MARYSVILLE—The Marysville Plant Library is up, running and open for business! As spring sets in, those of us who adore plants have eagerly awaited the moment our buds and blooms “spring” back to life… and, of course, the opportunity to obtain more plants (you truly can never have enough)…
You may be familiar with its location if you’re a resident of Marysville or a neighboring community—the Plant Library is located at 663 Milford Avenue in Marysville (operating out of the building that once housed a car wash adjacent to the former Community Market store).
The Marysville Plant Library functions in a fashion similar to an actual library, except you get to keep your precious finds! Don’t get greedy, though—it’s important to remember the honor system if you so choose to stop by and take home a few of their leafy goods. You may also donate! If you’ve got a few extra plants to spare and share with the community and fellow plant lovers, you may simply drop them off—but, make sure they’re labeled. Those new to gardening may need to look up the specific care instructions, or, simply learn more about the plants they’ve selected. Also, consider posting to their Facebook group, especially for large donations so a library admin can ensure multiple people may benefit from your generous gifts.
Julie Spain—an administrator of the Marysville Plant Library—describes how the operation runs:
“As the Plant Library opens for another season, we’ve got a few announcements and requests. We’ve grown so much—we really count on you guys to help us keep this space fun and safe for everyone.
The Plant Library is a place to share plants with others and to pick up new plants to try. If you’ve taken plants in the past, we’d be grateful if you could help us kick off the season by bringing plants, pots, or gardening supplies to donate. If you pick something up from the plant library, please come back and bring something to share when you can. We love houseplant propagations, bulbs that you’re clearing from your garden, etc. If you’ve got a house plant, you can likely propagate it to share! We’d be happy to help you learn.”
They are also in need of gracious volunteers to help keep the library running smoothly! Spain said, “We always need additional volunteers to help us check on the space, clean up, etc.”
And—as stated—donations from the community are essential to maintain routine operation. Gardening tools, seeds, gardening related books, indoor plants, outdoor plants and even fresh, homegrown veggies are of the items acceptable for donation purposes.
As the Marysville Plant Library continues to grow and thrive, the need for a larger location may soon be necessary, but for now—don’t expect anything to change. Spain explains:
“At some point, our space may be sold and we’ll relocate. But as of now, there are no plans in place that will impact our opening this season!”
The library’s Facebook group is also a platform filled with fellow, kind and knowledgeable gardeners—both novice and experienced (and those somewhere in between). It is a space for those who may have questions and gardeners eager to learn.
Spain said, “We want to inspire both curiosity and generosity. Please come by and pick up something that sparks joy to try out at home.”
But, something to bear in mind is it is a first come, first served process! She said, “We do not have a reservation system. When donations are dropped off, they are first come, first served… If you see a plant with someone’s name on it, please leave it there for that person.”
Spain says of the library’s location:
“Please join us in sending a gigantic thank you to Clay Moore at Celebrity Printing. If you haven’t heard, he hosts us at no cost. Without his generosity and support, we never would have gotten off the ground. If our location is ever going to change, I promise to post [to the Facebook Group] and let you know.”
So, fellow plant lovers and those inspired to learn alike—take a moment out of your day to stop by the Marysville Plant Library, or simply join their Facebook group to see what new goods arrive daily! Remember you may, too, ask questions pertaining to gardening and/or plant care (or, provide answers to the questions of others). And—you are welcome to post and share your photos with the community as well.
Please—remember to adhere to the rules (posted below) and make use of the honor system! Guidelines are necessary to ensure that other members of the community may continue to enjoy the benefits and joy of gardening provided by the Marysville Plant Library!
Some DOs for engaging with the Plant Library:
- DO label your donations when you can! We’ve got lots of new gardeners who may need to look up care instructions.
- DO consider posting when you make a donation so that others can thank you! If you are making a particularly large drop off of plants, please contact an admin (especially Karen Foli) so that one of us can help stay with your donation after you’ve dropped it off and ensure that multiple people can benefit from it.
- DO put any glass donations in a small box on the ground. These blow off shelves and are hard to clean up.
- DO please make sure you are only donating plants or items used exclusively for gardening. No repurposed or extra large items, please.
- DO post a thank you note and ideally a photo if you pick up a donation left from someone!
- DO take only one plant from a donation. Individuals taking more than their share may lose their right to utilize this space.
- DO wait until the Friday ISO post to post about plants you are seeking.
- DO ask questions when you have them! We have so many great gardeners in our crew. They would love to help.
Some DON’Ts for engaging with the Plant Library:
Help us keep this space safe and great! Please –
- DON’T post about donations that require folks to meet you anywhere outside of the library. There are other great local pages for this purpose but for safety reasons, we only allow posts re: donations at the library.
- DON’T take more than your share from a donation, or take regularly without giving back to the space in some way. Your time volunteering is also a contribution to the library and we’d love the help!
- DON’T leave tires or other large items. They do not get picked up and we do not have the ability to dispose of these.
- DON’T treat our space in a way that damages it. She’s an old car wash bay, but we love her and we’ve put a ton of time into improving her. We take acts of vandalism seriously. If you have information re: any vandalism or damage to the property, please message an admin.
Last reminder: We run exclusively on donations. We just renewed our liability insurance and could use financial support to meet this need. If you are interested in helping to cover this expense, please shoot [Julie Spain] a message.
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