plants

Hello springtime

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Spring has almost arrived – depending on which definition you use*  – and the weather is certainly reflecting this.

It is easy to be inspired by nature. When I was younger I used to take every opportunity to make something out of whatever I could find in the garden. Daisy chains, bouquets, weavings, dried flowers that just looked dead…couldn’t have anything nice in the garden with me around. Those lovely red roses would soon find themselves dangling from my bedroom door frame in a preserved state of shrivelled brown decay.

Christchurch City Libraries has a wealth of books that are full of ideas for the nature loving craftarians out there. Here are just a few:

Helen Ahpornsiri creates beautiful artwork out of pressed flowers. Her book, Helen Ahpornsiri’s A Year in the Wild, is a beautifully illustrated (with her pressed flower art – no paint in sight) account of the four seasons of the natural world. I will commission husband to make me a flower press at once. Or just use a heavy book.

For fans of both Shakespeare and the natural world, I introduce you to: Botanical Shakespeare, exquisitely illustrated with the flora and fauna cited in the works of the most famous playwright Shakespeare, alongside accompanying verses.

Though a British guide, Margaret Wilson’s Wild Flowers of Britain is so beautiful to look at that it really transports me to a scene straight out of English romance novel. The author was a keen botanist and documented, in watercolour, (over the course of a number of years!) a thousand British and Irish plants.

As a huge Tolkien fan, no way could I pass up on Flora of Middle-Earth. This book is a catalog of each and every plant found in Tolkien’s fictional world, Middle-Earth. Nerdy bliss.

The Great Library Seed and Plant Swap

Where & When: At a library near you

About: The seed swap has proved wildly successful over the years, just bring in your leftover seeds and we’ll put them out to share (though don’t worry if you don’t have any this year, you can always bring some next year 🙂 ). We welcome vegetable, herb, flower, native, and heritage seeds. You can also bring any spare potted-up seedlings. Yay gardening.

Check out our gardening page for gardening information and resources.

A Naturalist’s Bookshelf

Now about that spring cleaning…

*The astrological/solar beginning of spring takes place at the vernal equinox on Sunday, 23 September. The meteorological reckoning has the beginning of spring as 1 September.

The Great Library Seed and Plant Swap 2018

Mo-mo3 Comments

Spring is on its way and to celebrate the season of growing and gardening we are hosting seed and plant swaps in the first half of September.

Bring in your extra seeds and small plants and we’ll put them out to share.

The Great Library Seed and Plant Swap display, South Library
The Great Library Seed and Plant Swap display, South Library, 13 August 2018, File reference: 2018-08-13-SO-IMG_1345.jpg

We welcome vegetable, herb, flower, native, and heritage seeds. You can bring any spare potted-up seedlings. Seeds can be dropped in anytime before or during seed swap season, 1 – 15 September.

The Great Library Seed and Plant Swap: Where and when

Find out more

There are plenty more green-fingered resources at your libraries. Take a look at our page about gardens and gardening and explore the books, magazines, and eMagazines in our collection. Or try:

Bonsai!

colinccl1 Comment

Have you ever come across an activity or hobby that surprises you by the extent of the passion felt by those who are involved, and by the global reach and organisation behind the hobby? I’m not talking about Star Trek conventions or Cosplay in general, but rather the world of Bonsai. A gathering of Bonsai enthusiasts matches anything Star Trek fans can generate in terms of excitement and passion, but without the funny uniforms or prosthetics.

I was lucky enough to be able to organise a few days off from my library duties and attend the recent National Bonsai Show and Convention in Dunedin on 7th and 8th October.

Perhaps you’re surprised that there is a National Bonsai show? There’s even a New Zealand Bonsai Association to oversee all things bonsai. This is not Japan, it’s true, but there are still plenty of people in New Zealand who would travel significant distances for such a gathering. And what a mixed lot they were! The Bonsai bug bites all equally – that gathering had everyone from a retired professor of agricultural systems to a carpenter, and, of course, a librarian. All were united by a passion for bonsai, regardless of background.

The convention had two main attractions for most, the national show itself, and the demonstrations and workshops with the famous (in the bonsai world anyway) bonsai professional Bjorn Bjorholm the first non-Japanese bonsai professional to work in Japan. Now based in the United States, Bjorn travels extensively to different parts of the world giving talks and demonstrations, so a chance to sit in with an acknowledged master was not to be missed.

Curious about the bonsai thing? The library can be your friend. There are a good range of books in the library covering the history, the aesthetic principles and the hands-on techniques. The library also offers access to articles from the best known English language Bonsai magazine, the Bonsai Journal.

And if you fancied finding out a bit more and maybe getting some hands on time with trees in the company of like-minded mini tree enthusiasts, why not go along to a local Bonsai club meeting? There are two clubs in Christchurch, both listed in the CINCH (Community Information Christchurch) database. See you there!

Jane Goodall sows seeds of hope

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Jane Goodall
Conservationist and author Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall is coming to Christchurch!

This is the chance of a lifetime to hear the hero of many; a champion for animals in Africa.

Goodall is known for her work to save Chimpanzees. She has done this by living with them and sharing information about their plight with the rest of the world. Like Jacques Cousteau and Sir David Attenborough she is one of the early pioneers of conservation.

In her new book, Seeds of Hope, Jane champions the cause of plants. A spiritual call to humankind to avert the looming crisis in nature, backed with scientific authority. Jane reminds us that all animals are reliant on the delicate balance of flora and fauna, at risk from factory farming, destruction of habitats and genetic engineering.

Incredibly decorated, (thirty three awards at last count), Dame Jane’s accolades include the Order of the Golden Ark (1980) for World Wildlife Conservation, The Encyclopaedia Brittannica Award (1989) for Excellence on the Dissemination of Learning for the Benefit of Mankind), the Rainforest Alliance Champion Award (1993), the Commander of the Order or the British Empire (1995) and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science (2003) to name a few.

Sadly, An Evening With Jane Goodall, at the beautifully restored Isaac Theatre, has sold out. However, Seeds of Hope is available in several formats from Christchurch City Libraries.

Creating a visual symphony

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coverI realised the other day that my environment is a bit of a blank canvas at the moment. My pictures and much loved pottery and porcelain are safely packed up, my garden has been a patch of mud. My usual pleasures of looking out at the Avon from my place of work, admiring the local architecture, or a quick trip to an art gallery in my lunch hour are no longer available. I’ve realised that what I need is a bit of aesthetic stimulation.

I’ve started with the garden, or at least part of it. The builders who repair my house will just have to work around it I have decided. A trip to the library revealed some excellent books on gardening with natives.

After browsing these I decided I want a green garden, so I  rounded up some books on foliage gardening as well. Now my garden is starting to look like a nice place to be. Yesterday I noticed my cat sitting in it for the first time since the quakes rather than heading off to the neighbours.

Next on the list is a look at CINCH to track down what art groups are still operating and a finding some nice art books and magazines to take home. I’m on the trail of  favourite galleries – again using CINCH (all contacts updated since the earthquakes.)

My CD player has been broken since February and somehow things like fixing the roof, getting drains cleared and tidying up my unfinished renovations have taken precedence. Not any more – once my player is fixed or replaced I’ll be into the library CD collection with a vengeance, starting with a trawl through the new CDs. I’m already accumulating a list of possibles on my ‘for later’ shelf.

In no time at all I’ll be sitting in my beautiful garden, browsing Art New Zealand and Artists Impressions of New Zealand, while I listen to some inspiring CDs and contemplating my next creative endeavour. Earthquake? What earthquake?

Itsy-bitsy garden

Mojo Jojo7 Comments

Spring is starting to spring (with the usual fickle weather) and gardeners are itching to get to work. Don’t have a garden? It’s still possible to grow yourself some yummy fresh greens. All you need is a few shallow containers with drainage holes and a light spot for them.

I’m talking microgreens. I’ve not given them a go before except outdoors in my vege plot,  so I decided to put a couple of empty ceramic bonsai pots I had kicking around to good use. (Hmmm, yeah, bonsai. Let’s not talk about that garden episode…)

I’ve been inspired to give microgreens a go by a new Kiwi book, How to Grow Microgreens by Fionna Hill, which we’ve just acquired here at the library. A microgreen is defined as a young edible plant that has developed two true leaves beyond its cotyledons (or seed-leaves) so it’s bigger than a sprout but still tender enough that you can gobble everything above the ground whole. My bonsai pots work well – and look good too – but you can use any shallow container. Plastic takeaway containers with holes punched in the bottom work just fine. Your microgreens won’t mind – all they need is about 4cm of  growing medium (I use an organic seed raising mix) to nestle their roots into.

Using untreated seed is important – ask at your garden centre if you’re not sure what to get. Several seed companies now do ranges specifically for microgreens. I’ve just planted red cabbage, “Fiji Feathers” peas (a variety specifically for microgreens), green broccoli, kale, ruruhau (mustard cabbage), fennel and “Bulls’ Blood” beetroot. The fennel seeds have the added bonus of smelling delicious as you plant them – but remember not to sniff the potting mix!

Growing microgreens is just one way to container-garden when your space is limited. Check out your library for a great collection of books on this method of growing.

What garden books have inspired you to grow new things? What have you learned from your successes/failures?