Rebuild the Bainbridge Library Herb Garden

The Chagrin Valley Herb Society needs your help to rebuild the gardens at the Bainbridge Library!

 

Thirty years ago, we formed our group and raised enough to install the gardens at the library. Over the years, the maintenance of the gardens has been supported through our annual plant and herb sale.

 

As part of the Bainbridge Library renovation that was recently completed, the herb garden was dismantled and paved over to increase parking and access to the library. We worked together to salvage plants and materials that could be used for future garden plans. With the support and ongoing partnership from the Bainbridge Library board members and staff, in addition to the Kenston High School Giving Garden Club, we have plans to rebuild the gardens to create a garden space that accents the architecture and landscape of the new library. Our gardens are there for you to enjoy the grounds and connect to nature as a part of your library visit.

 

We've graciously accepted donations from the Bainbridge Library and Friends of the Library, but we need additional funding to continue rebuilding the gardens. Anything you donate will be directly applied to the materials and labor needed to build the garden landscape, including a tea house, pathways, benches, fencing, foundation plantings, irrigation, and signage. Following the initial installation of the gardens, we will maintain the gardens and will continue hosting an annual plant and herb sale to support ongoing costs and maintenance of the gardens.

 

Adding our gardens will help soften the grounds to make it an inviting exploratory space. Our gardens are divided into several themes: culinary, blue and silver, potpourri, literary, fragrance, butterfly, medicinal and perennial. Each garden has a committee that cares for the particular garden. We define an herb as any plant with a useful part, and while you may be aware of culinary herbs, we love to teach about the many other uses of herbs, including teas, medicines, fragrances, dyes, and more. When possible, harvests from the garden are donated to community organizations, such as the Kenston High School Giving Garden.

 

The function of the library garden goes beyond ornamental purposes and provides many community benefits. It is a safe and accessible space to find peace and mindfulness or to sit and read outdoors. It is an interactive space that allows you to explore your senses through plants, by seeing, smelling, and touching them. The gardens provide an environmental impact by adding oxygen to the air, absorbing rainwater and reducing runoff, and by creating a pollinator pathway on library grounds. The gardens also provide educational opportunities, and our members are always happy to give tours of the garden and collaborate with librarians to provide programs for children.

 

Please consider making a donation to rebuild the Bainbridge Library Herb Garden. No donation amount is too small to help grow a new garden space for our community to enjoy.