Today at #PLA2026, the Cobb County Public Library shared its community garden program with conference attendees. They were faced with a big, empty, grassy spot in front of their building and decided to do something to benefit both their patrons and the environment by turning it into a garden. Nature programming always catches my eye, and while Cobb County has a large garden, their ideas and programs are scalable for libraries of any size!
To get things started, they partnered with a local master naturalist and applied for, and received, a gardening-related grant. From there, things blossomed! Access and inclusion are very important to them. They pointed out that patrons in apartments do not have access to grassy areas where they can dig in and plant things, and a garden at the library allows them to get their hands in the dirt! To promote accessibility, they included tall raised beds that accommodate patrons with mobility limitations. They also ensure that there are plenty of plants with sensory elements, like sage and lamb’s ear. I really like this sensory element!
In keeping with their goal of opening their garden to all, many of their programs are intergenerational. Some youth programs that seemed especially exciting to me were:
- Weekly Garden Club: This is open to patrons of all ages, making it an intergenerational program. It meets once a week, during which time patrons tend to the garden. This takes the burden of garden maintenance off staff.
- Soil Science: Using cabbage juice, kids tested the pH of soil. It was this program that let them know their soil was a bit too alkaline!
- Pizza & Salsa Party: Once everything from their garden had ripened, they used the produce to make things like tomato sauce for pizza and peppers for salsa. This event serves as both a celebration for the garden and a thank you for the work the Garden Club did that year.
The Cobb County Public Library has an amazing garden with fantastic partners, but they were quick to point out that you don’t need a big space to be successful. For smaller spaces, they suggested:
- Container gardens
- Square foot beds
- Vertical gardening
- Indoor gardening using hydroponics
They also recommend just starting small: choose just one hands-on activity, find one community partner, include one accessible feature. In deciding how you are going to start your library garden, think about what your library wants the garden to be and consider what your space will accommodate and go from there!
Cobb County Public Library’s community garden is a fun example of a library being a third place for its community. Their dedication to inclusiveness, including accessible garden beds and plants with sensory elements, is especially exciting!
Laura Hargrove (she/her) is a senior Public Services Librarian at the Davis Library, one of the Plano (Texas) Public Library locations. She enjoys bird watching and hopes to add a few lifers to her life list between PLA sessions! As a librarian, she works with patrons of all ages and enjoys nature-based STEAM programs for early learners and families. She is an advisor for PPL’s Teen Advisory Board. She served on the selection committee for the 2022 YALSA Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction and is chair of the YALSA Divisions and Membership committee. She is most looking forward to coming home from PLA with fresh programming ideas for her patrons.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
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