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Bootle Library Garden

Bootle Library Garden is a space for growing, reading, playing, thinking, meeting and art and is open during library opening hours.

In early 2020, we commissioned artist Harun Morrison to work with us to imagine, design and create a new garden to the south of the Library. We began this project with a series of collaborative design workshops and the gathering of a collection of descriptions of fictional gardens.

The garden’s L-shaped planters are each named after different books, selected by Bootle residents and enthusiastic readers. The planters have been designed by Harun Morrison, and built by local residents with help from Liverpool Tool Library. Each planter contains plants referenced in descriptions of fictional gardens from the selected books. 

Other elements designed for the garden include the billboards for guest artists to contribute new artworks for the space, bespoke benches and a stage for live readings and music. 

Different artists are working at different times and spaces across the library and garden. There are currently active projects by Jessica El Mal, and beekeeper and environmentalist Andrea Ku.  

Bootle Library Garden has been co–designed by Harun Morrison in dialogue with current and former Bootle Librarians, and dozens of local residents, facilitated by Rule of Threes. Additional collaborators, constructors and advisors: Niamh Riordan, Nicolas Henninger, Awais Ali, Matthew Moore, Emily Ross

Bootle Library Garden has been funded by Arts Council England, The National Lottery Community Fund and The Finnis Scott Foundation.

Past Events

May 2021 Bootle Library

We’re creating a restorative and calming garden for Bootle Library — would you like to get involved?

As a first step, we’d like to invite you to join us for our first garden get-together of 2021 on the 10th May 10 am -12 pm. Before we get started on transforming the space, we need to clear it of the litter that has built up over the past year, and we’d love your help. In return, expect tea, cake, and heartfelt thanks! We’ll also have time to talk a bit more about what stage the project is at, and how you will be able to get involved over the coming months. 

For safety reasons we do have to strictly limit numbers, so if you’d like to come along, please let us know by emailing us at hello@atthelibrary.co.uk or sending us a text/whatsapp to 07751240427. 

If you can’t come or don’t want to leave the house at the moment, you can still get involved in our project. We’re collecting descriptions of our favourite gardens in literature to inspire our garden’s design. Why not relax for an afternoon and do a spot of reading and research? More information about submitting your description here.

You can read more about the L-Shaped garden here.

Jun 2021 Bootle Library

At the beginning of 2020, we started planning a new garden for Bootle library, to be designed by artist Harun Morrison. We decided to call it L-Shaped Garden, in reference to the shape of the plot and to Lynn Reid Banks’ 1960s novel ‘The L Shaped Room’. Our garden will be a safe, restorative space for growing, relaxing, reading, and collaborating. 

We began the process with a series of collective design workshops, resulting in different ideas to inform the final design, and a collection of fictional garden descriptions to inspire the plants selected for the space. Like many things over the past year, work on the project and garden paused for a little while, and as we now begin to move forward again, and we’d love to update you on our plans. 


Join us for a relaxed get-together on Friday 18th June, 11:00 AM at Bootle Library to hear from Harun about his ideas for the design, and to enjoy a vegetarian buffet in our garden-to-be. If you’d like to bring a dish, that’d be very welcome — the only request is that it is vegetarian, and we ask if you can write down the ingredients in your dish, to make sure other guests are aware of any allergens. 


Please let us know if you would like to join us, if you will be bringing any food, and any dietary requirements you have by emailing hello@atthelibrary.co.uk or on send us a message on Whatsapp: 07751240427. 

Apr 2022 Bootle Library

Save the date: Saturday 30th April 12:00 – 1:30pm

Join us for a vegetarian BBQ at Bootle Library, where work on our new L-shaped garden has now begun. We’ll talk through plans for next steps with artist Harun Morrison over lunch in the garden-in-progress.

Everyone is welcome.

Please note: timings and details about the event may change. If you book now, we can email you if times change and share updates about what we will get up to on the day.

Please book your place here on Eventbrite.

Booking is essential so we know how many people to expect and cater for. If you are struggling to book online, don’t worry, just call or email Bootle Library and they will be able to book online for you.

Bootle Library phone number: 0151 934 5781

Bootle Library email: bootle.library@sefton.gov.uk

Everyone is welcome and everything is free