Jessica Daly, manager of Richland Library Wheatley, introduced me to the new Seed Library.
Richland Library Wheatley, on the corner of Woodrow and Cypress Streets in the Old Shandon neighborhood, has added a Seed Library to its collection just in time for your fall food (collards, kale), flavor (chives, parsley), and flower (milkweed, swamp sunflower) garden.
How does a Seed Library work? First, select the seed packets you would like to grow. Packets are arranged in three groups: Flowers, Herbs, and Vegetables. You may select up to ten packets per checkout and thirty packets per season (spring, summer, fall). Second, take your packets to the circulation desk to have them checked out with your library card. Third, plant seeds in your garden. Fourth, at the end of the growing season, share some of the seeds of your harvest with others in the community by bringing some seeds labeled with plant’s name, variety, and date harvested back to the “returns drawer” of the Seed Library.
Prior to sharing, make sure the seeds have dried thoroughly before placing in an envelope and storing in a cool dry place before bringing to the library.
The Wheatley Seed Library is located adjacent to shelves of non-fiction garden books. There are also free leaflets and brochures on garden topics including native plants, beneficial insects, cold stratification, and seed saving basics. Additionally, Jessica Daly, library manager, and her staff are ready to assist and answer questions.
The Wheatley Seed Library is one of eleven seed libraries in the Richland Library system. Richland Library Main, Ballentine, Blythewood, Cooper, Lower Richland, Northeast, North Main, Sandhills, Southeast, and St. Andrews have seed libraries too.
Residents are welcome to donate seeds to any of these seed libraries. Seed may be from commercial companies like Park, Burpee, or Ferry Morse or self-harvested seed. Simply label donations with the plant name and date harvested.
The Seed Library is part of the Richland Library of Things. A Library of Things lends non-traditional items like seeds, tools, kitchenware, electronics, toys and games, camping and hiking equipment, sporting goods, telescopes and microscopes, and musical instruments. The program allows community members age 18 and older with a library card to reserve and borrow items they may only need occasionally, reducing waste, clutter, and cost.
The Rain Garden was installed in spring 2025.
When visiting the Seed Library, note the new Rain Garden onsite outdoors at the corner of Cypress and Woodrow. The Gills Creek Watershed Association partnered with library staff to plan and install the garden with a grant from the Richland County Conservation Commission. Two fall blooming rain garden plants, Stokes’ aster and goldenrod, are attracting pollinators while enjoying wet feet.
Seed Saving Books
Ashworth, Susan—Seed to
Seed
Ausubel, Ken—Seeds of
Change
Colley, Micaela and Zystro,
Jared—The Seed Garden:
The Art and Practice of Saving Seeds
Connor, Cindy—Seed
Libraries
Mirren, Alice—Seed Saving
Secrets
Nabhan, Gary Paul—
Enduring Seeds
Rogers, Marc—Saving
Seeds
Turner, Carole—Seed Sowing and Saving
Stokes’ aster, Stokesia laevis, a native to wetlands, is a good choice for rain gardens.
Loading Comments