Growing Minds and Gardens: Berkley Seed Library
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 8, 2024)
Berkley, MI – Ellen Brisson loves gardening. She loves it so much that she volunteers her time to share this love with her neighbors in Berkley, by organizing the Berkley Seed Library inside of a re-purposed card catalogue at the Berkley Library.
Inside the long, index-card sized wooden drawers are envelopes with names, and sometimes pictures. There are veggies, flowers, herbs, and other fun bits of nature’s imagination. And on top is a binder with planting instructions.
The seeds come from donations that people can drop off in a bin at the front of the library, as well as those Brisson buys expressly to share in the Seed Library.
“It started as a way to connect the community during COVID,” she said. “With more people home it was a chance to try new things. I love to garden, and I wanted to get other people to garden too.”
The day she spoke with Oakland County Times, Brisson had just added 400 packets to the drawers. There are many to choose from, including milkweed to attract monarchs, and a whole drawer dedicated to beans. Seeds are free, but she hopes people will not take more than 5 at a time, so that more people can can have access.
There’s also a Facebook Group called Berkley Gardeners with over 1,000 members. “We get young people who are just starting out gardening, and they ask questions and have all these older gardeners there to give answers. It’s nice to see people helping each other across generations.”
Check out the Berkley Library at 3155 Coolidge to get some seeds for yourself – or to drop some off. Learn more about the library and their services as https://www.berkleymich.org/departments/library/index.php.
