A Sense of Place: Landscaping for Public Libraries Using Iowa's Native Plants

In a May 17, 2009 article in the Des Moines Register, retired Register editor and columnist, Richard Doak wrote "Let's encourage landscaping with native plants on every lawn in Iowa. To set the example, let's have every school, every courthouse, every park, every hospital, every LIBRARY set aside at least a patch of space for wild indigo, prairie sage...black-eyed Susan, pale-purple coneflower...prairie larkspur, shooting star...smooth blue aster or any of hundreds of other flowering plants that were native to the tall grass prairie. Iowans should strive to make their lawns a celebration of the state's natural history."

We are taking Richard Doak's challenge seriously and invite you to attend this program on how to landscape public library grounds with native plants. The speaker is Inger Lamb, president of Iowa Prairie Network and owner of Prairie Landscapes of Iowa llc. Lamb has a Ph.D in Plant Science from Ohio State University and 15 years experience working with native prairie species. Her company motto is "Native plants - the roots of Iowa"; she describes her efforts as providing "advice, design and enthusiasm for creating attractive urban native habitat".

Who should attend: Library garden staff and volunteers, local officials

Contact: Sandy Dixon

Keywords: landscaping