When patrons enter the Rancho Bernardo Library, one of the first things they might see is a relaxing scene with an Adirondack chair, books and plants.
The recently renovated indoor garden is largely the work of Bernardo Gardeners Club Jo Cornell and Susan Shaw.
With $500 in financial from the club — the money was raised through its annual garden tour — and assistance from Frank Schmidt in the RB Swim & Tennis Club’s woodworking group, the two women gathered the necessary items last spring and throughout the summer.
Those items included dozens of hardcover books to make a 7-foot-tall stack pieced together by Schmidt and installed to camouflage a metal pillar that is part of the for the library’s staircase.
For years, club have been responsible for watering dozens of plants weekly in the lobby, adult section where magazines and newspapers are kept, and in the enclosed garden adjacent to the children’s area.
“The club’s beautification of the front entry was a lovely gesture we wanted to do for the library,” Cornell said.
Their inspiration for the whimsical design was The Last Bookstore, a shop in downtown Los Angeles known for its large, creative book sculptures and displays.
“It uses books as art,” Shaw said.
“We wanted to do that kind of art project here,” Cornell added.
They had more ambitious ideas, but because of city regulations they had to make sure the stack of books was firmly attached to the pillar they wanted to cover. That’s where Schmidt came in. He drilled holes in the books so a PVC pipe could be run through them. Several books were then glued together in small stacks, then placed at different angles to create visual appeal.
“Everything had to safety protocols,” Shaw said. “The Central Library had to approve all our steps.”
Cornell said her mother had several Readers Digest books, but they needed dozens more that were similar in size so they sought donations from the Friends of the Rancho Bernardo Library, retirement homes and other groups.
“They did a fantastic job,” said Rosa Kwon, the RB Library branch manager said about the club. They “have been faithful, good partners … who make the library more enjoyable.”
Cornell and Shaw are decades-long Rancho Bernardo residents. Cornell ed the Bernardo Gardeners Club in 2020 and Shaw ed in 2022. They said they did not know each other well before working on the project.
It was while chatting at a meeting last year that they realized they had a common creative interest in sprucing up the library’s lobby, which had a simple plant display club had watered for years and a metal bench.
“The metal bench had no sides or back. It was inhospitable for reading,” Shaw said. “We wanted to have the type of chair you’d want to read in, a low-slung Adirondack.”
Their vision was to create a relaxing scene. A garden hat, pillow and cup of “tea” were recently placed on the chair. During the holidays it was winter-themed items, such as pine cones and a mug of “cocoa.”
“People have said they would like to sit there and read a book,” Shaw said of conversations they have had with library patrons while tending the plants.
To discourage people from doing that, the area is roped off.
Not far away is a bookcase filled with books similar to those in the stack. There is also a sign that says “Open a book, grow your mind.”
Shaw said she found the sign online and thought it was perfect wording for a garden-inspired book area.
While working on the scene, Cornell and Shaw started looking around the library and found other places where their creativity could flourish. A bare fabric wall in the young adult area was the perfect place for an art installation. The large “flowers” were created by Cornell, who folded pages from garden books to make the petals — a craft project she had never attempted before.
She was assisted with the design by Jil Vilella, another club member and artist.
“She helped me install it, to give it sway and movement,” Cornell said. “Jil selected the spot, where the blue wall highlights the paper on bamboo casters.”
Cornell said Vilella is also creating some canvas s that, when complete, will be installed on the other side of the library’s staircase, to finish their lobby display.
Cornell and Shaw also decided to spruce up the adult reading area adjacent to the fireplace, where magazines and newspapers are displayed. Potted plants have been there for at least a decade, but they added artificial turf on top of the display cases, some garden tools and bird-themed decorations.
All of the plants in the library do well with the lighting conditions and do not need a lot of watering. Many succulents have been included. There is also a fiddle leaf fig, which came from Shaw’s yard; Schefflera (aka umbrella plant) and Dracaena (aka Mother in Law Tongue). Several plants have been propagated from club ’ gardens.
“How wonderful the library (has been), to welcome the garden club into their space,” Shaw said. “We appreciate that nice relationship that we have.”
Cornell agreed. “Rosa (Kwon) indulges us,” she said of the RB Library’s branch manager. “She is a big cheerleader.”
Kwon said the decades-long partnership between the RB Library and Bernardo Gardeners Club is unique, not something typically found among the San Diego Public Library’s 37 locations. If not for the club , Kwon said the library would not have indoor plants because library staff do not have the time to tend to their watering and maintenance.
“The patrons notice and we get a lot of comments,” Kwon said. “It makes (the library) more enjoyable and lovely. … We really appreciate them.”
