Birmingham Botanical Gardens is open to all, every day of the week. Spring/summer hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (through November 6). In light of the increased number of Covid-19 cases in Birmingham and Alabama, the City of Birmingham has implemented an ordinance requiring face coverings inside City-owned buildings and venues, including the Garden Center and other indoor facilities at the Gardens, effective July 29, 2021. For more information and guidelines for visiting, please click here. We look forward to your visit!

The Library at the Gardens

Use your library card here!

Archives & Rare Book Room | Art Gallery | Catalog | Honors & Memorials | Thyme to Read | Contact Us

The Seed Exchange

About The Library

The Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens is part of the Public Libraries in Jefferson County, making it the only public horticultural library in the United States. Simply present your blue or black library card to check out one of over 8,000 books, DVDs, audio books and magazines from our circulating collection. As a full-service public library, we can access all of the vast resources of the entire Public Library System in Jefferson County. Stop by today and dig into our collection—your knowledge is sure to grow!

Hours of Operation

As of July 6, 2021the Library at the Gardens is officially operating at full service once again! Visit Monday–Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and browse our collection. We hope you'll pull up a chair and stay awhile!

 The Library Offers:

  • Large selection of new gardening books

  • Children's section. Click here for the Kid's Catalog!

  • Over 65 different circulating gardening and horticulture magazines

  • Archives and Rare Book Room

  • A large collection of DVDs

  • Free internet access

  • Free Wi-Fi

  • Magic School Bus DVDs

  • Eyewitness books and DVDs

  • Resource material for Hands-on Activities Science Program (HASP) modules on Living Things, Organisms, Plant Growth and Development, Butterflies, Ecosystems and Earthworms

  • Multiple copies of Peterson's First Guides: Forests, Trees, Urban Wildlife, Butterflies & Moths and Caterpillars

  • The entire Discovering Alabama series on DVD

  • Teacher Resource Area with lesson plan materials

  • Used books & magazines for sale

  • Friendly staff and volunteers to help with all your gardening questions
     

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH THE CATALOG OR RESERVE A BOOK

Complete list of newest available titles at JCLC

Contact Us

205.414.3920 | phone
205.414.3922 | fax

Got a gardening question? Email us

Original brochure for The Library at The Gardens 

Give a Cutting, Take a Cutting!



The Library at the Gardens has a new program that propagation enthusiasts are sure to dig! Simply bring us a cutting rooted in water or soil (well-established roots are a must!), then choose a cutting from our collection to take home. Lavender, pothos, Christmas cactus, jewel orchid, flame violet, Chinese evergreen, umbrella plant, rosemary, and peperomia are available!

Honey for Sale

Take advantage of the Library at the Gardens' curbside service to purchase locally sourced honey from Birmingham Botanical Gardens' hives or honey flavored in cinnamon, lemon, or jalapeño from Ivy Brook Apiary.

Cost: $10/bottle (Birmigham Botanical Gardens)
Cost: $7-12 (Ivy Brook Apiary)

Call 205.588.4593 or 205.533.6062 to schedule a pickup between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays. 

 

2021 Thyme to Read Book Club 

A monthly gathering hosted by the Library at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Join us virtually at 6 p.m. on select Tuesdays to discuss the month's reading selection. For more information contact Hope Long, library director, at 205.588.4593 or [email protected] 

The Alabama Humanities Foundation, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, co-sponsors this project. 

 

Explore our 2021 Book List:

February 2, 2021

The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree

By Susan Wittig Albert

March 2, 2021

Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard

By Douglas W. Tallamy

 

April 6, 2021

American Dirt

By Jeanine Cummins

May 4, 2021

Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking

By Bill Buford

 

June 1, 2021

The Body in the Castle Well

By Martin Walker

 

July 6, 2021

Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South

By Rick Bragg

 

August 3, 2021

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

By Robin Wall Kimmerer

September 7, 2021

The Cooking Gene: A Journey through African American Culinary History in the Old South 

By Michael W. Twitty 

REGISTER HERE

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the virtual gathering.
 

October 5, 2021

Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey through Every National Park

By Conor Knighton

November 9, 2021

The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things

By Peter Wohlleben

December 7, 2021

Always Home: A Daughter's Recipes and Stories

By Fanny Singer

Honors and Memorials To Support the Library at the Gardens

Don't see a book in the library that you think we should have? We welcome suggestions and donations. You can also choose to memorialize or honor a relative, friend, or colleague and help grow the Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens at the same time. Be sure to note that your tribute gift is for the Library at the Gardens. Thank you for your support!