Garden gurus can borrow both plants and paperbacks this summer at a new plant library in Jensen Lakes. The Books and Blooms Propagation Library is set to open at the Jensen Lakes Library this June 24. The library offers patrons cuttings of indoor plants to grow at home and will be open all summer.
St. Albert Public Library community engagement manager Stephanie Foremsky said the idea for this project came from last April's Lifestyle Expo and Sale, which saw library staff distribute seeds from the St. Albert Seed Library. Many expo guests said they would love to grow their own plants but didn't have a garden to do so. Staff set out to find a new way for patrons to cultivate plants during the summer.
Foremsky said staff have taken cuttings from plants they had at home and at city library branches and will host them at the Jensen Lakes branch all summer long in flower tubes donated by Klondyke Flowers. Library patrons will be able to take these cuttings to raise at home. Each cutting comes with a bookmark with a link to a list of books on gardening.
Foremsky said the library will initially stock spider plants, spiderwort, pothos plants, and ivy — plants chosen for their ease of handling and potential benefits for indoor air quality. The library will also take donated cuttings from patrons and could offer more plants in the future.
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