Work is underway for the new community garden at the Garland County Library.
McHenry Excavators started the preliminary work for the park and community garden last month, and estimates show a tentative opening for the garden in the spring. The area, which will also include an outdoor programming area, is located in the empty lot between the library's upper parking lot and the RIX Professional Building.
Butch Smith, the library's design and facilities manager, said the green spaces at the library will continue to be pesticide and herbicide free, and the ground cover for the new space will use "a low-growing micro clover" that uses "25% less water" than traditional grasses.
"We're hoping that this area will attract all the colorful wildlife that people love to see," he said in a news release. "It will be a great opportunity to build hands-on programming to show how important pollinator species are to all of us. It'll also be a great place for community members to do their own programs and classes."
The entire area will also be ADA accessible with chip-fill paths similar to those used at Garvan Woodland Gardens, and the raised garden beds that will be available for "checkout" will be 32 inches high to maximize accessibility, the release said. The park area will also include ADA-compliant picnic tables and handicapped parking.
Video not playing? Click here https://www.youtube.com/embed/QgQylmZA7_c
The area will include 40 raised beds that measure 8-by-2 feet, flowering pollinator areas, fruit trees and berry bushes, a hammock village under shade structures, an outdoor amphitheater and a Japanese garden.
The community can contribute to the project by sponsoring elements of the garden, and several elements have already been claimed.
The raised garden bed area was claimed for $20,000, and one of the three shade structures ($15,000 each) as well as two of four park benches ($2,200 each). Additional sponsorships include four park tables ($1,700 each), four stone benches ($1,800 each), the orchard ($20,000), the amphitheater ($25,000) and personalized paver bricks ($30 each).
"Having a loved one's name on a brick in a library garden is pretty special so they should be as affordable as possible," Library Marketing Manager Erin Baber said in the release. "We're offering the paver bricks at cost -- so the library will not profit from selling those, but there are plenty of other ways a person can contribute to the garden -- by sponsoring a larger ticket item, making any monetary donation, and by showing support for the library's future."
The bricks can be purchased at the Garland County Library with a check or money order. Questions regarding sponsorships should be directed to Smith at [email protected] or by phone at 501-623-4161.