Sewickley Public Library Guide to Gardening

As spring teases closer and closer, it’s almost time to break out your gardening gloves and get planting. Whether you’re a bona fide green thumb or a first-time planter, the Sewickley Public Library has got you covered with this comprehensive list of resources for all your horticultural needs.

Gardening Books

General Gardening

If you’re looking to ease your way into gardening, or are looking for information on multiple types of gardening, here are some books that cover the general subject of gardening. Many of these books are comprehensive guides to almost every type of gardening out there, so if you’re unsure of what to plant, these titles could definitely help with your decision!

Vegetable and Herb Gardening

Vegetable and herb gardening tend to get lumped together, because they both tend to be used for cooking and eating. There’s a lot that goes into growing plants you plan to eat, and these books will take you step-by-step through the process of growing your own food.

Flower Gardening

Unlike vegetable and herb gardening, flowers are typically used for a strictly aesthetic purpose. For this reason, flower gardening books often include an additional design aspect that some other forms of gardening might not have. If you’re wondering how to choose which flowers to grow and how to arrange them, here are some great resources.

Organic Gardening

For many looking to grow food, having an organic garden is an important aspect of that process. If you want to grow organically, these books can help you safely and healthily grow an organic garden.

Container Gardening

Container gardening deals with exactly what it says: gardening in containers, from boxes to pots to baskets. If you’re interested in container gardening, there are some differences in the strategies you’ll use than with traditional gardening. Luckily, these books have you covered.

Gardening Magazines

Taunton’s Fine Gardening: A magazine focusing entirely on gardening, with bi-monthly issues released six times a year.

Better Homes and Gardens: One of the leading sources of home and garden information since 1922, features up-to-date gardening and style information. Monthly magazine.

Birds and Blooms: A bi-monthly magazine that focuses on gardening and outdoor design that is best-suited to attract birds.

The Herb Quarterly: Magazine dedicated entirely to herbs and herb gardening, with one issue released for each season of the year.

Garden Gate: A bi-monthly gardening magazine that focuses primarily and tips and tricks for a better garden.

Horticulture: A magazine focused on gardeners and the gardening community, released eight times a year.

Local Resources

Sewickley Civic Garden Council: A Sewickley-based organization that coordinates several different garden club and individual efforts to inform, maintain, and conserve the many gardens of Sewickley. Contains information and websites for the several Sewickley-based garden clubs.

Fern Hollow Nature Center: Local nature center that offers information on nature and the local environment, including a wide array of programming for kids and adults.

Ohio Township Municipal Park Nature Center: A park nature center available for rentals and programs.

Sewickley Community Center Garden: A community garden supported by the American Community Gardening Association

Grow Pittsburgh: A Pittsburgh-based nonprofit focusing on gardening tools, communities, and events in the Pittsburgh area.

Web Resources

American Horticultural Society: Provides helpful information and publications on gardening, and advocates for the social responsibility in gardening.

USDA National Agriculture Library: The United States Department of Agriculture’s online resource for agriculture, including a comprehensive section on home gardening.

Garden for Wildlife: A program run by the National Wildlife Federation that aims to combine gardening with sustainability and wildlife conservation.

Cornell University Home Gardening Guides: Provides guides to over 250 different types of plants, along with a design tool that lets users determine what kind of garden they’d like to make.

Cornell Guide to Growing Fruit at Home: Comprehensive guide to all types of fruit gardening, including trees, shrubs, and vines.

Watch Your Garden Grow: Website run by the University of Illinois that provides a wide variety of gardening guides, along with information on how to store food once it is harvested.

National Gardening Association: Presents an invaluable number of tools for home gardeners, including weed identification information, growing guides, pest control information, and more.

Spotlight On: Ed Talks

Ed Talks are a lecture series by environmental science educator Ed Schroth on environmental science and issues, especially in relation to local habitats and ecosystems. While not specifically about gardening, the lecture series offers crucial information on the local environment. The next Ed Talk is scheduled for April 10 at 7:00pm, and will focus on the science of soil.