The Danville Public Library’s Native Plant Garden

This week, the Mid-American Gardener crew take a tour of the Danville Public Library's native plant garden, the joint collaboration between the Vermillion County Master Gardeners and East Central Illinois Master Naturalists. 

The garden, maintained by a team of 12, includes native plants like rough blazing star, New England aster, and cut plant. The Danville library also offers a great service where they collect and packages seeds for the community, providing free seed packets in their old school card catalog located in their lobby. 

The group that maintains the grounds, led by Master Gardener & Naturalist Kristen Camp, emphasize the benefits of native plants for wildlife and low maintenance gardening at home. The garden is designed with different plant heights and species, and the team educates the public on native plant care and the importance of native trees and shrubs.

Master Gardner Krisy Herr Bartos talks about maintaining the project, and all the great information that is available at the library to help discover the grounds and to help you out in your own garden.

John Bodensteiner demonstrates seed saving techniques, focusing on the partridge pea, a native plant with beautiful yellow flowers.