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What’s Blooming at the Library?

Spring is in full swing, and our Centennial Gardens are bursting into life! Planted just last fall, our outdoor spaces are already showing off with beauty and promise. This garden was designed not only to celebrate 100 years of library service, but also to create a welcoming, sustainable landscape for our community to enjoy. Every plant was chosen for its beauty, hardiness, and ability to support our local pollinators. We hope you’ll take a moment to enjoy the view next time you visit—whether you’re on your way in for a program, picking up a stack of books, or just looking for a quiet spot to take a breath.

More blooms are on the way, so keep your eyes on the garden—and bring a friend to see what’s new!

pink flowers shooting up from green leaves

Early Meadow Rue
“Black Stockings”
THALICTRUM AQUILEGIIFOLIUM

white feather flowers springing up from low green leaves

Black Cohosh
ACTAEA RACEMOSA

small pink-ish purple flowers in the midst of wide, broad leaves

Wild Geranium
GERANIUM MACULATUM

feathery purple flowers along a pathway

Hairy Beardtongue
PENSTEMON HIRSUTUS

dark purple leaves shooting up from the ground in a bush-like clump

Chocolate White Snakeroot
AGERATINA ALTISSIMA ‘CHOCOLATE’

delicate blue flowers floating above prairie grasses

Blue Mistflower
CONOCLINIUM COELESTINUM

scattered purple flowers amidst a woodland garden

Woodland Phlox
PHLOX DIVARICATA

feather white flowers in a bush-like clump

Bowman’s Root
GILLENIA TRIFOLIATA

small yellow flowers scattered among grasses

Woodland Sunflower
HELIANTHUS DIVARICATUS

tree with bright white flowers

Flowering Dogwood
CORNUS FLORIDA

feather soft grasses in front of a house

Pennsylvania Sedge
CAREX PENSYLVANICA

sharp long grasses mixed with purple flowers

Plains Oval Sedge
CAREX BREVIOR

tall purple flowers shooting from a stem on the forest floor

Tall Bellflower
CAMPANULA AMERICANA

tall white flowers shooting from a stem on the forest floor

Poke Milkweed
ASCLEPIAS EXALTATA

sprinkling of light blue flowers in a bush-like clump

Amsonia
“Blue Ice”
AMSONIA TABERNAEMONTANA

close-up shot of white coneflowers

Coneflower
“White Swan”
ECHINACEA PURPUREA

feathery yellow flowers throughout a prairie field

Canada Milkvetch
ASTRALAGUS CANADENSIS

spiny purple flowers jutting from a clump

Giant Hyssop
“Blue Fortune”
AGASTACHE

effusive blue blooms pouring from a planter

Aster
“October Skies”
SYMPHOTRICHUM OBLONGIFOLIUM

strands of yellow flowers burst from the ground in large clumps

Goldenrod
“Fireworks”
SOLIDAGO RUGOSA

fuzzy clumps of feathery leaves

Hubricht’s Bluestar
AMSONIA HUBRICHTII

red stems bursting from a clump

Little Bluestem
“Standing Ovation”
SCHIZACHYRIUM SCOPARIUM

pink clumps of flowers on a bush

Prairie Flame Shining Sumac
RHUS COPALLINA VAR. LATIFOLIA

fuzzy yellow grasses

Gold Dew Tufted Hairgrass
“Fireworks”
DESCHAMPSIA CESPITOSA ‘GOLDTAU’

shoots of purple flowers

Prairie Blazing Star
LIATRIS PYCNOSTACHYA

spindly tall shoots of stalks with yellow flowers perched on top

Prairie Dock
SILPHIUM TEREBINTHINACEUM

large tree with red berries

Winter King Hawthorn
CRATAEGUS VIRDIS

short funky little bushes

Fragrant Sumac
“Gro-Lo”
RHUS AROMATICA

long luscious grasses that resemble a good head of shaggy hair

Prairie Dropseed
SPOROBOLIS HETEROLEPIS

effusive white blooms spilling from a clump

White Heath Aster
“Snow Flurry”
SYMPHOTRICHUM ERICOIDES

sharp red shoots topped with white fuzzy flowers

Prairie Smoke
GEUM TRIFOLIUM

spiky broad leaves climbing up a tree

Virginia Creeper
PARTHENOCISSUS QUINQUEFOLIA

bright yellow explosions of flowers

Trumpet Honeysuckle
“John Clayton”
LONICERA SEMPERVIRENS

clumps of leaves with small purple flowers dotted throughout

Wild Petunia
RUELLIA HUMILIS

dark green, almost black, leaves with red stems and white flowers

Chocolate Boneset
EUPATORIUM RUGOSUM

broad evergreens

Garden Juniper
JUNIPERUS PROCUMBENS ‘NANA’

clumps of cheery yellow flowers

Balsam Ragwort
PACKERA PAUPERCULA

strong purple buds along a tall stem with broad leaves

False Blue Indigo
BAPTISIA AUSTRALIS