The IndyPL Seed Library
Did you know we provide free seeds for check-out? The IndyPL Seed Library is available at many of our locations during regular branch hours from late March through September. Use your library card to start your vegetable, herb, or even flower garden for free! New to gardening? We provide materials and programs to make gardening in Indianapolis a doable goal for beginners.
Programs
- Event: Seed Saving: Native Plants
- Date & Time: Saturday, September 30, 1:00pm
- Location: Pike Branch
- Description: Fall is a great time to collect seeds from native plants so you can grow your own in your garden. Expand your personal seed library by learning how to collect native seeds (and what to do with them once you have them).
- Register Here
- Event: Captivating Carnivorous Plants
- Date & Time: Tuesday, October 03, 1:00pm
- Location: Martindale-Brightwood Branch
- Description: Join 4-H to explore the mystery and wonder of carnivorous plants that eat insects and other small creatures. Through hands-on activities, learn what plants need to grow and how plants adapt to their environments. Take home your own decorated chia planter!
- Register Here
- Event: Plantable Paper
- Date & Time: Tuesday, October 03, 4:00pm
- Location: Franklin Road Branch
- Description: Join us for this hands-on project to make your own easy seed paper to take home and plant some native plants.
- Register Here
View on Demand
Learn on Demand Video: Seed Saving
Join Anika Williams from the Pike Branch of The Indianapolis Public Library as she harvests milkweed seeds on site and discusses the Seed Library available there.
Reading Recommendations from our Staff
Browse these featured staff book lists to help improve your gardening in Indianapolis skills. See all our gardening book lists here.
- Gardens to Save the World & Attract Pollinators – IndyPL_KimberlyC
- Dig up a mystery – IndyPL_MicheleP
- Flower Gardening in Indiana – IndyPL_KathyH
- Gardening In An Apartment (Or Other Small Space!) – IndyPL_SarahM
- Garden Photography – IndyPL_KathyH
- Indoor Kitchen Gardens – IndyPL_KateC
- Gardening & Indiana Native Plants – IndyPL_AnikaW
Gardening in Indianapolis Resources
Follow Purdue Extension, one of the best ways to learn about gardening in Indiana. Browse their recommended online resources:
- Free Gardening Docs from Purdue Extension Purdue also has a fine YouTube channel with informative videos. As always, the Extension’s information is tailored specifically for Hoosier gardeners.
Gardening for Kids
- Gardening Storytime Online
- Plants for Kids Book List – Experiments and Activities for Backyard Botanists
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