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 Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM. The Library has reopened in its original space on the lower level! Stop by and meet the new Librarian, Kathy Bell. For more information, please call the Library at 508-869-6111 x116 or email librarian@towerhillbg.org. 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts 01505-0598 Horticulture Hot-Line: Questions about your plants or garden? Telephone our Horticulture Staff in the Library every Wednesday from 2-4 PM |
 Summer, 2010 The Library now has enhanced accessibility for our physically challenged visitors. Planting of the new Reading Garden outside the Library is underway. |
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ONLINE SEARCH Tower Hill Botanic Garden's Library Collection Browse the online |
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"Library Notes" Fall 2010 by Librarian Kathy Bell Of Glass and Gardens |
A recent discussion in the library focused on the pros and cons of wearing gloves while gardening. And while this isn’t such an uncommon topic in a botanic library, it’s interesting the path it took. A staff member noted that she always wears gloves because of the likelihood of still encountering shards of glass in her garden from the Worcester Tornado – and, suddenly, almost 57 years to the day of the devastating F4 tornadic event that tore through Worcester County -- everyone had a tornado-related story. Tales of what happened to friends and relatives, strangers and neighbors, houses and schools, and people and property ensued. One library user related a story of a relatives’ sign that wound up in Reading, MA; a library volunteer told of a line of hedges uprooted. And then we were back to talking about gardens. The discussion did make me wonder what impact the June 9, 1953 tornado had on gardens, though. Obviously the extreme loss of life and the horrific destruction that cut through multiple towns that day was uppermost in everyone’s thoughts and actions. But, the 1953 Worcester County Horticultural Society Transactions reveals some of the early horticultural need and response: During the summer, it became increasingly evident that the effects of the tornado’s devastation would be difficult to erase. Small home owners, who had lost everything were struggling to rebuild again… Knowing that disaster funds would not be available to help them in replanting their grounds, a group of interested citizens set up the tornado replanting project. Those living in the disaster areas who wished assistance in replanting trees, shrubs or gardens, were asked to register at Horticultural Hall during the month of October…About 620 registrations have been filed and it is clear that the most pressing need is the replacement of trees. Subsequent Transactions continued to report the many ways the Society helped replant and restore trees and gardens throughout the area. But now I wonder: do you have a story about how the 1953 tornado affected your garden? Did you lose an orchard or even a precious tree? I’d like to hear from anyone who wants to record their memories about that day and their garden. If we get enough of a response we’ll mount an exhibit in the library about the impact of the Worcester Tornado on local gardens circa 1953. You can contact me at kbell@towerhillbg.org or 508-869-6111 x-116. ALSO . . . If you haven’t been by the library lately, please stop down to see our current exhibit: A Gathering of Flowers: Joseph Banks and his Florilegium. On display until mid-October are plates of the flowers first collected and drawn in 1768-70 by Joseph Banks and companions on board Captain Cook’s 1768-1771 voyage around the world, along with artifacts, books, a map and information about Banks and his botanical contemporaries, Carl Linnaeus and Philip Miller. We hope to display all of the 45 plates we obtained last year. At the moment, three smaller specimans first drawn in Tierra del Fuego are shown. Their collection, at the bottom of the continent, occurred at a particularly harrowing time: a freak snowstorm killed two crew members in the party. |
| Library Information |
| Circulating Collection: The Tower Hill Library has a circulating collection of nearly 3000 horticultural books. This comprehensive collection covers all areas of gardening. Detailed subject areas include annuals, bonsai, flower arranging, fruits, garden design, greenhouse gardening, history, international gardens, literature, organic gardening, perennials, pests, practical horticulture, trees and shrubs, vegetables, and wildlife. |
| Rare Books: This particular collection comprises about 1,700 rare and invaluable works of art, magazines, and books dating to 1499 which are stored in a secure, climate-controlled vault. |
| Other Collections: In addition to the above, the Library has other collections available. These include the Fuller Teacher Resource materials, Reference Collection, Children's Collection, 14,500+ horticultural slides, photographs, portraits of Society past presidents, historic WCHS awards, periodicals dating to 1794, and the Central MA Regional Library System electronic databases. |
| Borrowing Books: Borrowing privileges are limited to members of the Worcester County Horticultural Society. Books may be borrowed for three weeks, renewable by telephone for two additional weeks. Nonmembers are free to browse the collection and conduct research in the Library by calling the Librarian to make an appointment. |
| To Return Books: Books may be returned to the Tower Hill Library during open hours, to the Reception Desk if the library is closed, or to any public library in Massachusetts. |
| Links to other Horticultural Libraries Arnold Arboretum www.arboretum.harvard.edu/library/library.html Brooklyn Botanic Garden Library www.bbg.org/lib/ Massachusetts Horticultural Society Library www.masshort.org Other US and world Botanic Libraries www.cbhl.net/librar/librar.htm |
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