Bedford library garden blends nature, letters

Lizzie Swaile, 7, leads a line of young library patrons hopping from letter to letter in the Alphabet Garden at the Bedford Branch Library. It's one section of the children's garden created by the Bedford Beautification Committee. Lizzie's mother, Christina Swaile of Bedford, is at left. THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER Enlarge | Photo Reprints

TEMPERANCE -- Beatrix Potter would approve.

The children's garden at the Bedford Branch Library contains a replica of Mr. McGregor's garden that's complete right down to the carrots, lettuce, and cabbage Peter Rabbit stuffed himself with contrary to his mother's instructions.

It even includes the scarecrow Mr. McGregor made with Peter's jacket and shoes, just as Potter wrote in The Tale of Peter Rabbit, her beloved children's classic, along with a gate and watering can.

It's but one of several parts of the garden, open for its first full summer season, that has helped make the library at 8575 Jackman Rd. a must-visit destination for children this year.

"They love it," said children's librarian Karen Moore. She holds children's reading sessions in the garden when the mosquitoes aren't thick. "They take one look and it's like 'awwww,' " she said.

The children's garden consists of several smaller gardens, all intended to educate young children and bring them closer to nature.

Besides the Peter Rabbit garden, there is the butterfly garden, which contains plants attractive to butterflies; the moon garden, which is crescent-shaped and planted with white flowers; the sunflower garden, the clock garden, and the alphabet garden, with its alphabetized steppingstones known as the ABC trail.

Shoes and socks blossom in the Stinky Feet Garden. It's the first full summer season for the library's garden. THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The children's garden, located in the northwest corner of the library site, is the work of the Bedford Beautification Committee, a township-funded group that looks for ways to improve the aesthetics of the community.

Kris Houstin, a Lambertville resident and member of the group, said planning began in 2007 and the children's garden was originally slated for the back of the library. But an old roadbed discovered there made digging hard if not impossible. The beautification committee then considered the incline on the north side of the library building before deciding on the current location.

Overlooking the children's garden is a row of giant crayons donated by Friends of the Bedford Library.

Ms. Houstin estimated the cost of the garden at $4,000 to $5,000.

The money came from the beautification committee's $10,000 annual funding from the township and a $1,000 donation from the Bedford Garden Club.

Following a tour of the new children's garden and story time, Braxon Lake, 5, takes advantages of vegetables that were reportedly caught while trying to escape in the Runaway Garden at the Bedford Branch Library. THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The project isn't quite completed. Plans call for the installation of a fairy garden and bench.

Lambertville resident Tammy Conlan said she enjoys visiting the garden with her daughter Lucy, 5, and Lucy's friend, Mia Garcia, 4. She is an elementary teacher in Toledo's Washington Local Schools and appreciates the way the garden incorporates nature into the learning experience.

"It's delightful. "It's such a great place to teach kids about plants and the alphabet," she said. "It's beautiful and interactive."