Seeds, Seeds, and more Seeds

Gardeners often think about seeds....in winter when the catalogs arrive, sowing them in spring, or saving in summer and fall. If you happened to see the Lauren's Grape Poppies in full bloom in the Cottage Garden last June, or have admired Barry Van Dusen's vibrant watercolor (at right and on display in the library) perhaps you've thought about obtaining the seeds for your own garden.  Well, now you can!

The Horticulture Department is offering Lauren's Grape Poppy seeds, and teaming with the Library to disseminate packets.  Interested?  Please be one of the first 75 members to respond by email to Kathy Bell in the library.  The seeds will be available in early October.  And we hope this will be the start of a seed exchange program in the Tower Hill Library.

Also, stop by the library to see our new exhibit, Dreaming Dreams: Early Seed Catalogs from the Tower Hill Collection; on display are outstanding examples from our archives.

New to the Collection

Two new books about Victoria Regia, the magnificent Amazonian Water Lily, deserve special attention this month.  Victoria the Seductress: a Cultural and Natural History of the World's Greatest Water Lily by Longwood Gardens' Curator of Plants, Tomasz Anisko, is a comprehensive study from the early 19th century discovery right up to the present, replete with gorgeous color photographs. 

The Flower of Empire: An Amazonian Water Lily, The Quest to make it Bloom, and the World it Created by Tatiana Holway, concentrates on the 1837 expedition to (then) British Guiana and the realization a conservatory would be necessary in order to make it bloom at Kew Gardens in London.  While there's overlap, both titles provide an exciting glimpse into the world of plant exploration, Victorian excess and glass conservatories.  If you have any interest in the plant or the period, you'll want to see both!

For a full, annotated list of new titles in the library, please click here.

Fewer Squirrels?

As a follow-up to our recent Grow with Us Library News article on the kinds of questions we get in the library, we've received (not surprisingly!) more questions!  One of the more interesting came from someone wondering if others have experienced, as he has, far fewer squirrels in gardens this summer.  Please take our quick (unscientific!) poll; results will be available next month. 

If keeping track of flora and fauns in your area and around the Commonwealth is of interest, be sure to subscribe to UMASS Extension's Landscape Message.