GARDENING

Beth Bradshaw
Head of Reference and Technical Services

With the advent of warm weather, I’ve started to think about what I want to do in my garden this year. My first step is to take a look at what I already have and see where I have space to add more or what might need to be taken out. For instance, last fall, I planted 3 loropetalum bushes in my backyard. They aren’t completely dead, but apparently I didn’t select the best spot for them because they don’t look very healthy. Maybe I need to move them to a place with less sun and more water or vice versa. There is also a lightly wooded area in the backyard that has a lot of potential if I could decide on the right plan.

Not being the most creative person around when it comes to landscape design, I usually browse through the most recent gardening and garden design books at the library to get fresh ideas. The library has a very large collection of gardening and landscape design books, so there are always good ones to check out. Here are the titles of some of the more recent additions:

• Encyclopedia of Hardy Plants
• Essential Garden Maintenance Workbook
• Natural Gardening in Small Spaces
• Peaceful Gardens: Transform Your Garden into a Haven of Calm and Tranquility
• Small Private Gardens
• Southeast Home Landscaping
• The Way We Garden Now: 41 Pick-and-Choose Projects for Planting Your Paradise
• The Year-Round Garden: How to Create a Beautiful and Practical Garden That Will Produce and Bloom No Matter What the Season

Having looked through all of these books and decided what I need to do in my backyard, I only have one problem. Where am I going to get someone to build that lovely retaining wall and patio, at no charge of course?

These resources and many more are available at the Hickory Public Library. Hickory Public Library is a department of the City of Hickory. Patrick Beaver Memorial Library is open Monday-Thursday 9-9; Friday and Saturday 9-6; and Sunday from 2-6. Ridgeview Branch Library is open the same hours except it is closed on Sundays.