SPS Library

The Saskatchewan Perennial Society library was established in May 1989 and was housed in Sharon Leach's office at the Forestry Farm Park. Five books were acquired along with numerous catalogues of nurseries specializing in perennials. Two books from this collection are still available from our library today; Gardening on the Prairies, Roger Vick, 1987 and The Prairie Gardener, H. F. Harp, 1970.

By 1991 the library consisted of 40 books and was housed at the librarian's residence, which at that time was Brenda Korchinski. Books were made available to members at meetings, but members could also contact Brenda between meetings to borrow materials. As the library expanded the need for a permanent parking space became apparent and storage was found at Augustana Lutheran church. The library was housed in plastic totes in a storage room and hauled out for meetings. The librarian would also transport the complete library to our plant exchanges. This was heavy work, and it was found that materials borrowed at the plant exchanges would often not make it back to the library, therefore the Board made a decision to discontinue providing library service at the plant exchange.

In the fall of 2010 we moved the library to our new meeting place, Emmanuel Anglican, 607 Dufferin Avenue. at that time we culled some of the older books that we considered no longer relevant, or that had never been borrowed. We currently have over 300 books in our collection that are available for borrowing by our members at our information meetings.

The following are BOOK REVIEWS of books that are still available from our library today. These reviews appeared in past newsletters of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society, The Saskatchewan Gardener and The Gardener for the Prairies. The reviews appear in the order they were published.

A Manual of Alpine and Rock Garden Plants, ed. by Christopher Grey-Wilson, 1989

Garden Style, Penelope Hobhouse, 1988

Garden Artistry: Secrets of Designing and Planting A Small Garden, Helen Dillon, 1995

The New Perennial Garden, Noel Kingsbury, 1996

The Collector's Garden: Designing with Extraordinary Plants, Ken Druse, 1996

In a Cold Land, Saskatchewan's Horticultural Pioneers, Sara Williams, 2006

Forgotten Gardens, Abandoned Landscapes & Remarkable Restorations, Shirley Harris, 2007

Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, Sara Williams, 2013

Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo: A Photographic History, Sara Williams, 2014

The Prairie Short Season Yard: Quick and Beautiful on the Canadian Prairies, Lyndon Penner, 2014

Garden Design for the Short Season Yard: Everything You Need to Know for the Chinook and Canadian Prairie Zones, Lyndon Penner, 2015

Native Plants for the Short Season Yard: Best Picks for the Chinook and Canadian Prairie Zones, Lyndon Penner, 2016

The library was discontinued and books were sold at our last information meetings in 2023.
The remainder of the books were donated to the Buena Vista Community Garden Project.