Gardening Experts to Host Book Discussion at Maine State Library

Augusta, Maine - As caretakers to the natural world around us, gardeners can promote biodiversity and fight species extinction by selecting the certain trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals that nurture insects, birds, and amphibians and help create a self-regulated ecosystem.

On Tuesday, March 14 at 6:00 PM, Maine authors and gardening experts Reeser Manley and Marjorie Peronto will host a program at the Maine State Library to about ecologically-minded garden planning strategies. Admission is free and open to the public. The authors will remain after the presentation to sign books. Copies of their book will be available for purchase at the event.

Manley and Peronto recently published The Life in Your Garden, a must-read call to action for gardeners concerned about Earth's biodiversity crisis. The title is a follow-up to the duo's 2013 book, The New England Gardener's Year: A Month-by-Month Guide for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Upstate New York.

Reeser Manley has gardened in South Carolina, Washington state (while earning a Ph.D. in Horticultural Science), Massachusetts, and, for the last 15 years, in Maine. From 2007 through 2015, he wrote about the garden in a weekly column for the Bangor Daily News. He taught courses in horticulture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the University of Maine, Orono. In 2013 he retired from teaching chemistry and physics at a small high school on the coast of Maine to devote his time to gardening and garden writing. Marjorie Peronto, a professor for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, has been teaching courses in fruit and vegetable gardening, ecological landscaping, and pruning for 26 years. She is a resource among her colleagues on native and invasive plants of the Northeast. Marjorie oversees Downeast Maine's Master Gardener Volunteers Program, training individuals to conduct community outreach projects that promote sustainable gardening and food security. She has developed nationally recognized school gardening courses for teachers.

For more information about the program, please contact the Maine State Library at 207-287-5600.

Ashley Rickards Discusses Her New Book "A Guide To Really Getting It Together"

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New York City, New York - Actress Ashley Rickards, 22, looked beautiful wearing a black dress and boots as she attends the AOL BUILD Speaker Series to discuss her new book 'A Guide To Really Getting It Together' at AOL Studios on April 9, 2015 in New York City.

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Intergenerational Book Club to Discuss Wild Swans at Thomaston Public Library

Thomaston, Maine - On Tuesday, April 21st, at 2:30 PM, the Thomaston Public Library's Intergenerational Book Club will discuss Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang.

1991's Wild Swans has been published in 37 languages and has sold more than 13 million copies (though it is still banned in mainland China). The book, by Jung Chang, tells the story of three generations of women in the author's family – grandmother, mother, and daughter – and narrates the tragic history of China in the twentieth century.

Jung Chang’s grandmother’s feet were bound when she was a child, and she was given to a warlord general as his concubine. As he lay dying, she fled with her infant daughter, who grew up to become active in the Communist movement and eventually became a senior official. Jung Chang herself, the third generation, was raised in the privileged circles of China’s Communist elite. She, however, had the audacity to question Mao. Her parents were denounced and tortured, and Jung Chang was exiled to the edge of the Himalayas.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China is a tale of extraordinary cruelty and bravery, of death and survival. Majestic in its scope and vivid in its description of China’s long nightmare, it is both an important work of history and a remarkable human document.

On the third Tuesday of every month, the Intergenerational Book Club, a group of men and women of all ages, comes together to share their opinions and ideas about the book selection. Extra copies of the books are purchased by the Friends of the Thomaston Public Library from the Annual Appeal funds. We thank you for your donations. All are welcome at the Thomaston Library on April 21st at 2:30  p.m.

If you live in Thomaston and would like to attend but need a ride, please call the library at 354-2453 a week before the discussion date.

Gardening Experts to Host Book Discussion at Maine State Library

Augusta, Maine - Want to grow fresh, flavorful, and pesticide-free vegetables and an ornamental garden that attracts birds, bumble bees, and butterflies? Come to the Maine State Library to learn more about gardening in tune with nature. On Friday, May 16 at 6:00 PM, the Friends of the Maine State Library are hosting a discussion on gardening with Maine authors and gardening experts Reeser Manley and Marjorie Peronto.

Admission is free and open to the public. Friends of the Maine State Library in attendance that evening will receive a special gift for their gardens. Light refreshments will be served.

The authors share the point of view that gardens should be an extension of the natural world - and gardeners serve as caretakers of that world. The two recently published "The New England Gardener's Year," a practical reference manual and a book you will find yourself reading cover to cover for discovery, inspiration, and pure enjoyment. The book provides month-by-month guidance from March through October with suggested dates for planting and tending adjusted for each zone. It offers practical advice on such topics as soil testing, composting, pruning, landscape design, and how to provide a season-long source of pollen and nectar for beneficial insects.

Reeser Manley holds a Ph.D. in Horticultural Science and has gardened for many years in Massachusetts and Maine. His weekly gardening column appears in the Bangor Daily News and on-line. Marjorie Peronto, a Professor for the University of Maine, has taught courses in ornamental gardening, ecological landscaping, and home food production for 20 years.

The authors will remain after the presentation to sign books. Copies of their book will be available for purchase at the event.

For more information, please contact the Maine State Library at 207-287-5600.