Gardens are healthy havens that lift the soul and the spirit. Spring has sprung, and it’s time to put on your gloves, get your shovel, and start sowing seeds, or planting flowers and shrubs. Whether you are a first-time gardener or a veteran planter, the Library is here to get you gardening- ready with an upcoming program and materials to borrow.
On Sunday May 7 at 2pm we present a talk “12 Dependable Perennials” where you can join horticulture expert Marc Zukovich as he presents tips and advice on selecting beautiful, easy growing, low-maintenance, and long-lasting perennials that keep coming back every year.
Marc’s slide presentation will cover the most dependable perennial plants and shrubs that we could plant in our gardens for years of beauty and enjoyment, along with tips on the planting and care of all garden plants. He will introduce perennials which are long blooming, tolerate less than perfect conditions, require low maintenance, are resistant to disease, deer, and insects, and are not invasive.
Useful handouts will be provided, and all your gardening questions answered.
Books
For both armchair and actual gardeners, leafing through the latest gardening books is one of the delights of the season, so here are some new titles available to borrow with your Livingston Library card.
Please note that some of the titles were on order at the time of writing this post.
At Home With Nature : A Guide To Sustainable, Natural Landscaping by John Gidding
In addition to supporting local flora and fauna, ditching grass for lush, native plants helps lower water bills and results in self-sustaining gardens long-term. Complete with specific information for every U.S. bioregion, a glossary of native plants, illustrated yard renderings and photos, and detailed explanations of suburban codes, this book has examples and techniques to build responsible natural spaces.
Compost Science For Gardeners : Simple Methods For Nutrient Rich Soil by Robert Pavlis
Pavlis demystifies the full range of composting methods and helps readers determine or select the best technique for their situation. This comprehensive, plain-language, science-based book covers everything from the inputs required to the beneficial impacts on the environment and soil health.
Container Food Gardening : All The Know-How You Need To Grow Veggies, Fruits, Herbs, And Other Edible Plants In Pots by Pam Farley
Start growing your own organic produce, without having to worry about needing a lot of time, energy, space, and money to get up and running.
The Container Victory Garden : A Beginner’s Guide To Growing Your Own Groceries by Maggie Stuckey
In her trademark warm and informative style, bestselling author and expert gardener Stuckey shares everything you need to know to succeed with container gardening: planning, gearing up, planting, nurturing, and harvesting.
The Creative Vegetable Gardener : 60 Ways To Cultivate Joy, Playfulness, And Beauty Along With A Bounty Of Food by Kelly Smith Trimble
Lifestyle editor and master gardener Trimble encourages readers to widen their focus, be playful, and imagine a vegetable garden that reflects their own unique aesthetic and offers a meditative sanctuary as well as a source of fresh, homegrown food.
A Gardener’s Guide To Botany : The Biology Behind The Plants You Love, How They Grow, And What They Need by Scott Zona
Ever wonder if plants sleep or why their leaves are shaped a certain way? The inner workings of the plants you love are revealed and celebrated in this guide by botany expert Dr. Zona. You’ll learn how different plant parts function (do you know what stomata are and why every leaf has hundreds of them?), the traits that separate plants from animals, and how through eons of evolution the plants we grow in our gardens and homes have developed a million different fascinating adaptations that allow them to survive and thrive.
The Good Garden : How To Nurture Pollinators, Soil, Native Wildlife, And Healthy by Chris McLaughlin
Master gardener, and flower/fiber farmer McLaughlin offers a wide-ranging introduction to sustainable gardening practices. She covers the various types of eco-friendly gardens, beneficial insects, and wildlife, from amphibians to birds, along with best practices for extending the growing season, watering, and welcoming pollinators. She shares multiple low-impact techniques for dealing with weeds and pests, plus information about soils and their properties, composting, growing vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers, beekeeping, and raising small domestic animals, such as chickens and rabbits.
Groundcover Revolution : How To Use Sustainable, Low-Maintenance, Low-Water Groundcovers To Replace Your Turf by Kathy Jentz
The questions answered by this book include: How replacing a lawn with groundcovers reduces resource consumption on a significant level; Why groundcovers require far less long-term maintenance than turf after establishment; The many additional benefits of groundcovers, including erosion control, a reduction in chemical usage, a boost in biodiversity, and mitigation of climate change as a carbon sink; The ways groundcovers overcome challenges such as tree roots, compacted soils, poor drainage, and dense shade; The step-by-step mechanics of how to get rid of your lawn, how to place and plant groundcovers from seeds, plugs, or transplants, and how to care for your new “quilted lawn” once it’s in place.
The Herb Gardening Handbook : A Beginner’s Guide To Growing And Harvesting Herbs No Matter Your Space by Andrew Perry
Beginning with a simple guide of how to get started and the best growing conditions for herbs, this handbook is a stylish guide to 12 herb projects that will suit everything from indoor window ledges to balconies and gardens.
How To Create A Butterfly Garden : Bringing The Beauty Of Butterflies Into Your World by Mathew Tekulsky
This guide will teach you everything you need to get started–whether you’re a suburban resident, the owner of a small urban garden, an apartment dweller, or a keeper of a country estate, you can enjoy frequent butterfly visits to your garden or window box. The key, Tekulsky believes, is learning some basic knowledge of butterfly characteristics and behavior and knowing how to meet the needs of the butterfly species most common in your neighborhood.
The Magic Of Seeds : The Nature-Lover’s Guide To Growing Garden Flowers And Herbs From Seed by Clare Gogerty
The ultimate reference to growing plants from seed.
A Northern Gardener’s Guide To Native Plants And Pollinators : Creating Habitat In The Northeast, Great Lakes, And Upper Midwest by Lorraine Johnson
The book discusses the importance of growing native plants in home gardens, and it tells readers how to do it. The work’s highlight is its listing of plant profiles, including perennials, grasses, sedges, trees, shrubs, and vines.
Rekha’s Kitchen Garden : Seasonal Produce And Homegrown Wisdom From A Year In One Gardener’s Plot by Rekha Mistry
Rekha teaches you the tricks and shares the lessons she has learned from a lifetime of sowing, digging, and harvesting. This isn’t your average introduction to growing your own vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Packed with personality and stunning photography, this is a celebration of more than 40 seasonal crops that will inspire you to make the most of your allotment or kitchen garden.
The Science Of Gardening : Discover How Your Garden Really Grows by Stuart Farrimond
The world of gardening can be a mystifying place, with so many instructions to follow and often little explanation as to why. Dr. Farrimond casts his scientific eye over a typical year in the garden to answer all the horticultural questions you’ve ever wanted the answer to. From hands-on, practical advice, to an exploration of the mental health benefits of gardening, while also covering topics such as the positive impact gardening can have on the earth during a time of climate crisis in between, this book debunks myths and reveals the latest science only taught at horticultural college.
Tough Plants For Tough Places : Invincible Plants For Every Situation by Sharon Amos
An easy-to-use, fully illustrated guide to more than 100 virtually unkillable plants for your garden–whatever the growing conditions.
Veg Out : A Stress-Free Guide To Creating Your First Vegetable Garden by Heather Rodino
Rodino teaches the basics of growing your own vegetables, such as how to choose the right plants for a climate and guarding the crop from hungry critters. Included are 30 profiles of beginner-friendly vegetables and herbs with detailed instructions on where to grow, when to harvest, as well as their sunlight, watering, and soil needs.
Magazines and Courses
There are several gardening magazines available via Libby.
You can find courses on introductory gardening, vegetable and tropical gardening on Universal Class.
— Archana Chiplunkar, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian