Aura Libraries: Flintshire history and all things garden

May is a month where we celebrate local and community history. All our libraries hold some information on the history of their area.

Why not have a look at these fantastic new titles to get you started…

• Buckley Society Magazine - This annual publication is collated and published by the Buckley Society and contains articles and information relating to the History of Buckley and surrounding areas.

• Place Names of Flintshire, Hywel Wyn Owen - This is the first scholarly study of place-names for the entire pre-1974 county of Flintshire.

• A Flintshire Territorial at War, H. Maldwyn Davies

• A-Z of Curious Flintshire, David Rowe - Flintshire, the northern gateway to Wales, is a county rich in heritage. It is home to ancient artefacts, medieval buildings and country houses, and has had many fascinating residents such as the grand old man of politics, W.E. Gladstone, and the famous naturalist and writer, Thomas Pennant. As with much of Wales, Flintshire is also a place of myth and legends, from missing monks to maids in wells. This compendium of curious anecdotes and curiosities relates tales from the county's rich history.

• Flintshire Pubs and Breweries, David Rowe - Flintshire Pubs will delight all those who want to know more about the history of Flintshire's pubs, their clientele, landlords and ladies and takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the past of their favourite local.

We also have some special events and activities throughout May to celebrate all the wonderful stories and history of communities in Flintshire.

Buckley Library is hosting a fantastic exhibition from the Buckley Society during May about the fascinating history of Buckley. The society also hold a monthly drop-in session on the last Wednesday of the month in the library at 2pm for people to drop in for a chat and a cuppa to find out more about the history of the town.

You can pop into Flint Library every Tuesday between 10am-noon to find out more about Off Flint - Celebrating our town, castle and coast. For further information please contact Jo Danson, community heritage officer - communityheritageofficer@flintshire.gov.uk

Let's get gardening

Find some inspiration for your garden and top tips on planting from some of our great new titles. Whether you are looking to for new ideas and layout or wanting to grow your own vegetables our selection of great titles will help…

Find garden inspiration with Aura Libraries. Photo: Pixabay

1. To stand and stare: how to garden while doing next to nothing - Andrew Timothy O'Brien

Andrew Timothy O'Brien weaves together strands of botany, philosophy, and mindfulness to form an ecological narrative suffused with practical gardening know-how.

2. The green gardening handbook: grow, eat and enjoy - Nancy Birtwhistle

Going green in the garden has never been easier with Nancy Birtwhistle's sustainable, eco-friendly tips that will help you make the most of your space, and what it can grow.

3. Grow: fill your world with plants - Robyn Booth

Discover the joy of growing and using plants indoors and outdoors, no matter how limited your space.. And you don't need your own garden to get started. Creating a thriving window box, choosing suitable plant pots for a desktop oasis or joining a local community garden are perfect ways to experience the joys of gardening.

4. Rekha's Kitchen Garden: seasonal produce and home-grown wisdom from one gardener's allotment year - Rekha Mistry

Welcome to Rekha's Kitchen Garden: A North London allotment that is bursting with the very best seasonal produce all year round. With more than 30 years' experience as both an amateur and professional gardener, there is no better guide to home-grown produce than Rekha.

5. A year full of veg: a harvest for all seasons - Sarah Raven

A Year Full of Veg is a month-by-month guide to cultivating the best seasonal veg. With her wealth of experience, Sarah Raven shares the most reliable and bountiful varieties to grow, her tried-and-tested favourite crops, and unusual vegetables, herbs and salads that you can't buy in shops.

Find us on social media - @LlyfrgelloeddAuraLibraries on Facebook and Instagram and @LibFlintshire on Twitter.

These titles are available to borrow from Aura libraries as either a book or e-book or eAudiobook. You can browse these titles and hundreds more on our online library catalogue!

Aura Library members can download e-books and audiobooks free of charge from Borrowbox and Libby to a PC, laptop or Mac. Alternatively, you can download the Borrowbox and Libby apps directly to a smartphone or tablet.

To access most online library resources you will need to enter your library membership number and pin. If you do not have this then you can join up as a member online via the Aura website for instant access. All links and further details about our digital library resources can be found here: www.aura.wales/libraries

Murder in the library...

Join us on Thursday, May 25 at 7pm in Mold Library. Actor, author and stand-up comedian, Mark Billingham will be in conversation with fellow crime writer Luca Veste in Mold Library. Mark will be talking about his latest book The Last Dance in which he introduces a new detective Declan Miller.

Mark and Luca are members of the rock band Fun Lovin' Crime Writers, a combo of bestselling crime and thriller writers who performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 2019. We can't promise any music, but we should be in for a very entertaining evening, that shouldn't be missed. Tickets are £6 or £24 including a copy of The Last Dance and are available form Mold Library 01352 703780 or The Bookshop, Mold 01352 759879.

Visit us on social media to view handy information about our services, events, and lots of book and audiobook recommendations.

From everyone here at Aura Libraries, thank you for reading and we hope to hear from you or see you soon!

• Aura is a charitable, not-for-profit, organisation responsible for managing the majority of leisure, libraries and heritage services in Flintshire. Aura is owned by its employees and operates for the benefit of local communities.