Unearthed: The Power of Gardening exhibition launches tour at Lache Library
A free exhibition will be touring Cheshire West and Chester Libraries from May 2025 to March 2026, exploring the transformative, enriching and sometimes radical power of gardening.
In partnership with the British Library’s major exhibition (2 May to 10 August 2025), Cheshire West and Chester Libraries Service is one of 30 celebrating gardening through the UK-wide Living Knowledge Network.
From windowsills to allotments, Unearthed: The Power of Gardening explores how the act of gardening can heal and sustain people in a multitude of ways. It reveals how gardening can bring people together, empower communities and shape our relationship with the natural world. It also considers gardening as a form of activism, as a means of challenging land ownership and highlighting social disparities, as well as providing a global story about the movement of plants.
To launch the exhibition, Lache Library will be hosting a celebratory event on Wednesday 7 May at 2.30pm. Local historian Linda Shuttleworth and storyteller Tim Ditchburn will explore the stories and history of Westminster Park in Chester. Tickets are free and can be booked here: Westminster Park: stories and history of a green space.
Catch Unearthed: The Power of Gardening at Lache Library from 1 to 27 May, after which it will be touring libraries across the borough:
- Lache Library: 1 to 27 May
- Storyhouse: 31 May to 2 July
- Hope Farm Library: 3 July to 29 July
- Helsby Library: 30 July to 3 September
- Sandiway Library: 4 September to 30 September
- Barnton Library: 2 October to 5 November
- Winsford Library and the Education Library Service: December 2025
- Ellesmere Port Library: January 2026
- Little Sutton Library: February 2026
- Neston Library: March 2026
To tie in Cheshire West and Chester Libraries are participating in The Reading Agency's 2025 Summer Reading Challenge: Story Garden – Adventures in Nature and the Great Outdoors. Children will immerse themselves in a world of imagination through reading, exploring the magical connection between storytelling and nature.
The Story Garden Summer Reading Challenge launches on Saturday 5 July 2025 in England and Wales along with an exciting program of activities to be announced in June.
Maddy Smith, lead curator of Unearthed: The Power of Gardening at the British Library, said: 'Gardening is a transformative force. It can promote healing and wellbeing, forge closer communities, refresh neglected spaces and drive social change. Gardening connects us to our past, grounds us in the present and encourages us to look ahead to the future so I am really looking forward to seeing how our Living Knowledge Network partners augment the exhibition for audiences across the UK.’
The Living Knowledge Network is a unique partnership between public and national libraries in the UK created by the British Library, streaming free events, exhibitions and workshops from libraries across the UK through LKN-events.co.uk.
For information about all upcoming library events, sign up to the eNewsletter or follow libraries on social media: Facebook: @cwaclibrary, X @cwaclibraries and Instagram @cwaclibraries
There are 22 libraries across Cheshire West and Chester, a Mobile Library and Home Library Service. It is free to join and books can be borrowed from and returned to any library.
You can access computers and wi-fi for free or join in with a wide range of events and activities for all ages. There are also thousands of free eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines to borrow.
To find out more visit the Council’s website: Libraries