Gardening at the Library
The 2025 growing season
University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners Pat, Judi, and others will be onsite tending to the Library’s gardens from May through October. You’ll find them working hard on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 9 – 10:30 am. Feel free to stop by for a chat or to ask a gardening question!
The Library’s gardens
Vegetable garden
- Advice from the Master Gardeners: Be cautious of planting too soon just because the weather is nice! The University of Illinois Extension offers specific planting dates (PDF) for the most common vegetables.
- Two composters in the vegetable garden turn organic “waste” into beneficial mulch. The process is simple and convenient enough for most homeowners and gardeners to take advantage. Learn more about composting from the University of Illinois Extension.
- All produce harvested from the Library’s vegetable garden is donated to the People’s Resource Center food pantry here in Westmont.
Teen Salsa Garden
This summer, a group of teen volunteers earned service hours by helping plan and plant a special salsa garden that includes tomatoes, dill, parsley, cilantro, pepper, and onions. Once harvested, the teens will turn it into salsa variations of their own creation! You can find the salsa garden next to the green sign in the garden as you’re entering the Library.
Pollinator garden
- Did you know we are a monarch waystation? The pollinator garden is planted with natives designed to attract monarchs and give them a resting place during their migrations.
Rain garden / mason bee garden
- The rain garden is host to a number of native plants which help support our mason bees. The hives in the rain garden provide a home for these excellent, non-aggressive pollinators. “Mason bees are native to Illinois. Unlike honeybees, they are solitary creatures. By providing nesting spaces for these gentle bees, we can help improve the garden’s productivity and promote biodiversity.” Male mason bees do not sting. Females are considered non-aggressive, and sting only when handled ‘roughly,’ or when trapped under clothing. And even then, “their sting is small and not painful, and their stinger is unbarbed.” That, plus the limited number of hives, and their placement in the garden makes this a very safe and beneficial addition to the gardens!
Westmont Gardening Club
Join us on the first Tuesday of every month from 6:30 – 7:45 pm for Westmont Gardening Club! Unless noted otherwise, meetings will be held in the first floor Community Meeting Room.
Sign up for the enewsletter here.
Check out a gardening tools kit!
- Our circulating gardening tools kit comes with everything you need to start your garden. Check it out, plant your garden, and return it. It’s that simple.
