Seed Library
Welcome Back Spring by Checking Out the seven Seed Varieties at the 2025 Seed Library!
The T.B. Scott Free Library will once again be checking out heirloom seeds for FREE to library card holders. Seed varieties for this year include:
- Borage
- German Chamomile
- Autumn Wing Gourd
- Rainbow Mix Carrot
- Prairie Blazingstar
- Cardinal Climber
- Bird & Butterfly Mix
The principle behind the seed library is simple: library patrons check out their choice of seeds, enjoy the growing season all summer long, then “return” a portion of the seeds that they collect from their fall harvest so that those seeds can be used for next year’s crop of seed borrowers. Borrowers are free – and encouraged – to keep the bulk of the seeds they collect so as to have them for the next year’s planting. All of the seeds chosen come from the Seed Saver’s Exchange, an Iowa-based non-profit whose goal is to preserve and promote plant diversity in home gardens.
If you prefer curbside pickup, request your seeds by calling 715-536-7191.
Explore the seven different varieties of seeds available this year
Borage
Beautiful blue star-shaped flowers hang in clusters. The leaves are covered with stiff white hairs that give the plant a wooly appearance. Bees love the abundant bright flowers, which are great for floating in cool drinks at summer parties.
German Chamomile
Native to Europe, Africa, and Asia, chamomile has foliage and flowers with such a pleasant fragrance that for centuries these plants have been allowed to self-sow along the edges of paths and walkways where their fragrance can be enjoyed.
Autumn Wing Gourd
A great mixture of winged brightly colored ornamental gourds. Easy to grow and durable.
Rainbow Mix Carrot
If you love carrots, this is the mix for you! It contains four wonderfully distinct varieties: ‘St. Valery’s’ (red-orange, sweet, and excellent for storage); ‘Cosmic Purple’ (purple outside, orange inside, and sweet); ‘Solar Yellow’ (sunshine-yellow, sweet); and ‘Lunar White’ (creamy-white, sweet, and productive).
Prairie Blazingstar
One of the most spectacular and majestic of the prairie plants. Large spikes of tightly bunched magenta flowers bloom from the top to the bottom of the stalk.
Cardinal Climber
The bright cardinal-red flowers of this vine bloom from early summer until frost and have emerald-green leaves. While this climber is loved by gardeners, it is also irresistible to hummingbirds.
Bird and Butterfly Mix
This annual and perennial mixture of flowers will provide nectar to many species of butterflies, including brushfoots, monarchs, skippers, sulphurs and swallowtails. Some of these plants will also provide food for butterfly larvae.
Produce photos and seed information courtesy of Seed Savers Exchange
Explore the eight different varieties of seeds available this year. (Hover over each image for details)
Borage
Beautiful blue star-shaped flowers hang in clusters. The leaves are covered with stiff white hairs that give the plant a wooly appearance. Bees love the abundant bright flowers, which are great for floating in cool drinks at summer parties.
German Chamomile
Native to Europe, Africa, and Asia, chamomile has foliage and flowers with such a pleasant fragrance that for centuries these plants have been allowed to self-sow along the edges of paths and walkways where their fragrance can be enjoyed.
Autumn Wings Gourd
A great mixture of winged brightly colored ornamental gourds. Easy to grow and durable.
Rainbow Mix Carrot
f you love carrots, this is the mix for you! It contains four wonderfully distinct varieties: ‘St. Valery’s’ (red-orange, sweet, and excellent for storage); ‘Cosmic Purple’ (purple outside, orange inside, and sweet); ‘Solar Yellow’ (sunshine-yellow, sweet); and ‘Lunar White’ (creamy-white, sweet, and productive).
Prairie Blazingstar
One of the most spectacular and majestic of the prairie plants. Large spikes of tightly bunched magenta flowers bloom from the top to the bottom of the stalk. An excellent cut or dried flower.
Cardinal Climber
The bright cardinal-red flowers of this vine bloom from early summer until frost and have emerald-green leaves. While this climber is loved by gardeners, it is also irresistible to hummingbirds.
Bird and Butterfly Mix
This annual and perennial mixture of flowers will provide nectar to many species of butterflies, including brushfoots, monarchs, skippers, sulphurs and swallowtails. Some of these plants will also provide food for butterfly larvae.
Produce photos and seed information courtesy of Seed Savers Exchange
Recommended Resources Available at Your Library
Straw bale gardens complete: breakthrough vegetable gardening method
by Joel Karsten
Gardening for beginners: 3 in 1 collection – container gardening, greenhouse gardening, vertical gardening
by Nancy Ross
Gardening with Heirloom Seeds
by Lynn Coulter
Vertical Gardening
by Derek Fell
Gardening for birds, butterflies, & bees: everything you need to know to create a wildlife habitat in your backyard.