It’s been a rough winter. Time to uncurl from underneath the blankets and think of spring gardens, warm sunshine, blossoms, sprouts and gentle breezes.

Metroparks Toledo are coming to the Toledo Lucas County Public Library! We’re hosting programs for all ages and interests.

When you stop by the Library, don’t forget to explore our great selection of gardening books available for checkout.

Jump Start Your Garden Early This Season

Gardening Books from the Library

Gardening with Foliage First : 127 Dazzling Combinations that Pair the Beauty of Leaves with Flowers, Bark, Berries, and More by Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz

For all levels of gardeners, a simple, recipe-style approach to creating long-lasting gardens with year-round interest shows readers how to first build a framework of foliage and then layer in flowers and other artistic elements to add the finishing touches.

The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants: An Illustrated Guide by Charlotte Adelman and Bernard L. Schwartz

Midwestern gardeners and landscapers are becoming increasingly attracted to noninvasive regional native wildflowers and plants over popular nonnative species. “The Midwestern Native Garden” offers viable alternatives to both amateurs and professionals, whether they are considering adding a few native plants or intending to go native all the way. Native plants improve air and water quality, reduce use of pesticides, and provide vital food and reproductive sites to birds and butterflies, that nonnative plants cannot offer, helping bring back a healthy ecosystem.

Birds, Bees, Butterflies : Bringing Nature Into Your Yard and Garden by Nancy J. Hajeski

Generously illustrated and full of practical information, this approachable reference covers the wide world of birds, butterflies, and pollinating insects, including honeybees, and how to bring them into a yard and garden.

For the new homeowner choosing shrubs and flowers for landscaping or the retired couple with bird feeders out the picture window, this thorough text combines tips and advice with solid science. Rich, colorful photographs illustrate every page. What types of bird feed attract your favorite birds? Which flowers will bring the most butterflies into your backyard? What can you plant to promote the health of the beleaguered honeybee?

The Well-Tended Perennial Garden : The Essential Guide to Planting and Pruning Techniques by Tracy DiSabato-Aust

Since its original publication nearly thirty years ago, “The Well-Tended Perennial Garden” has helped home gardeners successfully plan, plant, and tend their gardens. Now Tracy Di-Sabato-Aust’s trusty advice and reassuring tone are back and better than ever in this completely revised new edition.

Novice and experienced gardeners alike will benefit from Tracy’s thorough details on the essential practices of perennial care—included deadheading, pinching, and thinning—along with growing information for new species and cultivars, on-trend garden design advice, a monthly planting and maintenance schedule, and details on native plants and gardening for wildlife. “The Well-Tended Perennial Garden” is a must-have ally in the quest for a beautiful, well-maintained garden.

The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden : A Blueprint for Continuous Color by Lee Schneller

Make your garden bloom with spectacular color throughout the entire season.

Lee Schneller’s simple, no-fail formula teaches you how to select flowers and create a blueprint for a garden that will remain vibrant from early spring through the last days of autumn. With strategies and tips for gardens of all sizes and soil types, and a stunning photograph-filled catalog of 220 easy-to-care-for plants, you’ll have plenty of options for personalizing your garden’s colorful and long-lasting style.

The Wellness Garden : Grow, Eat, and Walk Your Way to Better Health by Shawna Coronado

Don’t sacrifice your garden or green space because you suffer from chronic pain, health issues, or other ailments. “The Wellness Garden” is your guide!

If you love to garden but also worry about the physical strain, or if you are in search of ways to promote a healthier lifestyle, and even combat specific, chronic, health issues, then noted garden author and speaker Shawna Coronado has good news for you! You can stay active, fight chronic pain, and keep the garden you’ve worked so hard to cultivate.

In “The Wellness Garden,” her new book from Cool Springs Press, Shawna details exactly how she has learned to use her garden as a key tool in her battle with osteoarthritis and other chronic pain issues. In this inspiring but highly practical book you will learn from Shawna’s life changing garden experience and see how you can create your own Wellness Garden–and gain the healthier lifestyle you desire and deserve.

Growing the Midwest Garden by Ed Lyon

Plant selection and garden style are deeply influenced by where we are gardening. To successfully grow a range of beautiful ornamental plants, every gardener has to know the specifics of the region’s climate, soil, and geography.

Growing the Midwest Garden, by Edward Lyon, the director of Wisconsin’s Allen Centennial Gardens, offers an enthusiastic and comprehensive approach to ornamental gardening in the heartland. This guide features in-depth chapters on climate, soil, pests, and maintenance, along with plant profiles of the best perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, and bulbs.

Garden Renovation : Transform Your Tired Yard Into the Garden of Your Dreams by Bobbie Schwartz

Gardens, just like houses, sometimes need makeovers. The changes can be as minor as replacing a shrub or as major as pulling everything up and starting from scratch. No matter the size of your space or the scope of the project, the sage advice in Garden Renovation will help you turn a problem-filled yard into a paradise. Bobbie Schwartz draws on her years of experience as a garden designer to teach gardeners how to evaluate their yards, determine what to keep and what to remove, choose the right plants and design plans for successful remodels, and know when to hire help. A gallery of before-and-after photos provides ideas and inspiration for turning a tired garden into an enlivening retreat.

Encyclopedia of Landscape Design : Planning, Building, and Planting Your Perfect Outdoor Space edited by Chris Young

Be inspired to imagine the garden of your dreams with this guide that will help you plan, build, and plant your perfect outdoor space.

Whether you’re aiming for a total redesign or targeting a specific area, Encyclopedia of Landscape Design offers fresh and achievable ideas for every gardener: grasp the fundamentals of landscape and garden design, find a style that’s right for you, and create the structures and planting plans to bring your ideas to life. Produced by a team of award-winning horticultural experts, Encyclopedia of Landscape Design offers extensive design inspiration backed up with solid practical content, including step-by-step landscape structures and planting techniques.

Creating sanctuary : sacred garden spaces, plant-based medicine, and daily practices to achieve happiness and well-being by Jessi Bloom

A best-selling author and award-winning ecological landscape designer offers inspiration and practical advice for designing a healing place in your backyard and profiles the medicinal properties of 50 sacred plants that can be used in daily rituals for self-care.

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