It all began with a love story. Not the kind of love story you read about in novels or watch in a movie. Something more simple, very local and equally magical. Jim and I have different versions, so we will share both here and explain how these led to, among other things, our founding the Hudson Valley Plant Exchange.

Barbara: The story starts with me buying a house in an area I know nothing about and realizing it has, among many problems, one big one. A nosy neighbor who can’t keep his eyes from looking inside our big picture window multiple times a day.

Jim: A chance encounter, it was a chance encounter. Serendipitous.

Barbara: Yeah, but I was looking on Craigslist for some kind of thing to block the view into the house from our neighbor.

Jim: Let me tell my version. I was young, I followed my gut, I started gardening. I kept going and by following my passion, I found my passion.

Barbara: sigh, dreamy eyes, flirty smile. It’s me, isn’t it? Let me try and tell it a bit more sequentially so it's easier to follow.

I was looking on Craigslist for some kind of privacy barrier to block the neighbor’s view. I saw an ad for some arbor vitae cuttings that grow quickly into privacy shrubs. The price was right — they were $2 each. I headed over there and drove onto the property, after missing his message asking me to just pick them up for free at the gate. Serendipity? We chatted for an unusually long time. The pandemic had us both working from home and needing to chat. He was so incredibly knowledgeable about plants, health, how things work. I know very little about things work. I was overwhelmed by my new little house, and he was so generous with his knowledge so I asked him if he would come and look at my yard and give me some tips sometime. Fast-forward three months later and we were living together. At the same time, his gardening “hobby” started to take over on my 800-square-foot house.

First, it was the romantic planting of azalea seeds on Valentine’s Day, then an outing to “prune” a local arbor vitae, which he first rooted in my basement, then, a grow tent popped up in our bedroom. It was time to give some of this stuff away.

But more importantly, we had lots of talks about plants. I would ask, “How can people afford to landscape their places?” and he would wonder, “People spend so much money on plants, but where do they all go?” He wished the Hudson Valley community would invest more time in making their places beautiful and I wondered how people could do it affordably. And so, one evening, overtaken by the excitement and self-confidence that only comes when you are madly in love, we decided to start the Hudson Valley Plant Exchange.

It’s been over three years, and we have a Facebook group of over 2,400 members throughout the Hudson Valley and an Instagram with around 1,500 followers. We have had over 15 plant swaps in small businesses and public spaces in Accord, Catskill, Gardiner, Kingston, Saugerties and Woodstock, and we are starting our 2024 season this weekend in Accord.

Our plant swaps are free and inclusive of everyone. We want this to be a space where we are free from thinking about what divides us but instead, we connect on what brings us together, our love of plants, nature and gardening. We invite experts and novices, people with and without plants of all ages and backgrounds. This makes it amazing. People come alone or with friends and family. We prohibit invasive plants because they make it hard to grow the good stuff (native plants and pollinators, as well as vegetable and herb garden plants, flowers, and indoor plants). People bring seeds, seedlings, plants and sometimes planting supplies to trade. Sometimes they don’t bring anything but just come to see what it’s all about. It’s unstructured and collaborative and people always leave with something they love.

The Hudson Valley Plant Exchange has grown to be a lot more than just an expression of our love, but I will admit, it reminds us of why we love each other. There is so much kindness, generosity and beauty at each event, and that is pretty much what we love about each other. Also, plants come from our community’s hard work, and hard work is something else we admire in each other. And finally, they are free. We’re both super frugal and love that we have created something free and accessible to everyone.

A quick plug if you’d like to join us, we are holding two kick-off events before Mother’s Day (plants make great gifts for mom). The first was in Accord on May 5; the second will be at the Kingston Library’s temporary quarters on Crown Street in Uptown Kingston on Saturday, May 11 between 2-4 p.m.

Jim: stares into my eyes. It's funny how things grow. Some things you try your hardest and fail and other times, things just sprout up unexpectedly. This one that sprouted up from a very unlikely probability. It is the appreciation of this rare probability which makes this story worth reading.

Barbara Magnoni and Jim Rich are subscribers, and co-founders of the Hudson Valley Plant Exchange, living in Kingston. Rich is a coach and health teacher at Kingston High School.