Volume 3, Issue 3
Calling all early birds and bookworms:
Garden Lovers' Book Sale April 1 and 2

We are very excited about our annual book sale this year, and we hope you will join us. Stock your shelves with gently used gardening books! You'll find a wide range of topics on all things horticultural, at irresistible prices.

The Preview Party and Rare Book Auction is Friday, April 1st from 5 to 8 pm. Tickets cost $25 in advance or $30 at the door. To purchase tickets, visit the library or call 206-543-0415.

The book sale on Saturday, April 2nd is free and open to everyone. The sale runs from 9 am to 3 pm.

Straw Bale Gardens Complete by Joel Karsten
reviewed by librarian Jessica Anderson 

I was surprised to learn that there is a new way to grow vegetables. Inside straw bales. Yes, that is what I said, inside straw. This new book, Straw Bale Gardens Complete, explains a method of growing and harvesting crops which is useful for increasing productivity while reducing labor. The chapters thoroughly cover planning your straw bale garden, and making straw bale greenhouses.  There are extensive pages of garden layouts, including single, two, and three-bale gardens with tomato cages, trellises, and suggested plants. This approach to container gardening is using the straw bale itself, held together with two or three strings, with the outside crust of the bale serving as the container. The straw inside the bale will decompose, making it “conditioned” and ready to plant. The author gives step by step instructions for conditioning to create a warm, moist and nutrient-rich rooting environment for seedlings. The author points out that straw bale gardens are ideal if you can’t do heavy lifting, can’t bend over, have poor soil, or have limited space.

Brian Thompson's magical visit to Chanticleer Garden 

In June 2005, I attended a conference for plant science librarians in Philadelphia.  After a long day of presentations, business meetings, and visits to libraries, I wasn’t expecting much from a visit to small garden west of the city near Villanova University.

Instead, that evening at Chanticleer was one of the most magical garden experiences of my lifetime.  The weather was perfect, cooled down from the already warm and humid beginning of summer.  A glass of wine and a convivial group of colleagues added to the good feelings, but mostly it was the stunning garden rooms, plantings, and artwork of this most amazing garden.

Now there is an exciting new book, The Art of Gardening, which takes its place among the best of all garden profiles.  Written by R. William Thomas and the horticultural staff of Chanticleer, this not only transports the reader to the garden, it is also an excellent source of design ideas and plant choices for your own garden.  I don’t purchase many gardening books for my home library since I have daily access to the Miller Library collections, but this is one that I will get for sure.

New to the Library February 2016