Groton Reads & Gardens Banner Image

The Groton Public Library is pleased to announce our theme for our 19th annual community-wide reading event: Groton Reads and Gardens!

We are excited to partner in 2023 with the Groton Garden Club as they celebrate 100 years! Groton Reads is a time-honored event made possible thanks to the GPL Endowment Trust, community members, and local organizations. This year, we have selected two titles for community members to read and discuss that celebrate gardening and sustainability efforts within our local environment.

Pick up the a copy of the compelling readable and hopeful Nature’s Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy and/or the delightful memoir, Gardening in Eden by Arthur Vanderbilt II. Copies available at the library now and through March 31 as simultaneous ebook downloads on OverDrive (both) and as downloadable audiobook on Hoopla (Nature’s Best Hope only) - free to every resident with a library card.

Sign up for events now! Inspired by the books, there will be a variety of fantastic gardening- and landscape-related events and programs February 21-March 31. Activities for all ages will take place at the library, around town, and online. Here’s a small sample:

  • Zoom presentation with featured author of Nature’s Best Hope, Doug Tallamy
  • Presentation by John Forti, author of The Heirloom Gardener: Getting Young People Involved in Gardening
  • Lessons from the Garden: Using Native Plants Successfully with Claudia Thompson
  • Soil Science for Beginners with Clio Fisher of the Groton Grange
  • Painting and crafting classes inspired by the outdoors
  • Sessions on planning a vegetable garden, incorporating drought-resistant plants, techniques for propagation, suggestions for reconfiguring an existing garden, and ideas for converting lawns to native groundcovers
  • Sibley Hall exhibit Flower Power and a Botanical Art Show
  • Spring Equinox Celebration with Groton Conservation Trust at General Field
  • And much, much more!

All events are free, most with registration required. Patrons are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible, as these events are expected to fill up quickly. Preference for some events with limited capacities will be given to Groton residents and will require a library card and email address.

Download a copy of the Groton Reads and Gardens 2023 Calendar. (But please check the calendar for the latest updates!)

To sign up for events, please click on the Calendar here or use the link at the top of the page.

Groton Reads & Gardens runs now through March 31. For more information, please visit the library, return here for updated information, or call 978-448-1167.

Community Partners for Groton Reads and Gardens 2023:
Groton Garden Club, Groton Conservation Trust, Groton Grange, Groton Center, Lavender Florist, and more.

Thank you to our Book Selection Committee! Vanessa Abraham, Brian Bettencourt, Michelle Collette, Beth Dalal, Sheila Devereaux, Patricia Dufresne, Donnie Funch, Penny Hommeyer, Scott Lewis, Barbara Seeber-Wagner, Kristen von Campe, Susan Walko, and Claire Wilson, with GGC's Celebration Chair Lisa Murray.


Learn More About the Books...

Two books to choose from—our “companion plantings.”

Nature's Best Hope
Nature's Best Hope : A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy (2019)
Gardening in Eden
Gardening in Eden : The Joys of Planning and Tending a Garden by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II (2003)

See a full list of Groton Reads titles from 2005-present.