A few members of the Panora Garden Club gathered on a windy Saturday morning in early April to celebrate the installation of the new seed library. Shown left to right are Paula Hansen, Paulette Chambers, Gayle Levis, JoAnn Johnson and Carolyn England. Standing behind the club members is Steve Brannan, who built the seed library.
By Susan Thompson | Times Vedette
Steve Brannan is shown with the Panora Garden Club seed library box he built. Brannan generously donated his time to this effort. Materials were purchased by the Panora Garden Club using an award from the Guthrie County State Bank’s 2024 May Day Promotion.
In early April, the Panora Garden Club seed library box was placed near the northeast corner of the Panora Public Library. It was built by volunteer Steve Brannan, who also installed the library with the help of Lance Levis. Construction materials needed for the box were purchased using funds awarded last year by the Guthrie County State Bank as part of its May Day Promotion.
“We want this to be a seed exchange,” JoAnn Johnson, who co-chairs the Panora Garden Club with Paulette Chambers, says.
“The club purchased a variety of seeds to stock the library this spring,” she says. “Some horticultural catalogs and information also were added. We encourage people to take seeds and enjoy the fun of growing their own flowers and vegetables. Then we hope they will return seeds from their crop for others to use next year.”
The seed library is established on the honor system. Users are asked to take only what they will plant, no more than one packet per variety, and up to four packets per month.
For inventory purposes, a notebook is stored in the library where users can list the seeds they take. The notebook also can be used for general comments or suggestions of seeds users would like added to the library.
Johnson says seeds can be placed inside the library at any time.
These are some of the vegetable and flower seed packets that were placed in the Panora Garden Club seed library in late April.
The Panora Garden Club is an all-volunteer organization that welcomes new members. The club typically meets monthly, works to beautify the City of Panora with street pots and petunia trees, and cares for the area around the library and Heritage Park. Those interested in joining can leave their contact information at the Panora library.