The Enumclaw library is hoping a new plant program will take root this growing season.

Starting with an open house on Feb. 12, a new Little Seed Library will be open through fall to encourage community through gardening.

The open house — a CommUnity Seed Swap — will be at the Enumclaw Library from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Participants are encouraged to bring any seeds they are not using to donate to the Seed Library or exchange with other growers. There will be some packaging materials available at the event, but you’re encouraged to bring your own containers labeled with the common name of the seed, a description of the plant’s appearance, the date they were collected, and any additional notes.

The new program is being grown by librarian Klaudina Pasko.

“The origin of all this is green care and therapy — exposure to plants and/or gardening,” Pasko said in a recent interview. “…Group activities involving plants and nature and gardening have shown to have positive impacts on people’s relationships and sense of community connections.”

Pasko is no stranger to gardening. When she first started, she dove straight into food production — “a little bit of everything,” she said.

But that proved to be quite difficult; while she couldn’t get some plants to produce enough, others went bananas, creating waste and wild seeding. The squirrels were a huge issue, too.

So Pasko scaled back to just a few things she particularly enjoys: berries (she also makes homemade jams), edible lavender, and, just recently, grapes. She hopes that the new Little Seed Library will encourage other locals to start their own small gardens like hers — sustainable and easy to care for.

“[Gardening is] a science experiment,” she continued. “… you learn as you go, and it’s OK when [plants] die.”

It’s not just food seeds that are allowed to be donated or exchanged — any seed will do, even store-bought ones.

“When we purchase seeds, the everyday gardener will not end up planting all the seeds in the packet,” Pasko said. “So exchanging seeds with others is a welcome opportunity to share and potentially add different varieties of plants to [your] garden.”

You can also bring small plants; while the Tiny Seed Library will be seasonal, it will remain open all year long for plant donations and exchanges.

The CommUnity Seed Swap open house won’t be the only garden-related program this year, and Pasko recommends keeping an eye on the library’s Facebook or KCLS event page for various classes that will happen throughout the year.

For more information, head to facebook.com/EnumclawLibrary.