By Cecilia Nasmith
Cobourg resident Jim Maguire has rung a timely change on those book-exchange houses people sometimes mount on a post at the roadside edge of their property.
The sign posted on the door of the one at Maguire's home door welcomes passers-by to look inside and help themselves – to seeds.
He heard of a similar project in Warkworth and thought it might be worth looking into.
“I built this little house kind of box, like those book exchanges – about the same size – and put it outside in my front yard with a sign,” he said.
He and his wife Nancy purchased about $20 worth of seeds to get it started – beets, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and different types of flowers. They took a few seeds of different kinds, packaged them in an envelope, labelled them and set them out in the hopes that people might be inspired to start their own gardens.
“It's kind of nice to think maybe they might pick up some seeds they wouldn't otherwise try, and put them into a garden – and now would be the perfect time,” Maguire said.
Just as people are invited to leave their own books in those book-exchange boxes, Maguire sometimes gets donations – like the lady who recently said thank you for the seeds she had taken by dropping some marigold seeds off at the Maguires' Parkview Hills Drive residence.
“I didn't have marigold seeds,” he said.
“That just shows now nice people can be.”
Now and then he sees someone who obviously wants to have a look but may feel hesitant because the Maguire seed library is on someone's yard. But mostly, he said, “they read the notice and get right into it and grab themselves some seeds.
“It's nice to see them smile – which really makes me happy, for such a little thing. I think of how they can watch them grow, and I'm kind of hoping some of the parents will take them home and grow some vegetables with their kids.”
Once he got everything set up, Maguire contacted the Warkworth people who had the original seed library to show them what he'd done. And he's since heard of a couple of sisters in the Ottawa area who did something similar in their neighbourhood.
'Tis the season to be gardening, Maguire noted. So if anyone is interested in visiting the seed library, it will be up until the end of June.
