Clark Library Seed Catalogue: An Heirloom Seed Sharing Program
Check out heirloom seeds in the lower level of the entrance pavilion, grow them at home, and, for advanced gardeners, bring back harvested seeds that other patrons can enjoy.
Why Save and Share Seeds?
Gardeners of the past shared, traded, and passed down seeds from generation to generation, neighbor to neighbor. This allowed for developing seed stock more resilient and better adapted to local climates and soil; perpetuating knowledge of seed saving; and nurturing a culture of sharing and abundance in the community.
The seed sharing program brings together the Clark Library’s collection strengths in historical gardening manuals and cookbooks, its landscaped grounds, and its role as a neighborhood educational resource. Our goal is to re-seed heirloom knowledge in our community, strengthening our connections to the greater environment and to each other. By drawing upon early modern primary sources for the Clark’s seed sharing program, we encourage environmental responsibility through engagement with pre-industrial sources, closely reading the past to productively shape the future.
Through a seed sharing program, we also seek to challenge and expand ways of thinking about knowledge-making and memory, as well as what library resources look—and smell, taste, and feel—like in the 21st century.
How to Find Seeds
The Clark Seed Catalogue is housed on the basement level of the library’s entrance pavilion, and is freely available anytime during our regular opening hours – M-F, 9-4:30. The pavilion doors may be locked between 9-11:30am, but please ask for assistance from our security guard outside to gain access!
How to Share Seeds with Us!
This is completely optional and you do not need to return seeds in order to be part of the seed library community!
If you’re intrigued by the idea of paying the plant love forward, simply let some plants go to seed, and harvest those seeds for yourself and the library. To learn how to save seeds, you can start here:
https://www.seedsavers.org/how-to-save-seeds
To donate seeds to the Clark Seed Catalogue, you can simply leave envelopes or bags of seeds (labeled with the plant name, harvest date, and, if you wish, your name) on top of the Seed Catalogue cabinet. You can also feel free to email us at clarkseedlibrary@humnet.ucla.edu
For More Information and Gardening Resources
Questions or comments?
Please contact us: clarkseedlibrary@humnet.ucla.edu
We’re excited to see what you grow!
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