Building Hours: Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Darien Seed Library

Whether you're a long-term gardener or new to the craft, we offer you the opportunity to try out new seeds. The Seed Library is just to the right of the Welcome Desk near the Post Road entrance to the Library.

Share your garden with us on social media! Just tag us at @darienlibrary on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.


How to Borrow

Choose one of our Mini Seed envelopes and use a different envelope for each variety of seed you wish to borrow.

Label your envelope with what you’re borrowing.

Put seeds in your labeled envelope. Take 2-3 seeds for every plant you intend to grow this season. For example, if you want 5 tomato plants, take 10-15 seeds.

Please let us know what you’re borrowing in the guest book.

Thank you and happy gardening!

How to Donate

You may donate seeds you grew or ones you purchased. Before donating, please review the Seed Protocol and Guidelines for Returning Seeds.

If donating hybrid seeds, please label them clearly as being a hybrid.

Enter the returned or donated seeds into the envelope and then add them to the guest book.

Put seeds in the appropriate drawer. Seeds are organized by type and alphabetical.



Seed Library Index

Flowers

Annuals

  • Alyssum – Carpet of Snow
  • Autumn Beauty Sunflower
  • Black-eyed Susan Vine
  • Chrysanthemum Mini - Red
  • Citrus Sunflower
  • Cleome – White
  • Cockscomb Flower
  • Cosmos – Double Click Bi-color Pink
  • Cosmos – Psyche White
  • Cosmos – Seashells Mix
  • Edible Sunflowers
  • Flax – Scarlett
  • Giant Coral Zinnia
  • Giant Sunflowers – Heirloom Titan
  • Giant Sunflowers - Sunzilla
  • Godetia
  • Great Quaking Grass
  • Impatiens
  • Indian Peace Pipes
  • Jerusalem Gold Hybrid Sunflower
  • Lupine – Pixie Delight
  • Lemon Queen
  • Lupine - Texas Bluebonnet
  • Mammoth Sunflower
  • Marigold – Queen Sophia
  • Marigold - Summer Splash
  • Morning Glory Heavenly Blue
  • Nasturtium - Mahogany
  • Pansy - Blue
  • Sunspot
  • Sweet Pea Bouqet Blend
  • Sweet Pea Little Sweetheart
  • Sweet Pea North Shore
  • Sweet Pea – Old Spice Blend
  • Sweet Pea – Perfume Delight
  • Tip Top Nasturtium
  • Torch
  • Velvet Queen Sunflower
  • Zinnia – California Giants
  • Zinnia – Cha-Cha-Cha
  • Zinnia – Paintbrush Mixed Colors
  • Zinnia – State Fair Gold Medal

Biennials

  • Black-Eyed Susan
  • Hollyhock – Charter’s Double
  • Hollyhock – Happy Lights
  • Hollyhock – Indian Spring
  • Money Plant – Lunaria
  • Sweet William – Lace Mantle

Wild Flower Mixes

  • Six Native Varities

Perennials

  • Black Berry Lily
  • Butterfly Weed / Milkweed – Asclepias tuberosa
  • Catnip
  • Coreopsis – Double Sunburst
  • Delphinium – Pacific Giant Mix
  • Dianthus – Ipswich Pnks
  • Echinacea – Purple Coneflower
  • Lupine – Russell Blend
  • Meadow Rue – Lavender Mist
  • Primrose Mix
  • Shasta Daisy - Alaska
  • Swamp Milkweed
  • Sweet Pea – Lathyrus Latijolius
  • Verbena – Brazilian Vervain
  • Viola – Johnny-Jump-up
  • Wild Columbine - Light Purple
  • Winter Aconite – Eranthis hyemalis – Yellow

Herbs

  • Anise
  • Basil (Genovese)
  • Basil (Sweet)
  • Chamomile - Bodegold
  • Cilantro/Coriander
  • Dill (Bouquet)
  • Fennel (Florence)

  • Lamb’s Ears
  • Lavender Lady – Lavendula angustifolia
  • Lemon Balm
  • Mammoth Dill Heirloom
  • Marjoram - Sweet
  • Oregano – Ferry Morse
  • Oregano – Origanum vulgar hirtum
  • Parsley – Big Italy

  • Parsley – Green Pearl
  • Parsley – Triple Curled
  • Pepper Cress (Lepidium sativum)
  • Rosemary
  • Sage (Common)
  • Thyme (Common)
  • Thyme (Summer)

Vegetables

Artichoke

  • Green Globe

Beans

  • Bush Filet – French Filet
  • Dwarf Horticultural Bean
  • French Long Podded Shelling Beans
  • Garden Bean- Heavy Harvest
  • Garden Bean – Kentucky Wonder
  • Garden Bean – Kitchen King
  • Garden Bean – Tendergreen
  • Lima Bean – Ford Hook 242
  • Windsor Fava Bean

Beets

  • Chioggia
  • Dutch Baby Ball
  • Detroit Dark Red
  • Early Wonder
  • Gourmet Blend
  • Jewel-toned, Red Gold, & Candystripe
  • Red Baron

Bok Choy

  • Tatsoi – Rosette
  • Waltham 29 Broccoli
  • White Stem

Broccoli

  • Di Cicco
  • Long Harvest All Season Blend

Broccoli Raab

  • Rapini

Brussel Sprouts

  • Hestia
  • Long Island Improved

Cabbage

  • Aubervilliers
  • Chinese Michihili
  • Copenhagen Market
  • Mammoth Red Rock
  • Pak Choi
  • Red Acre

Carrots

  • Carnival Blend
  • French Baby
  • Little Finger
  • Long Sweet Carrots – King Midas
  • Purple Sun
  • Snacking - Rotild

Cauliflower

  • Amazing Taste
  • Early Snowball

Celery

  • Tall Utah

Chard

  • Garden Rainbow
  • Italian Silver Rib

Chives

  • Garlic

Corn

  • Bodacious (Sweet)
  • Buttergold (Sweet)
  • Casino (Sweet)
  • Delectable (Sweet)
  • Earth Tones
  • Inca Blue Indian Corn
  • Sweet Early Casino
  • Strawberry

Cucumber

  • Burpless Beauty
  • Bush Champion
  • English Chelsea Prize
  • English Telegraph
  • Marketmore
  • Persian Baby
  • Persian Baby – Green Fingers
  • Pickle Barrel Hybrid
  • Spacemaster
  • Sweet Armenia – Heirloom
  • True Lemon

Eggplant

  • Black Beauty
  • Italian Trio
  • Listada de Gandia

Ebdive

  • Green Curled

Escarole

  • Broadleaf Batavian

Kale

  • Dwarf Blue Curled
  • Italian Lacinato
  • Portuguese
  • Scarlet

Leek

  • American Flag
  • King Richard

Lettuce

  • Australian Yellowleaf
  • Bibb Lettuce
  • Black Seeded Simpson
  • Buttercrunch
  • Chef’s Medley
  • Gala Mache
  • Heirloom Arugula – Rustic Style
  • Iceberg
  • Mesclun
  • Mesclun – Asian Baby Leaf
  • Oak Leaf Blend
  • Romaine – Little Gem
  • Romaine - Freckles
  • Rouge d’Hiver
  • Simpson Elite

Melon

  • Cantaloup – Hearts of Gold
  • Early Silver Line
  • Hale’s Best Jumbo
  • Honeydew Green Flesh
  • Tuscan Melon -Napoli

Mustard

  • Myers Family Heirloom

Okra

  • Clemson Spineless 80
  • Jumbalaya
  • Red Burgundy

Onion

  • Heirloom Torpedo Onions
  • Yellow Granex

Parsnip

  • All American
  • Hollow Crown

Peas

  • Dwarf Gray Sugar
  • Shelling Peas -Sabre
  • Snow Pea – Purple Podded
  • Super Sugar Snap

Peppers

  • Ancho Gigantea
  • Georgia Flame
  • Habanero Hot Pepper
  • Heirloom Italian Sweet Peppers Sunset Mix
  • Jalapeño, Traveler Strain
  • Red Habanero
  • Sweet Chocolate Pepper
  • Sweet Pepper – Emerald Giant

Pumpkin

  • Cinderella’s Carriage
  • Early Sugar or Pie
  • New England Pie Pumpkin

Radicchio

  • Early Treviso
  • Palla Rossa Mavrik

Radish

  • Cherry Belle
  • Crimson Giant
  • Easter Egg II
  • French Breakfast
  • Garden Party- Five Color
  • Pink Punch
  • Sparkler
  • Watermelon

Rutabaga

  • American Purple Top

Sorrel

  • Common Sorrel

Squash

  • Acorn – Table King
  • Butternut, Waltham
  • Cocozelle – Summer
  • Crookneck – Early Summer
  • Patisson Panache
  • Straightneck, Early Prolific – Summer
  • Winter
  • Zucchini, Black Beauty – Summer

Spinach

  • Bloomsdale
  • Bloomsdale – Longstanding
  • Catalina Baby Leaf
  • Malabar Climbing Red Stem
  • Monstreux de Viroflay
  • New Zealand

Swiss Chard

  • Five Color Silverbeet
  • Fordhook Giant
  • Ruby Red

Tomato

  • Ace 55 - Bush
  • Beefsteak – Big Beef
  • Black Cherry
  • Red Brandywine
  • Cherry - Black
  • Cherry – Camp Joy
  • Cherry- Litt’l Bites
  • Cherry- Orange Sungold
  • Cherry – Tri- Color Garden Candy
  • Chianti Rose
  • Golden Jubilee - Pole
  • Italian roma - Bush
  • Jubilee
  • Lemon Drop
  • Marglobe
  • Marvel Stripe
  • Moneymaker - Pole
  • San Marzano- Pole
  • Speckled Roman
  • Stupice
  • Summer Feast
  • Supersweet 100
  • Wapsipinicon Peach

Tomatillo

  • Purple De Milpa

Turnip

  • Purple Top White Globe

Watermelon

  • Charleston Gray
  • Crimson Sweet
  • Jubilee
  • Mountain Yellow Sweet
  • Sugar Baby

Seed Protocol

Seed Protocol

We want people who take seed to get what was on the label and we want to protect from passing on disease. The following is our basic seed protocol.*

  • Save from healthy plants. Even if a disease does not get passed on through the seed, we do not like to have some selection for disease resistance by only saving from healthy strong plants.

  • Save from a number of plants so that the seed has some genetic diversity in it. The quantity that is optimum depends on the type of plant. For self-pollinating plants, a minimum of 6 plants is necessary. For cross pollinating, you want to save from a much larger population.

  • If the plant cross pollinates, you want to make sure you keep it isolated so it stays “true to type." Check with a seed saving chart or book to get isolation distances.

  • When you bring seeds to share, please label with as much information as you can.

* The Seed Protocol is from the West County Seed Exchange

Guidelines for Returning Seeds

Please do not share hybrid seeds. Hybrid, F1 or VF plants will not produce plants like the parent plant. They may produce something somewhat or very different, or they may produce nothing at all.

Do not return seeds from the brassica (e.g. Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, Brussel Sprouts & Cabbage) or cucurbit (e.g. cucumbers, squash, melons) families unless you have taken appropriate steps to prevent cross-pollination.

  • Dry: Make sure seeds have dried completely

  • Clean: Have seeds reasonably cleaned by removing as much of the chaff as possible.

  • Properly saved: Only return seeds that you know how to save properly. Super easy seeds like tomatoes, beans, peas and lettuce can be fairly reliably saved without cross-pollination and unintentional hybridization.

  • Label: Write as much information on your returning seed packet as possible. Next year’s borrower only has what you have written on the envelope to help decide whether to plant or not. The more information the better!!

* The Guidelines for Returning Seeds are from the Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library

subscribe to our weekly newsletter