This quarter we are featuring garden design resources in the reading corner near our journal display area.

Whether your design interests run to sustainable design, the history of landscape architecture, or plant ecophysiology, relevant resources are ready for you to borrow directly from the display — just bring one to three to the librarian for check out. 

Maria Jost is a Tacoma-based artist and educator whose work is primarily influenced and inspired by the ecological and neurological sciences. Her artistic process involves the use of watercolor, ink, metal leaf and collage elements made from original illustrations. Topics of illustrative work and past projects include human uses and interactions with local flora and fauna, the cycling of energy and matter within an ecosystem, natural selection, the plight of marine organisms, and most currently, neurodiversity and brain health. Jost’s current project, Hidden Jewels, is a collaborative multimedia tool, an interactive offering designed to positively impact nervous system health in participants.

This exhibition will be open to the public February 3-27 during library open hours. Meet the artist Saturday, February 14th from noon to 2 pm in the library.

Finding lost apples may involve driving down a rural back road, looking for gnarly old trees. Permission from owners to pick some of the bug-riddled fruit often comes with insightful stories and leads for finding old records or nursery catalogs. “Unlike the attitude that prevailed for much of the 1900s, people today are interested in saving these old trees.”

Steptoe Butte State Park near Pullman is another rich source. Rising about a thousand feet above the surrounding prairie and farmland, the slopes host a wealth of ancient orchards, including apple trees more than a century old, planted when this was private land.

While picturesque, these are examples of bad planting choices. The selections did not meet the narrow demands of apple buyers or produced fruit that couldn’t survive transit to eastern markets, and were abandoned. This misfortune is a boon to preservationists today, as these plantings are a gold mine of ancient varieties.

This detective work is ongoing by several groups, including the Lost Apple Project, co-founded by Benscoter. “Anyone who is touched by the stories and histories of these old trees can join or support one of these groups to help preserve these important links in our history.”

Mark your calendars for our Garden Lovers’ Book Sale, Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11. This is your chance to choose from hundreds of books on gardening, plants, and related topics. Details will be in the March issues of Leaflet and Leaflet for Scholars, but plan on a party and the best selection on Friday evening, and a day of shopping for bargains on Saturday.

Volunteers are key to the success of the Book Sale. If you’re interested in helping with setup the morning of April 10, the party that late afternoon and early evening, or take down on the afternoon of April 11, please contact Nick Williams at nickjpw@uw.edu.

Can you help by donating gently-used gardening books this month? The last day for  book donations is February 28.

The Garden Lovers’ Book Sale only happens once a year — don’t miss it!