Seed Library Garden Club Newsletter – March 2025

Happy March, everyone! I hope you’re enjoying this warmer weather and your seeds are all germinating! March has a lot to look forward to, daylight savings, the beginning of Spring, and our last frost date all in one month! Set those clocks forward on Sunday the 9th for that extra hour of evening sunlight. Remember the Spring Equinox, March 20th, when daylight and nighttime hours meet in the middle, marking the first day of Spring! Check out the Old Farmer’s Almanac page for more information about the changing seasons here. Finally and perhaps most importantly, the last frost date for Memphis is March 24th; this is the signal to start getting your plants out into the garden for the year, start seeds in the ground, and get to growing! Have you started any seeds inside yet? Now is a perfect time to get your cucumbers, melons, okra, and squash sprouting for a jump start on the season. Check out the planting calendar for more info and pick up a copy at the Seed Library for yourself; for day-by-day information specific to Tennessee check out the UT Horticulture Fruit and Vegetable Guide!

 

Some Community Shoutouts:

• Huey’s Community Garden is looking for volunteers to tend the garden!
• Memphis Native Tree Works has started their own newsletter!
• Everbloom Farmacy is gearing up for another amazing year of empowering families; learn more here!

See y’all on the 12th!

 - Alexandra, Anthony, Blake, and Laura

📅 When: Wednesday, March 12, 2025 
🕔 Time:  5:00–6:30 pm 
📍   Where: Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 3rd Floor Reading Area 

At our Garden Club Meeting, we’ll: 

• Catch up with each other as we approach our last frost and the beginning of Spring.
• Trade our plant- starts and talk about propagation and germination!
• Discuss garden goals for the year; what are you growing, what are you building?
• Bring some extra seedlings to trade and share if you’ve got them! 

📢 Save the Date! We Meet Every Second Wednesday of the Month, 5:00-6:30! 
👉 Register here to join us! 

Colorcopia Nature-Inspired Art Classes 
🎨 Partnering with the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, these classes meet every third Tuesday from 1–2 pm.

We are not meeting in March! Shawna will be back in April. 
📅 Next Class: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 
👉 Explore classes and register here. 

Eat Smart and Move More: Eating Smart at Home 
🍎 Learn about cooking, budgeting, exercising, and family health in this six-week hands-on series. 
📅 Next Class: Thursday, March 13, 11:00 am–12:30 pm (meets biweekly through the end of March) 
🍴 Each class includes free food and goodies to take home! 
👉 Sign up here. 

We’re so excited to grow together in 2025. See you soon! 
🌻 Happy Gardening, 
Alexandra, Anthony, Blake, and Laura 

The Memphis Public Libraries began the Seed Library at Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in 2016 with the help of Memphis Tilth and UT Extension. It's located on the 3rd floor of Central Library and housed in a former card catalog. With donations from the public and funding from Friends of the Library and the Memphis Library Foundation to buy supplemental seeds, the Seed Library functions as a free exchange of seed packets for the Memphis community. Vegetables, flowers, and herbs—simply take what you need, and after your harvest (if possible), donate seeds from your yield. 

 

Check out the Gardening Calendar from UT Extension for an in-depth, day-by-day explanation of when to plant and what to plant.