Spring's here! Get growing!

As the days get longer and the crocuses and daffodils emerge from their slumber signaling the decline of winter, a realization takes hold: it's time to plan your garden!

 

It's spring time and while we city dwellers may not have oodles of space for growing, plants still play an important role in softening the harshness of our concrete jungle and connecting us to the natural world. Here are a few titles to help inspire your dream windowsill/patio/backyard/rooftop garden.

 

And once inspiration takes hold, stop by Brooklyn Public Library's new Seed Library, located in the Society, Sciences & Technology Division at the Central Library and choose up to three packets from a variety of flower, herb, fruit and vegetable seeds to get your garden started. Get growing Brooklyn!

 

Grow your own in pots: with 30 step-by-step projects using vegetables, fruit, and herbs by Kay Maguire

This guide to growing edible plants is easy-to-digest and full of insight on growing plants in pots, including suggestions on the perfect container for each crop and key techniques for barrels, planters, baskets, boxes, and bags. London gardener and author Kay Maguire also offers up instructions on fun projects like hanging strawberry baskets, grapes on the vine, sweet potato bags, and climbing cucumbers--sure to transform your patio or rooftop or window box into a foodie’s delight!

 

The rooftop growing guide: how to transform your roof into a vegetable garden or farm by Annie Novak

In 2009, author Annie Novak founded the first commercial green roof farm in the country, the Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In this title, Ms. Novak shares her experience of assessing rooftops, planning irrigation systems, mastering rooftop soil, starting and maintaining crops, and so much more. Several other rooftop farms around the country are featured, including other NYC-based ventures such as Roberta’s Restaurant Garden and NYC Parks Green Roof. Aimed at experienced gardeners and commercial farmers, it offers an inspiring blueprint for greening our urban landscape.

 

Tiny tabletop gardens: 35 projects for super-small spaces - outdoors and in by Emma Hardy

Expert gardener Emma Hardy will inspire home decorators, arts & crafts enthusiasts, and restaurant owners to reimagine tabletop plantings. Explore 35 tiny projects ranging from creative planters made of seashells and teapots, to constructing moss balls, to assembling a tower or a glass chandelier of plants.

 

Rosemary Gladstar's medicinal herbs: a beginner's guide by Rosemary Gladstar 

Grow an herb garden for healing! Author Rosemary Gladstar is a renowned American herbalist and educator and is the founder of the Northeast Herb Association. This primer on medicinal herbs profiles 33 common healing plants, and includes information on identification, growing, harvesting, and using herbs in healing tincture, oils, teas, and creams.

 

Rooted in design: Sprout Home's guide to creative indoor planting by Tara Heibel and Tassy de Give

This gorgeous book by the founders of Sprout Home, one of Brooklyn’s premier garden design companies, will inspire those without outdoor spaces to transform their homes and workspaces with creative indoor plantings. Easy-to-follow instructions and beautiful illustrations will have you creating macramé holders, kokedama, moss walls, and mounted constructions in no time.

 

Grow Great Vegetables in New York by Marie Iannotti 

Timber Press is a publishing house in Oregon whose mission is to publish titles on gardening, horticulture, and natural history. This newest release by Marie Iannotti focuses on growing veggies in our very own New York State – put it on hold today!