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Guests are Always Welcome

  • October 5, 2023
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Around the garden, you will find little residences for several of our flying friends. These include a Bee Hotel, a Batcote, and several Bird Houses.​A Bee Hotel is a simple residence, composed of dozens of  drilled bore holes of various sizes; this welcomes in bees of all kinds and sizes (no hole for murder hornets). These fuzzy buzzing little guests help pollinate our garden.​The Batcote sits high on the wall and allows refuge for our nocturnal friends to snooze upside down. Additionally, these fellows keep down the bugs Our birdhouses are colorful and varied to welcome our local feathered friends. Many birds can be seen at the garden, including: Titmice, Cardinals, Robins, Chickadees, Bluejays, Juncos, Finches, Mockingbirds, Bluebirds, Pigeons, Doves, and many more throughout the year. These provide additional residence to the little birdies who feed at our feeders. Some have taken residence on our local roofs and in chinks in our walls, they are all welcome.

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Our Little Coal Car

  • October 5, 2023
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Mount Carmel was founded on the mining of anthracite coal, and we celebrate that tradition and heritage. Of our many odes to our culture, this one is for the children: a miniature coal car. Each spring and summer, newly restored, our little car comes out and is place is the garden. It is then filled with real coal as well as assorted flowers. We hope that all the little one take interest in our cute little display and will be encourages to visit the library more to learn about its significance to our area history.

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Water Collection

  • October 5, 2023
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Every garden needs water. Every roof sheds water into the street. In out little garden, we have taken advantage to create a water and money saving system for water collection.Out of the roof’s downspout, a portion of water flows into a series of 3 large water barrels. Two are plastic cisterns and one isa  recycled metal tank. When the water fills the first of the tanks, overflow pipes carry water to the next, until all are filled. These provide most of the water that is used in the garden for the purpose of growing our flowers and other plants. The top of each barrel also provides a small bond in which swim around plastic frogs and ceramic fish.

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The Stone Circle

  • October 5, 2023
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As you enter the garden, the path directs you into a round-about, centered with stone that stands 5ft tall, surrounded by ivy. This stone in often decorated for various holidays through the year, including a Christmas Tree during and after Advent. Around the outer ring of the circle, a double ring of standing stones wraps around like a little Stone Henge. All of these stones were collected from the local area, and stand cemented to form an intriguing little feature.

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The Butterfly Bush

  • October 4, 2023
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Butterflies are wonderful and beautiful guests that can be found visiting nearly every flower in the garden; but these colorful insects most enjoy a plant known as The Butterfly Bush. Our plant has grown to several feet tall and is covered with large purple flowers. Swallowtails and Monarchs, along with various other butterflies and moths can be seen throughout the spring and summer flitting back and forth between the flowers. You may even encounter their caterpillars among the bushes.​These bushes are also accompanied by a lovely mural, decorated with dozens of artistic metal butterflies, that stay year round. This was made in loving memory of Layla Grace, granddaughter of Librarian Vivian McCracken, and all babies born sleeping.

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Praying Among The Peas

  • October 4, 2023
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Another of our insect friends can be most often found among our blossoming pea plants. These are of course Praying Mantises. These odd bugs are very efficient hunters, and help rid the garden of pests. Their peculiar body shape is ideal for blending in with the surrounding pea plants, waiting patiently for their prey. If you look very carefully you may find one. And because of their ability to swivel their head and their peculiar eye structures, each Mantis will likely look right back at you. Our Mantises have been here in the garden for many generations, their generations of course. Each year, as the weather cools, we search the garden for their special egg sacks. We tend to find 1-3 each year. We then take these indoors to protect them from the elements and place them in the refrigerator. This is do to the fact that mantis eggs lay dormant in cold conditions; each spring we return the eggs to the garden and wait for the semitransparent nymphs to emerge. 

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