Spring Into Gardening!

Spring is here and now is the time to get dirty and grow! Whether your thumb is green or brown, Richmond Public Library has an abundance of great books to guide you on your path to a green yard, an oasis of flowers and a harvest of fresh veggies, even if you only have a porch or patio to plant.

Many city gardeners are discouraged by a lack of space, too little sun, or poor soil conditions.  Two recent publications provide excellent tips for growing in containers, improving soil and choosing plant varieties that thrive in different locations.

Small-Space Vegetable Gardens by Andrea Bellamy includes garden design, soil-building tips, plant selection and other ideas for gardening on balconies, patios, parking strips and vertically up walls.  
Grow All You Can Eat in 3 Square Feet is a DK publication that explores a variety of innovative gardening spaces.Tips cover maximizing yields from intensive planting and choosing the best varieties for containers.  


Location and climate play an important role in choosing successful plant combinations.  Here in RVA we have hot, humid summers that vary from drought to downpours.  The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast by Ira Wallace begins with Gardening 101 and moves through each month with timely suggestions.  "August:  Heat and harvest" and "September: Second spring" are just two examples found in this valuable resource.


All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space by Mel Bartholomew is an updated edition of one of the first books to promote the idea that it is possible to grow vegetables in very small gardens. Using a grid based system, Bartholomew promises "more produce in less space with less work."

Fresh herbs can change even the simplest recipe and most are easy to grow in containers and raised beds.  Some may even blend in with flower beds and evergreen borders.  RPL has many excellent herb titles in the collection, including The Culinary Herbal by Susan Belsinger and Arthur O. Tucker. Covering 97 "tried and true" varieties, the authors share growing tips and recipes for vinegars, butters, pastes and syrups.

No outdoor space to call your own? Greenery confined to inside?  What's Wrong with My Houseplant by David Deardorff provides organic solutions to pests and diseases that may creep into your home. Includes tips for trees, vines, perennials and more.

Bulbs are one of the hidden gems of the garden, popping up when you forget them, hibernating at different times of the year, and multiplying annually. Not just for spring, these bloomers can fill the spaces between seasons and add a burst of color to a neglected corner. They are even good in containers.  The Complete Practical Handbook of Garden Bulbs is just that, an excellent overview, with hardiness zones and planting specifications for hundreds of varieties.



For the youngest gardeners the Library is filled with a "harvest" of titles, from specific plants, habitats, and gardening tips, to beautiful picture books that celebrate life in and around the garden.  Here are just a few titles to start.  "Dig in" to your local library for more!

If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson. 
These friendly animals reap an extra benefit from their garden plantings: kindness.

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner.
We can see the wonderful plants growing in the garden. This author skillfully introduces what's happening among the plants, under the leaves, and down below the dirt where many animals make their homes.

Older kids can get their hands in the dirt and create fun projects with The Nitty-Gritty Gardening Book: Fun Projects for All Seasons.  Ideas are arranged by season and include bean-pole tents, seed starting, hanging gardens, compost bins, winter terrariums and more.

Whatever your gardening pleasure, get out and get dirty and visit your local library for inspiration!


Upcoming RVA Garden Events:

Maymont Herbs Galore 
Saturday, April 30, 2016

Sunday Stroll in Dorey Park
Sunday, April 24, 2015

Virginia Native Plant Society Plant Sales
Various dates

Lewis Ginter Spring Plant Fest
Friday, May 6, and Saturday, May 7, 2016

Master Gardener’s Launches Community Help Desk at the Main Library

The Richmond Public Library and the Richmond Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners are pleased to announce a new educational opportunity for all Richmond City residents.

The program started last Saturday, May 4 from 10 am – 12 noon and will continue through October 26, 2013 (with the exception of Holiday week-ends and the month of August), each Saturday you will find one to two Master gardeners staffing an information desk on the first floor of the Main library. The Help Desk offers the community an opportunity to stop by and speak with a Master Gardener about their gardening questions and concerns.

Please stop by and visit with a question. If an answer cannot be provided that day, it will be emailed to you within a week’s time. For more information regarding the master gardeners help desk, please contact Chris Baum at christinebbaum@gmial.com.

Happy Gardening!

We have the following resources for the Saturday morning Master Gardeners Community Help Desk:

Weeds of the Northeast

Wild Urban Plants of the

The Ortho Problem Solver - on order, we have a 1993 edition

Weeds of Southern Turf-grasses

Diseases of Trees and Shrubs

Insects that feed on Trees and Shrubs

Manual of Woody Landscape Plants

The Flora of Virginia

Read more on the Virginia Cooperative Extension monthly Newsletter

http://offices.ext.vt.edu/richmond-city/links/may2013Newsletter.pdf

The RPL is pleased to be a partner with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Agency in providing our patrons with access to library resources and community experts in developing a greener and more sustainable community. -Patty Parks, Branch Manager

Going Green-Celebrating Earth Day @ RPL

At Richmond Public Library we are doing so many things to stay GREEN. The People's Library paper and book making project is going strong. This project has been mentioned through all sorts of media outlets. The program was made possible through the VCU undergraduate research grant and the books that have been recycled by the library. Mark Strandquist, the VCU student conducting the project, will be at the Main Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 pm in the Outside of the Box area in General Collection.

Interviews and Articles about the project:

• http://rvamag.com/articles/full/19984/the-peoples-library-project-creating-a-diy-historical-record
• http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/pageviews/2013/04/in-richmond-va-you-dont-have-to-be-famous-to-have-your-story-in-the-library

Earth Day Art Display @ Main

Last week, people from the community had the opportunity to help with the recycled creations seen below. Carter Anderson, founder of the local organization Save the Trash has created several sculptures to display in Main's Library Park. The purpose of this display is to share the love for the earth by being creative and have people from the community to contribute in the process. 

Gardening programs @ RPL

For the start of spring, there have been several gardening programs throughout the system. We have had a Container Gardening workshop at Ginter Park, a Vegetable Gardening workshop at Belmont, a Growing and Cooking with Herbs program with RTD columnist, Clare Schapiro at Main, and there are more to come...

The Main Library is starting up the Gardening Club for teens. We have been using resourceful materials to build our garden and allowing children to be exposed to horticultural opportunities. The name of our garden at Main is "The Secret Garden".  We are grateful for organizations like HandsOn and other volunteers for helping us with this process.

Earth Day shouldn't just be one day. Let's celebrate Earth Day year around. I know the library is!




Interested in Learning more about Earth Day? Here are some book titles and other resources.

Children and Teens:

What's the Point of Being Green?, by Jacqui Bailey 
The Berenstain Bears: Go Green, 1st ed. by Jan Berenstain 
Make it!: Don't throw it Away--Create Something Amazing!, by Jane Bull 

47 Things You Can Do for the Environment, by Lexi Petronis 

Ants in Your Pants, Worms in Your Plants, by Diane DeGroat 
Every day is Earth Day (Fancy Nancy), by Jane O'Connor  
Earth Day Escapade (Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew), by Carolyn Keene 
Earth Day Hooray!, by Stuart Murphy 
Arthur Turns Green, by Marc Brown 
Judy Moody Saves the World, by Megan McDonald 
Mallory Goes Green, by Laurie Friedman 
Just a Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg 
Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life by Linda Sivertsen 

Adults:

Sewing green: Projects and Ideas for Stitching with Organic, repurposed, and recycled fabrics : plus tips and resources for earth-friendly stitching, by Betz White

The Resourceful Renovator: A Gallery of Ideas for Reusing Building Materials, by Jennifer Corson
The Recycler's Handbook: Simple Things You Can Do, by EarthWorks Group
Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying, by David Bach
In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn by Heart, by Alice Waters
Green Metropolis: What the City Can Teach the Country About True, by David Owen 
DIY Projects for the Self-Sufficient Homeowner: 25 Ways to Build a Self-Reliant Lifestyle, by Betsy Matheson 

75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make A Difference, by Glenn Croston

Spring Programs for Adults

Spring is around the corner and starting in March, the Richmond Public library is offering programs for adults throughout the library system. Look below for exciting programs you may be interested in.  All seminars are free. Contact your local branch for more details.

Can You Dig This-Growing Communities through Gardening @ RPL

Here at Richmond Public Library we have been playing with a lot of dirt and plants!  This year, RPL is implementing an assortment of gardening programs.

As part of the city's Green Richmond Initiative and with the partnership of Richmond Noir Market and Richmond Grows Gardens, there were six free instructional classes on urban agriculture at the North Avenue Branch.

This spring, the first Gardening Club for Tweens and Teens at the Main Library was established and it has been a great experience to see how interactive the kids were in the program. We had kids of all ages helping out while also learning many gardening techniques and using repurposed materials to create a garden platform. Marlene Sehen, our gardening expert, has helped a great deal with this program by talking to the kids about compost, herbs, vegetables, fruits and flowers among other things.

Even though the group will meet once a month, the kids will have the opportunity to help out throughout the weeks, especially with watering!

Our next meeting for the Teen Gardening Club is Monday, May 14th at 4pm.

We also brought back our Container Gardening program from last year due to its major success. A lot of people of all ages turned up at the Main Library. Marlene Sehen assisted us once again with this large group. 

As our gardening programs continue to progress, we hope to see you there!

Ready, Set, Grow!

Only two more weeks to contain your enthusiasm about gardening!

Marlene Sehen, our favorite gardener, is back again for our second annual container gardening class.

Via Our Enchanted Garden

On Saturday, April 28th, head on over to the Main Library to learn how to grow your own food. Bring your curiosity and container and we will provide the information, compost, seeds and plants to help you start your own container garden. The two-hour class will start at 10 am. 

Via hddod

Gardening@ your Library for Tweens and Teens

Hey Tweens and Teens!

Spring is here and this is the perfect time to start a garden. So why not do it at the Main Library?
Starting April 16th at 3pm on the veranda, the Main Library will be starting a Gardening Club for Tweens and Teens. Garden guru, Marleen Sehen, will give us a kick start on how to plant herbs, fruits and vegetables with resourceful materials. So if you are a Teen or Tween, bring your green thumb and help our Garden Grow!

Here at the library, we have many books, magazines and other resources on gardening, composting, and other topics to share with all gardeners in the community.

Gardening Resource:

Garden anywhere: how to grow gorgeous container gardens, herb gardens, kitchen gardens, and more, without spending a fortune by Ayls Fowler

Tips for container gardening: 300 great ideas for growing  flowers, vegetables, and herbs by Jennifer Renjilian Morris

 

Vertical gardening: grow up, not out, for more vegetables and flowers in much less space by Derek Fell

Homegrown herbs : a complete guide to growing, using, and enjoying more than 100 herbs by Tammi Hartung

 

Your farm in the city : an urban dweller's guide to growing food and raising livestock by Lisa Taylor

Compost Now!

Come to the Ginter Park Library next Saturday to meet Marlene Sehen, a local gardening guru and owner of E-Scapes Landscaping. She will be holding a free class introducing a variety of ways to compost as preparation for better growing and better environmental stewardhsip.

The class will be held at Ginter Park Library (1200 Westbrook) on November 19th from 2-3PM. Stop by and get some tips on saving money while growing beautiful flowers and produce this spring!

Urban Gardening Resources

One of the hot topics in Richmond is urban gardening. The benefits of growing your own food are huge. It's healthier for you, the environment, and your wallet. Whether you have a big yard, a few feet of open space, or only a balcony or window, you can grow some of your own food. Now is the time to start planning your spring garden, and RPL is making it easier than ever for you to find the resources you need.

We're holding a very exciting container gardening workshop at three different library locations. The first workshop will be held at the Main Library next Saturday, February 26th, at 1 pm. Look for the class at Ginter Park Library on May 21st and at the West End Library on April 16th. They're being taught by local gardening expert, Marlene Sehen. You'll learn how container gardening can enhance your environment and your table, without breaking your budget. You do need to sign up for the workshop in advance, so call your branch to register.

We're also taking a look at our collection of gardening books to ensure local gardeners can get all the information they need. We've ordered a whole bunch of new titles that we think you're going to love. Here are a few of them:

Garden Anywhere
How to Grow Gorgeous Container Gardens, Herb Gardens, Kitchen Gardens, and More, Without Spending a Fortune
By Alys Fowler

Grow Great Grub
Organic Food From Small Places
By Gayla Trail

The Bountiful Container
A Container Garden of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers
By Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey

Fresh Food From Small Spaces
The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting
By R.J. Ruppenthal

The Virginia Gardener's Companion
An Insider's Guide to Low-Maintenance Gardening in Virginia
By Donna Williamson

The Urban Homestead

Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City

By Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen

So check out a book or attend one of our workshops to get inspired to start your own urban garden or maybe to improve the one you already have. If you don't find what you're looking for, ask a librarian (they'll be thrilled to fuel your spring fever). And if gardening's not your thing, there are lots of ideas in your library to get you started on any of your spring projects.