March | 2021 | Garden Variety Life

street library, book sharing, book exchange, public art, free little library, take a book, public art, Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Street Libraries have been in the news for a few years now. I’ve shown a few that I’ve run across (see the end of this article for a list of past posts). They’re so sweet, I’ll often stop to photograph them when I spot ’em. After my last article, I’d planned to write a couple more as I’d run across 2 new little libraries in our ‘hood. But then I kept finding more… and more. So I reckon it’s just time for a post of all the other little libraries I know of (& add to it as I find more.)

There are several Little Free Libraries on the southern slopes of Mt. Tolmie.

I reckon the folks who protect this door-less library are pretty kind to put the books into plastic boxes during the rainy season.

I quite liked how our neighbours created a library that matched the colours of their house. A year or two later, the house was sold & demolished. The little library disappeared shortly after. Maybe the new home that is built here will get a mini-me little library, too?

There’s one at Doncaster Elementary.

Another on the way to my dentist on Finlayson.

There’s even one at the Church where my garden club meets.

Fernwood is on my cycling route to get downtown. It’s a friendly community with several Free Little Libraries.

I especially like the one just north of the Belfry Theatre.

The folks on Ten Mile Point even supplied fresh water for the dog bowl. 🙂

street library, book sharing, book exchange, public art, little library, take a book, public art, Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

Cycling along the Lochside Trail through the Blenkinsop Valley, I found this Little Free Library. It’s especially nice of these folks to supply a path over the ditch & seats to rest on.

SP showed me this one in Vic West.

This one is near Bow Park. I wonder if the construction crew built the Little Library at the same time as the house so they could match materials?.

These are from Oak Bay.

Others are even more colourful.

Even a restaurant at Fort & Foul Bay Rd has a library

This one is from Langford.

Another friend took these when she decided to donate her spare books to Little Free Libraries instead of selling them to the 2nd hand bookstore. I think she searched them out via a local map of Little Libraries.

I’m pretty sure she’s dropped some books at this library, too. It’s in her neighbourhood & she’s the one who first showed it to me.

It seems we come across new little libraries every couple of weeks. Someone has even thought to put in a Little Food Pantry.

What will be available to exchange on our next walk?

3-31-2021

My sister found this street library in Rio Terrace, Edmonton, Alberta.

street library, book sharing, book exchange, public art, free little library, take a book, public art, Edmonton, Alberta — photo by P L Dipanfilo

Why did the creators choose to make a van? Are they old hippies? Or do they have fond memories of reading books while on vacation in a groovy van? Check out the license plate. 🙂

6-30-2021

-30-

P.S. Here are some of the street libraries I’d already found:

Clematis montana on fence, mountain clematis, Himalayan clematis , garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

When we first moved to our corner lot, it was surrounded by a rickety fence hosting a pretty, spring-blooming clematis. I liked the clematis, but the fence was on borrowed time. As traffic came down the hill and around the curve, drivers could see right into our yard. We wanted more privacy than the fence could give. A trellis would obscure drivers’ views, provide the vine with a better opportunity to climb, AND snaz up the garden with a bit of Architectural Detail. 🙂

build a privacy trellis, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest — photo by SVSeekins

After the fence demolition, C dug 2 precisely spaced foundation holes. Two 4 foot long pieces of 2×2 angle iron were drilled for lug bolts and painted with primer against rusting. Instead of setting wooden posts straight into the ground, the angle iron supports were concreted into the holes instead. The posts bolt onto the supports about 6 inches above soil level. This structure won’t collapse in a few years because the posts rot out!

A beam spans the posts with an extra overhang on either side. Two corner supports beef up stability & increase the load the trellis can carry. Rafters and purlins top the beam.

After that, the lattice was built & installed. The vine now has lots of opportunities to spread out, scramble & climb. The yard is not nearly as exposed. There’s a feeling of privacy without the claustrophobia of hiding behind a fortress. I like it.

I reckon the Clematis montana likes it, too. The roots nestle into the moist soil on the north side of the trellis, yet the vine basks in the sunshine.