La Grainotheque Opens in Hemmingford
On Saturday, February 6th, the Hemmingford Library hosted the official opening of La Grainotheque. Two guest speakers marked the event—Ferme Giroflee’s horticulturalist Benoit Coulombe and longtime local Carole Lizotte, who organises Hemmingford’s annual plant exchange every year.
The brainchild of Mary Strate and her husband Dr. Peter Friesen, La Grainotheque developed from a desire to preserve biodiversity, protect heirloom varieties, encourage self-sufficiency, understand organic gardening, and of course, enjoy the outdoors. The couple’s young children, Annabel, Johann and Sebastien, began visiting local gardens and asking people to donate some of their plants’ seeds so that they could be shared with other people. “They were very hard workers all summer. As we zoomed around the canton, the children would be unbuckling their seatbelts before I put the parking brake on to jump out with envelopes, markers, and scissors,” said Strate of her children. People donated much more than seeds—locals Faith Gower, Glen Hodgins and Catherine Plamondon gave silica packages to the collection in order to maintain the dryness of the seeds, while others donated various containers for seed storage.
The idea actually stemmed from the couple’s love of preserving seeds and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The idea came to life sometime after Hemmingford’s popular plant exchange. “We found ourselves happily swapping seedlings, learning local gardening techniques and making lifetime friendships in the warm atmosphere… it seemed a pity not to offer seeds to the whole community,” said Strate of the experience.
The entire collection is housed within the Hemmingford Library, with volunteer Beryl Tovim contributing her time every Wednesday as the dedicated seed librarian. Friesen wrote a software programme to maintain the organization of the collection, making the seed database searchable. As for checking out seeds? Interested parties may take out the seeds so long as they are returned at the end of the growing season. As Strate emphasizes, “donations are always welcome, as well as any germination and planting advice.”
The couple joined the Hemmingford community in 2007 after immigrating to Canada. Welcomed with enthusiasm, Strate fell in love with the picturesque village. A local contractor captured her sentiments about Hemmingford, describing the community with, “Hemmingford is what life should be like in Quebec.”