It finally snowed. Only a little, but it's enough. I'll load a photo of my winter seed sowing tray as soon as I'm home when it's not dark out! :) Speaking of not being home as often as I'd like, I'm behind where I'd normally be this time of year in the number of containers I'd have sowed. You know, it seems like the usual number would be something like, say, 2,476, and this year's it's... (drum roll please)... 1. OK, the former number is a bit of an exaggeration, but the latter is all too literal.

I've had an idea rolling around in my head (yep, just the one!) for a few years now... wouldn't it be cool if there were a home exchange for gardeners? There are several websites where one can arrange to swap houses with people in other parts of the country or around the globe. Sometimes people arrange to be at each other's home during the same week, or other times, the owner might be in residence along with the guests. I love this idea; it's always nicer staying with locals and these stays are free! Being a planty person and a frugal person, I'd love to say free with local gardeners who know where the nature areas, nurseries, and botanical gardens of interest are. And I'd be willing to host such gardeners in my humble 1960s ranch home if anything ever brings them to Ann Arbor.

So I'll start now: If you're a gardener who would like to visit the Ann Arbor area, ideally (but not necessarily) in exchange for free lodging in your area, let me know. I have a twin bed in a nice guest bedroom, or if you're part of a couple, you can use my double bed. (Sorry, I can't really accommodate more than two adults at a time.) If you're a garden speaker, garden writer, or retiree, so much the better. If you find yourself speaking to plants and weeding public flower boxes, even better. You'll fit right in. I live next to a nature area and a creek, at the end of a quiet cul de sac, and have a decent size garden retreat.


This is a winter mood photo from 2005 of one of my favorite cats, Onyx, in his cat garden (which is not, incidentally, at my home).