-fiction houses gardening books. Here, you can explore topics ranging from the ideal vegetables to cultivate in the Midwest to techniques for growing food in limited spaces. Discover how to use plants to attract birds and butterflies, or delve into hydroponics to grow food using only water. You can also find a book on seed saving to ensure an endless supply!
While the library contains several gardening books, here are some of our favorites:
Plant Partners: Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden by Jessica Walliser
Homegrown Herbs: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Enjoying More than 100 Herbs by Tammi Hartung
More gardening books can be found under homesteading in the House & Home section. Here you will find books on how to be self-sustainable and a good steward of your land, not just in the garden, but with your animals and your home.
Gardening Resource #3 - Children's Gardening Books
On the Children's Floor, there are plenty of books about flowers, vegetables, and insects that you might encounter in your garden. Combine that with the enchantment of fairy gardens, and your kids might catch the gardening fever too! Here are some of our top picks!
Gardening Resource #4 - Gardening Classes on Kanopy
Kanopy, a free streaming service we offer, features a variety of excellent classes for gardening enthusiasts! You can watch The Science of Gardening Great Course, which includes 24 videos on optimal gardening techniques. Additionally, there are 12 videos in the Fundamentals of Sustainable Living series and 6 videos in the How to Grow Anything series. If you love gardens but lack the time or energy to create your own, consider watching the documentary A Gardener of Versailles, which showcases the head gardener's efforts in maintaining one of the world's most renowned 2000-acre gardens.
Kanopy is available for free with your library card. For more details, check out this blog on Kanopy, our Library eResources page on our website, or visit us in person! We would be delighted to help you in get started!
Gardening Resource #5
What do I do with ALL THIS PRODUCE!!
Now that you have all of this produce, what are you going to do with it? From garden to table, in the Cooking section of adult non-fiction we have several recipe books that will help you use up that produce that you have grown yourself by making some fresh food for the table.
Also in the Cooking section, you'll find a range of books on preserving your harvest. Whether you're interested in making pickles, jam, or savoring those delicious tomatoes throughout the winter, explore the various methods available for preservation!
Have you grown some herbs and are unsure how to use them? Visit our Health section in non-fiction for inspiration on transforming those amazing herbs into all-natural, health-boosting products.
BONUS!! Gardening Resource #6
Community Garden Table
Have you canned more tomatoes than you can count? Is your freezer already packed with delicious treats for the winter? Are you at the point where one more zucchini might make you scream? Don't worry, when you've had your fill of fresh produce, we also have the Community Garden Table. If you're overflowing with produce, bag it up and bring it to the Garden Table! Situated on the main floor across from the circulation desk, the Garden Table is a perfect place to share your homegrown produce with families who can't afford all those fresh veggies and fruits, or seniors who don't need an entire plant full of tomatoes but would love to have a few for that BLT sandwich. While you're there dropping off your extra cucumbers, feel free to pick up some extra green peppers that someone else has left behind that you could use.
Happy Gardening!
Until Next Time Library Friends!
The Vespasian Warner Library is located at
310 N. Quincy St. in Clinton, IL 61727.
Contact us by phone, 217-935-5174,
by email library@vwarner.org,
or drop in and say hello!
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