Library welcomes a new children’s garden

BIRMINGHAM — The Baldwin Public Library now has a children’s garden for families to explore. Following its installation in May, the children’s garden is now open and ready to be enjoyed by the community.

In 2020, the library renovated the youth room and added a terrace and a garden on the north side of the library. After this project, they recognized the need to update this additional area of the library grounds.

The children’s garden was funded by a donation from the Jane M. Van Dragt Trust.

Dragt was a resident of Birmingham who lived in the city for many years. She did not have any children, so when she passed away a few years ago, she left her estate to several organizations in the area.

“We received about $305,000 from her, and we have been using that for building improvements on the garden, painting, furniture, carpeting, and we’ve been very grateful to have the extra money to update the building,” Library Director Rebekah Craft said.

It has been about 30 years since the landscaping on the north side of the library has been updated. The library decided to keep the thick boxwood hedge as part of the landscaping to act as a natural barrier for children playing in the garden.

However, they did make some changes to the landscaping, such as removing the existing groundcover and planting grass and two trees to provide shade to visitors.

The library plans to use the children’s garden as a space for outdoor programs, including story times and hands-on craft programs.

“The garden right now is an open canvas,” Craft said.

The garden can be used by people who just want a quiet place to sit and read.

“I think it’s always great when we can create more usable space,” Associate Director Jaclyn Miller said. “It is exciting to me that we are going to have this lovely outdoor area where people might be able to take a newspaper outside or just enjoy what limited sunshine we have.”

The space is currently an area outside of the library for picnicking, reading, playing and more.

“I really hope that people enjoy it, and we are excited to see how library staff can utilize that as well and just make it another pretty space that adds to the ambiance of downtown,” Miller said.

The library plans to add additional furniture and children’s activities based on what it appears to be used for by the community.

They have talked about getting park benches or children’s garden musical instruments, but they have not yet decided on anything.