By Michele Taranto

The outdoor New England growing season may have ended, however, the Morrill Memorial Library is encouraging residents to continue cultivating fresh produce through their seed library. The Seed Library was launched in April, 2024, and made possible by a Norwood Cultural Council grant to the Norwood Conservation Commission. 

The cost? The Norwood Seed Library is available to all free of charge and includes a vast assortment of popular veggies, herbs, native plants, and ornamental flowers. Library patrons can find the collection just inside the entrance of the building from the parking lot entrance. Older residents may find themselves in familiar territory as the seeds have been sorted similar to the vintage library catalog system. Everything is organic and offered to the community at no cost.

“The goal of this service is to provide seeds to the community and encourage gardeners to learn and grow with their gardens, as well as learn how to save seeds from their best plants,” library informational literature said. 

While the seeds are provided free of charge, patrons are encouraged to take a maximum of five packets of different packets and no more of two packets of the same seeds. There is a check-out sheet on the catalog desk with planting and growing instructions in a three-ring binder. Those guidelines can also be found online at www.norwoodlibrary.org/seed-library.

It is the hope of the library that this program will become self-sustaining and patrons will return seeds from their own harvest. To return seeds to the reference desk, place them in an envelope and include the seed name and variety, where the seed came from the date the seed was harvested. The seeds should be clean and dry. 

For more inspiration and information about native pollinators, plants, seed saving and growing, consider these resources through online searches:

Grow Native Massachusetts

Native Plant Trust

Lady Fern Farm

Blue Stem Natives Nursery

Trustees of Reservations

Doug Tallamy’s Keystone Species list for Eastern Temperate Forests

Robert Gegear Lab at UMass Dartmouth

Center for Humans and nature

Norwood Evening Garden Club

10.MA Master Gardener Association

11.Gardening with the Environment in Norwood Facebook Group

12.Morrill Memorial Library

For more information on the Seed Library, call 781-769-0200, x2, email [email protected], or visit www.norwoodlibrary.org/seed-library. The Morrill Memorial Library is open Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m.- p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday 1-5 p.m., and is located at 33 Walpole St. (Rte. 1A)