February is already here.  That means we are that much closer to spring and planting season!  I love spring time.  My daughters and I planted a medium size garden last spring and we are enjoying all the harvest that we reaped from it.  

We plan to expand the garden this year and take into account all the things we learned from last year.  If you too are anxiously awaiting spring and thinking of all the plants that can go in the ground and want a little inspiration, we are featuring a few books this week about gardening.

Our first featured book is “Prairie Lands Gardener’s Guide” by Cathy Wilkinson Barash.  This book is all about annuals, perennials, groundcovers, vines, edible flowers, purchasing, soil content and pest and disease control.  In this book you will find vivid color photos and a glossary explaining the vocabulary found in this book.  

Plan on giving yourself some well deserved reading time if you wish to check this book out as the information in this book is easily readable yet packed full of information. You will find yourself mapping out new areas in your yard to fill with all the plants you’ll be wanting to try!

The second book featured this week is “Minnesota Gardener’s Guide” by Melinda Myers.  This book is similar to the first book but its text is also filled with easily identifiable symbols for you to quickly determine if the plant featured is covered in your criteria. Additional benefits represented by symbols include attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, produces edible fruit, has a nice fragrance, produces wildlife food, as well as how long of a bloom period the plant has.  There is a symbol located next to the plant if it is native to Minnesota and a section titled Did You Know?  

Again, allow yourself some reading time now and you will be that much more ready in the spring to dig into the soil and visit your local greenhouse!

We hope to see you up at the Henning Library on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:30-5:30 p.m.  We will have the tea hot and waiting for you.