Good Gardens occurs the second Saturday of each month, March through October, at 10:00am in the library's auditorium.

October 8 Jennifer Gibson from the Good Earth Garden Center will be with us to help you with Simple Landscape Solutions to help correct some of problem areas in your landscape. 

September 10 Phyllis Haynes will be at the library to talk about the Arkansas Foodbank and community gardening spaces.  Community gardens are an increasingly popular way to help feed the hungry.  Many churches and community groups are becoming involved in the community garden movement as a means to supplement their food pantry ministries with healthy, fresh, nutritious food.  The Arkansas Foodbank’s philosophy stresses the distribution of healthy food. Therefore, incorporating a community garden into their new facility on West 65^th street in southwest Little Rock was a logical step.  Although in its first year, the garden is already producing crops which have been distributed to several pantries.  Volunteers have been numerous in developing the 10,000 square foot garden plot. Two beehives are currently also in place. Future plans include expanding volunteer groups to two local elementary schools, adding berry bushes and fruit trees.

August 13 Beth Phelps from the Pulaski County Extension Service will be at the library.  Beth has been an Extension Agent with the Pulaski County Extension Service for 18 years.  Serving as Staff Chair, Beth coordinates the staff and educational programs offered in all programmatic areas through the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service in Pulaski County.  Beth also manages the Master Gardener Volunteer Program for Pulaski County, provides horticulture programs for organizations and answers thousands of gardening questions each year.  She is a graduate of Hendrix College and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

July 9 Jody Hardin, a fifth generation farmer from Grady, is the co-founder and local foods coordinator for Argenta Market. He has dedicated most of his life to saving the family farm by developing local, fair trade markets for small and medium sized family farms to sell their produce. 

June 11 Good Gardens will feature Janet Carson who will broadcast her radio show live from Laman Library! Carson is the state coordinator for the Arkansas Master Gardener program. She has a weekly column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a radio call-in program on KARN every Saturday, and is the host of Today's Garden television show on AETN and cable stations. After the broadcast, Carson will present a talk. A book-signing will follow.

On May 14, the library presents Larry Burton, one of the authors of “Locally Grown: Recipes Inspired by Local Living.” Burton will share recipes and tips using locally grown produce during a fun and informative presentation.

April 9 brings Hot Springs to North Little Rock when Garvan Woodland Gardens’ Associate Executive Director, Bob Byers presents “Designing a Perennial Border.”

Opening this year's series was “The Buzz on Bees” with local author Allison Wallace. Wallace will discuss her book, “A Keeper of Bees: Notes on Hive and Home,” on March 12, at 10:00am. More information about Wallace and her books can be found at www.AllisonWallace.com.