Timberland Library is THE best!  Yesterday when we went to our Ocean Park branch to pick up a couple of books, we were asked if we’d like a Garden Starter Kit.  “Yes!  Of course!” and I was handed a lunch-sized paper bag with a cheery “Take It & Make It Garden Starter Kit” label.

I immediately flashed on my friend Maggie Stuckey who, several years ago, did a series of container gardening talks at libraries in Oregon and SW Washington.  She not only told how to plant and manage a garden-in-a-pot, she demonstrated her talk by planting one as she explained each step!  Afterwards, there was a drawing among the audience members and the winner took home her finished container!  (And, in case you didn’t know, Maggie and Rose Marie Nichols McGee wrote the quintessential edible-garden-in-a-pot book, Bountiful Container.)

Before we even left the parking lot, Nyel had looked in the paper sack and had inventoried the contents: 2 small peat pots, 2 green bean seeds, a small bag of soil, a description the particular bean seeds and what they would produce, and an instruction flyer.  Wow!

On the way home we talked about where and how he would set up his starter garden and where he would ultimately plant the young bean plants in their biodegradable pots.  Last night he began one of the books — Robert Crais’ Freefall.  Today he will begin his Spring garden!

And did I mention… We Love Timberland Library!!