Where in the Gardening World are YOU?

Sometimes, a little distraction is good.

As I watch the latest snow fall down outside my window, I’m supposed to be finishing up a couple of projects. But sometimes a turn of phrase just won’t come out the way we want it to, and a little diversion is needed.

We all converse with bloggers in different parts of the world from us. Naturally, we’re all in different time zones. Some are as close as one hour’s difference (Ontario, Rhode Island, Maine, etc are an hour behind me on Atlantic Standard Time) while others, like Stuart in Australia, are 13 hours ahead—well into tomorrow. Before I went looking up maps, I found a handy chart of times across the world, and that gave me some idea of what time some of you not in North America are on. Then I had to decide what part of what continent people were in. (I’m using Stuart for an example here because he’s about the further away of my bloggin’ buds.) I knew he was in Western Australia, but not exactly where Busselton was.

So naturally, I took the time to look it up. (I did say I needed a break, didn’t I?) Busselton is about 220 km from Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and home to what is said to be the longest wooden structure in the southern hemisphere, the Busselton Jetty, nearly two kilometers in length stretching out into the ocean. Just looking at it made me dizzy!

Now, this got me thinking. It’s been a long time since I took geography, but it’s a fascinating subject—especially when looked at through a gardener’s eyes. Look at Yolanda Elizabet, in Dinteloord, in the province of Noord Brabant, the Netherlands. Who knew (besides Europeans who are better travelled than us new worlders) that the Netherlands had provinces? I know a bit about Kate's neck of the woods because I've been to the Prairies (though not to Saskatchewan) but can YOU uickly locate her province on a map of Canada? And how many who don't live in the United States knew that Rhode Island, where Blithewold and Layanee are ISN'T an island? You see what I mean?

So I’m throwing a challenge out to all other garden bloggers to embark on something I’m calling Garden Bloggers Geography Project. All you have to do is write a post (or two or three, if you want—remember, my theory is rules are made to be broken). Tell your readers a bit about your hometown, your state, province…something that really tells us where you are in the world. What’s really special about your community? Pretend you’re trying to entice visitors to the region, and remember—what might be obvious to you isn’t necessarily obvious to even the blogger in the community next door. Use maps, photos, whatever you want, so long as it’s not too hard for people to load. (Not everyone is on highspeed, and videos can be frustrating for those on dialup.)

When you get your post done, come and leave a comment here in this post. You can also link back, or use the bizarre little graphic I’ve made up above (just don’t laugh at it); whatever you want to do to spread the word and join in the fun. We’ll give this project a deadline—the 29th of February, to acknowledge that this IS a leap year.

Now, in school, we got grades, or gold stars or detentions, if we didn’t do our homework. No detentions here, of course, but here’s a bit of an enticement. I’ll visit all the postings over the next couple of weeks, and select the one I like the best. And the prize, though it might not be screamingly relevant for some of you, will be a copy of my book, The Atlantic Gardener’s Greenbook. Now, if you’ve already got one, that doesn’t disqualify you—you can give it as a gift to someone else. Or sell it on EBay, or whatever you wish. I’ll contact the winning blogger, announce that person here, and mail the book off to wherever that day. How’s that sound for an enticement?

Ready? Let the projects begin!