Whether you're trying seed starting for the first time or are looking for different species to grow, seed libraries are an excellent place to source new seeds and connect with the gardening community.

It's easy - visit the seed library, take what you need at no cost, and grow it in your garden. In the future you can donate seeds back to the seed library for others to use or share your seeds with friends.

Here are some local seed libraries to check out:

• Hamilton Seed Library - three (3) locations across Hamilton supported by Green Venture
• Dundas Seed Library - six (6) locations across Dundas supported by Action 13
• [PERMANENTLY CLOSED] RBG Seed Library - seed requests open mid winter for pick-up at the RBG Main Centre

What better way to spend a cold winter day than curled up inside with a book? Enjoy diving into the world of pollinators this winter with a book or two from our list.
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General Knowledge & Guides
Learn about the intricate web of life we are a part of, how to level up your garden, or gain a new perspective on the world around you.

Indigenous Knowledge

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• As Long as the Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock by Dina Gilio-Whitaker
• Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability by Melisa K. Nelson and Daniel Shilling

General Knowledge

• Nature's Best Hope by Douglas W. Tallamy
• Bringing Nature Home, Updated and Expanded by Douglas W. Tallamy
• The Nature of Oaks by Douglas W. Tallamy
• Pollinators of Native Plants by Heather Holm
• Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide by Heather Holm

Gardening

• Prairie Up by Benjamin Vogt
• A New Garden Ethic by Benjamin Vogt
• A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee by Lorraine Johnson
• 100 Plants to Feed the Monarch: Create a Healthy Habitat to Sustain North America's Most Beloved Butterfly by The Xerces Society
• New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden by Kelly D. Norris
• The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants by Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox
• Growing Trees from Seed by Henry Kock

 
Identification
Want to learn more about your pollinator friends? Grab an identification book on a pollinator that has caught your eye to get started. We recommend using a camera with decent zoom abilities to photograph your garden visitors, then compare your photos to the ID guide. You can upload your photos to iNaturalist or Bumble Bee Watch, where experts and community scientists can help identify the species.

Bees, Bumble Bees & Wasps

• Common Bees of Eastern North America by Olivia Messinger Carril and Joseph S. Wilson
• The Bees in Your Backyard by Joseph S. Wilson and Olivia Messinger Carril
• Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide by P. Williams, R. Thorp, L. Richardson, and S. Colla
• Wasps: A Guide for Eastern North America by Heather Holm

Butterflies & Moths

• ROM Field Guide to Butterflies of Ontario by the ROM
• Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America by David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie
• Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David L. Wagner
• Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods by Jim Sogaard

Other Pollinators

• Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America by Jeffrey H. Skevington et al.
• Beetles of Eastern North America by Arthur V. Evans

Plants

• Newcomb's Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb
• A Field Guide to the Trees of Ontario by James E. Eckenwalder, Deborah A. Metsger, Timonthy A. Dickinson, and Sarah H. Hodges
• Trees in Canada by John Laird Farrar
• Michigan Trees, Revised and Updated by Burton V. Barnes and Warren H. Wagner Jr