Wheaton Public Library: Home, Garden & DIY: September 2026

Recent Releases

Weaving Wild Baskets: Techniques and Projects Using Foraged Leaves, Grasses, Vines, and Bark
by Katie Grove

Learn to make artful baskets from foraged materials with this comprehensive guide to identifying, harvesting, and weaving wild plants. All kinds of plant parts can be used for basketmaking--including leaves, grasses, stems, vines, and bark. Author and basketmaker Katie Grove offers complete instructions for harvesting and preparing more than 50 plants for basketmaking, along with 14 different projects that teach essential basketry techniques.

Garden for Life: Strategies for Easier, Greener, More Joyful Gardening as We Age
by Rhonda Fleming Hayes

In Garden for Life, Rhonda Fleming Hayes brings a lifetime of gardening experience, research-based advice, and collective wisdom to older gardeners who are looking for inspiration and practical strategies. This delightful comprehensive guide presents new techniques and tools to make gardening less strenuous, and highlights plants that multitask to make a garden more sustainable--for both the gardener and the environment.

Growing Your Own Tea Garden, Second Edition: The Guide to Growing and Harvesting Flavorful Teas in Your Backyard
by Jodi Helmer

Part gardening book and part tea book, Growing Your Own Tea Garden shows gardeners and tea drinkers how to plant, maintain, harvest and enjoy a productive backyard tea garden! It includes insight on container gardening and raised beds, nine suggested garden designs and useful cultivation advice. A comprehensive directory of more than 60 plants provides the properties and health benefits of each ingredient before presenting 19 delicious and healthy tea recipes that can help address common ailments.

The Pressed Flower Handbook: Simple Methods for Connecting with Nature and Preserving the Beauty of the Garden Through the Seasons: Grow, Gather, Press, Create
by Sarah Holland

The Pressed Flower Handbook is an inspiring and accessible guide to the age-old craft of flower pressing, told through the seasonal rhythms of Sarah Holland's garden. As the artist behind the popular Meadow and Thyme brand, Sarah brings her thoughtful perspective and sustainable ethos to every page, showing you how to grow, gather, press, and craft with flowers through all four seasons.

The Japanese Way of Parenting: And What It Taught Me about Raising (Mostly) Calm, Caring, Capable Kids
by Lisa Katayama

In this fascinating half-memoir, half-parenting guide, Lisa Katayama shares her quest to raise her American kids using Japanese parenting principles--combining unconditional love with unwavering rules. Readers will be inspired to take some of her insights--the importance of routine and ritual or the benefits of simplified spaces or the power in making everyday things cute--and adopt them into their own parenting, no matter where they live.

Natural Habitats and Wildlife Gardening: Inviting Nature Into Your Backyard
by Shaun McCoshum

Native plants are essential for healthy ecosystems that support insects and animals, but vegetation alone does not provide the necessary resources for most creatures or their life cycles. This book breaks down ecological processes that regulate habitats and explains how to recreate vibrant, gorgeous, natural habitats in your own backyard--ones that attract pollinating insects, birds, and other suburban wildlife while appealing to neighbors and friends.

Spice Tonight: Easy Meals with a South Asian Twist
by Kausar Raja

Full of mouthwatering twists on family favorites, this book brings big South Asian flavors and warmth to the table every day, covering 100 quick and easy crowd-pleasers, light bites, one-pots, weeknight winners, takeout favorites, and simple desserts. Inspired by the home-cooked meals of her childhood, Kausar Raja will show you how to make unforgettable fusion food with magic in every bite.

Fresh Start Your Family: Powerful Parenting to Restore Peace in Your Home
by Wendy Snyder

Parenting wasn't supposed to feel this hard. Maybe you've found yourself stuck in a cycle of power struggles, yelling, guilt, or using the same tactics you swore you'd never repeat. You love your kids more than anything, but the constant stress leaves you wondering, Is there a better way? In Fresh Start Your Family, certified positive parenting educator and family life coach Wendy Snyder offers an encouraging path forward. Drawing from her own raw parenting struggles and years of teaching thousands of families, Wendy shows you how to break painful generational patterns, rewire old habits, and lead your home with both compassion and strength.

Great Bakes: Modern Classic Recipes from the Midwest
by Martin Sorge

When Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith crowned Martin Sorge the winner of The Great American Baking Show in 2023, few would have guessed that his baking journey began with him setting the microwave on fire trying to make a biscuit. But after years spent in the kitchen, he had become a full-fledged baking nerd next door--the perfect guide to explain how to adjust a recipe for rye flour or perfect your pavlova without bogging you down with too many details. In this debut cookbook, Martin shares those tips and many more, in a collection of recipes that highlight the ease and enjoyment of wholesome ingredients and simple flavors, while encouraging readers to try new twists on familiar favorites.

Tree Houses You Can Actually Build
by David Stiles

Tree houses capture the imagination of the child in all of us, and they remain a popular kid-friendly oasis that can encourage kids to get outdoors, away from their screens. Tree Houses You Can Actually Build shows even the most inexperienced weekend carpenter how to design and build a lifetime of memories for the entire family. In this timeless guide, David and Jeanie Stiles explain basic building procedures through clear, simple instructions and nontechnical line drawings that illustrate every step of the project, from the earliest sketches to the final cedar shingle. The authors outline five basic designs that can be adapted to virtually any set of conditions, and throughout the book they emphasize safety for both adults and children. In addition to line drawings, the book contains a section of full-color photographs highlighting a variety of tree house projects, plus helpful building tips based on interviews with their owners.

All Panic No Disco: Existential Crisis Embroidery for Your Inner Critter
by Emily Wall

Embrace the chaos of life with these hilariously cute embroidery patterns featuring your favorite critters--raccoons, possums, and other little guys who are also going through it. Whether you're in the middle of crashing out or just need a moment for some self-care, you can stitch your very own critter with twenty highly relatable designs that perfectly capture your current mood.

Bound to Be Beautiful: Over 20 Bookbinding Projects That Inspire and Delight
by Bari Zaki

Learn how to create a range of beautiful and unique hand-bound books and accessories. Whether you're new to bookbinding or looking to refine your skills, you'll find more than 20 stunning projects here to spark your creativity--from classic soft and hardcover books to elegant albums, journals, and folders.