TODAY'S TIP: Gardening Books and ProgramsHow does your garden grow? With the help of San Francisco Public Library, of course.
To find general gardening books, search for “gardening” in the catalog. To get more specific to this geographic area, you can do a subject search for “gardening – California” and then look at the geographic areas available.
If you’d like to eat the bounty of your work, then try searching “vegetable gardening.” A particularly great title for vegetable gardening in the Bay Area is Golden Gate Gardening. Look for the new edition of this soon. The SFPL book selection for this month is Farm City: the education of an urban farmer, a funny and touching look at one woman’s attempt at creating an urban farm.
You might want to search for “container gardening” or even “window gardening” if you, like many San Franciscans, have a small yard. Another keyword search that might be helpful is “small gardens.” If you’re lucky enough to have some space, then “gardens--design” or “landscape gardening” might work for you.
To find information about specific plants, you have to do specific searches, like “rose culture” or “flower gardening” or “bulbs.” One of our favorite new titles is Black Plants: 75 striking choices for the garden.
And if you find yourself facing bugs and other problems, search for “garden pests” or “plant diseases.” Different titles focus on natural solutions and integrated pest management or chemical solutions. We also have many titles on organic gardening.
As a part of San Francisco Public Library’s Green Stacks program, gardening and living the green life are the focus of many programs, events and classes. For more information, go to http://sfpl.org/greenstacks.
Excelsior Librarians and Staff share tips & tricks to help you make the most of the San Francisco Public Library catalog, databases and website. New tips posted Tuesdays on the Excelsior Blog. Watch this space!
