Blog written by Rachael Huegerich
January 13, 2024
The spring growing season is coming soon! There’s a whole lot you can grow right here in Vancouver—even if you live in an apartment. From container gardens to community gardens, you’ll find lots of possibilities for your urban garden in the current book display at the Education Library’s seed library. You can find the seed library behind the reference desk—or learn more about UBC Library’s seed lending libraries here. Feel free to “borrow” some seeds, or some of the books on display now. Here are a few:
One little lot : the 1-2-3s of an urban garden
Written by Diane C. Mullen; illustrated by Oriol Vidal
PZ7.1.M823 On 2020
Count the ways two hands, three days cleaning up, four planter boxes, and many more steps show how city neighbors transform one little abandoned lot into a beautiful community garden.
Jayden’s impossible garden
Written by Mélina Mangal; illustrated by Ken Daley
PZ7.1.M36466 Jay 2021
Nine-year-old Jayden loves the outdoors, but his mother is nervous about him playing in their neighborhood. With the help of his neighbor Mr. Curtis, can Jayden help Mama see that nature and beauty are all around?
Written by Tziporah Cohen; illustrated by Udayana Lugo
PZ7.1.C64235 Ci 2023
Victoria and her neighbor, Mrs. Kosta, grow such a spectacular beet garden that they need the entire neighborhood’s help to pull out a giant beet.
Chasing bats and tracking rats : urban ecology, community science, and how we share our cities
Written by Cylita Guy; illustrated by Cornelia Li
QH541.5.C6 G89 2021
Gripping narrative non-fiction with STEM and social justice themes that proves cities can be surprisingly wild places–and why understanding urban nature matters.
It’s Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden
By George Ancona
SB56.N49 A63 2013
Presents a portrait of a Santa Fe community garden, revealing how students and other citizens work together to select and grow annual plants, create compost, release butterflies, harvest edibles, and protect garden beds for the winter.
By Catherine Abbott
SB453 .A23 2012
Vine-ripened tomatoes. Succulent squash. Plump cucumbers. Growing vegetables is a rewarding–and cost-effective–way to eat better for less. However, you might think you lack the space necessary to grow a functioning garden. With this guide, however, you’ll learn how to maximize your space and grow delicious vegetables and herbs cheaply and efficiently, whether you have a small backyard or just a windowsill!
Written by Jon-Erik Lappano; pictures by Kellen Hatanaka
PZ4.9.L36526 Tk 2016
Tokyo lives in a small house between giant buildings with his family and his cat, Kevin. For years, highways and skyscrapers have been built up around the family’s house where once there were hills and trees. Will they ever experience the natural world again? One day, an old woman offers Tokyo seeds, telling him they will grow into whatever he wishes. Tokyo and his grandfather are astonished when the seeds grow into a forest so lush that it takes over the entire city overnight. Soon the whole city has gone wild, with animals roaming where cars once drove. But is this a problem to be surmounted, or a new way of living to be embraced?