Want to try gardening? Lake Oswego library has free seeds to get you started

The Lake Oswego Public Library provides library cardholders with the ingredients needed to cultivate a bountiful garden.

Staffers at the community hub instituted a seed library — where residents can collect open-pollinated and heirloom seeds for things like vegetables, herbs and flowers — in 2023 and the program continues this year.

The program was the brainchild of library staffer Rachel Hyde, and colleagues Alicia Yokoyama and Shannon Sedell said that it was immediately a popular offering. Some of the program’s goals are to educate people on horticulture, promote seed diversity and to preserve the history and cultural significance of the seeds.

The library receives seed donations from places like the Portland Nursery, West Coast Seeds and Snake River Seeds as well as from local community members. The seed library is located at a repurposed card catalog at the Fiction Desk on the library’s main floor.

Sedell said that the library has adjusted offerings a bit to account for public demand.

“Originally we looked primarily at vegetable seeds; it turned out a lot of people in the community like herbs and flowers. We’re looking to build that up more,” she said.

The staffers noted that library patrons grow their own food using the seeds and also donate some of it to food pantries.

Yokoyama recommended community members pick up a free library card and begin the magic of seed cultivation. The library allows people to collect up to 10 seeds per day.

“I love to garden. I personally love to know where food comes from, the local varieties, the heirloom varieties. And it tastes better and makes you feel connected to your food and community,” Yokoyama said.

For more information on the program, visit www.ci.oswego.or.us/library/lopl-seed-library-free-seeds-all.