I thought everyone went to local free plant swaps and would share there finds and experences. Maybe Iam blessed to have them in my area each yr. WEll you dont have to pay shipping and you get lg. things at times. I do love to swap plants bulbs, and seeds here. just wondered if you all had local fun stuff to do.

I go to two or three plant swaps in the spring and two in the fall.

My suburb has an early spring swap with each person (all at the same time) choosing a plant from someone else until the third turn when everyone picks as they wish.

A neighboring suburb has a spring and fall swap where people bring plants, set them behind their cars and then go around to others, much like yours except that we do not have a starting command. It is to start at a certain time and not everyone arrives at that time. People start swapping as soon as their car is unloaded. Late cars are often surrounded as swappers wait to see what is available and to choose. Very free form.

The MN GW forum has a plant swap spring and fall. This one is more controlled with each person telling about their plants brought to the swap before swapping starts. The first round each person may choose one plant. We all choose at the same time. The next round each may choose two plants that are not the same. The third round each may choose three plants which may or may not be the same type. Later rounds one may choose any number and type until all plants are gone. Afterwards we have a potluck and visit.

Each swap has its own charm. Besides getting free plants and sharing our own plants we get to know some of the other swappers. The MN GW swap is held at different homes so we also get to see others gardens.

mnwsgal/ Well another free swap person wonderful to here your swap idea, I love the visit to garden part. The one swap sounds very formal I like the first one like our is just jump in there and go. The Herb Socity I belonged to a couple yrs back had a swap where we drew numbers, I now have 2 kinds of thyme and some monarda adding a few herbs but I dont collect seeds only on here since oct. 09 so wait till next yr to enjoy more. so good to here what others do with there swaps. Thank you for your idea's, Iam looking to start my own swap local park by us is free to rent it,It would be fun but not sure how to get word out to others to bring plants. It has a nice pavillion. Maybe I could put a sign up early at park intrense, bring plants get plants?? free swap on Saturday?? or in local busness on bullitin boards.

Plant swaps are fun. New swaps might start out with a small number of participants and grow each year as word of mouth spreads. It also helps to not have your swap on the same day as other established swaps or big plant sales in the area.

If you put up signs you may want to do that a couple of weeks ahead so people can have time to plan what to bring and to get plants dug and potted. Also check with your local paper. They may be willing to include a notice in the calendar section or even write up a short article.

If you have a community parks system then perhaps they would like to host the swap and would take care of organizing and advertising.

Our community swap asks participants to register ahead of time, I suppose so they know how many to expect, but I don't like that as I don't feel that I can go if my plans change and I haven't registered.

Good luck.

WE have a park we can rent for free but we just have to choose a date, and yes on the sign idea and we have a local hearld who would be useful great idea maybe they would put in a article for reasonable or free, I love to share my plants with other and see new people come to swaps who need help and friendly garden advice. What have you gotten from swaps that has changed your garden and looks great today in your yard. those finds. let me know.

Some plants that I have gotten from swaps:
Named daylilies from a daylily grower, I had only the one maroon variety that was here when we moved in.
Pulmonaria, great shade plant
iris, made a bed for new plants, though have no idea what they will be, will be fun to see them bloom
Brugmansia, I had no idea what this plant was and love it.
Asters, hostas, many other perennials and annuals, some I keep and others that don't work in my garden go to the next swap or to family and friends.

Ha, now this is what Iam talking about, mnwgal yes! how cool, I got some pulminaria from a garden I tended one summer and it is a amazing plant poka dot leaves and pink flowers that turn in to blue color as they fade. I use to think it was just blooming two colors not true, it is cool but mine gets some fungus at end of summer,it is a early bloomer, but if I cut flowers off they have bigger wonderful leaves that kick back into pretty nice leaves all summer. I once got some Iris from a swap,the lady who had them, had picture's of each color,that you could see, before you picked them, now she was detailed, no dirt on roots, I love to see people who try so hard this same lady left after the swap while I was cleaning up a nice maltees cross I couldnt believe it I never say her again at a swap to give her a piece of it back. What a pitty. While one lady at the same swap had a huge flat of ground phlox and she had dirt and all and a hand garden shovel with her and she didn't care if she got a plant from other's, she was so excited to have everyone have a perfect square of her gr. phlox, I had to laugh at her digging into it. she made me smile. Wow! I want to come to your swap's some great finds. HOW about YOU!!!! Your next. What have you got from Free swap's, Got to love free.

This Years Mothers day week end swap, I had to laugh and feel bad for this lady too be we had to help her. This women came to the swap with little cell paks. of creeping charlie all in bloom in each pot of weeds. well I just stood there watching her excitement get bursted by a lady saying those are weeds as she talked of there lovely flowers in purple, well we loaded this gal up with all the extra plants to fill her 4 new beds of nothing but charlie in another bed, she will have lots to talk about now. we helped her out she did have a few tree seedlings. too. WEll I took some sedums,mums,iris,hosta's,and brougt home some other Iris two kinds. other Hosta's. Lot's of free stuff I didnt want but I love what I did get. and helping out by leaving everything else there to put in the Local library garden and not taking them back home. I as a good girl this yr. Did any of you get any goodies at swaps latly.

I went to our MN Garden Web swap last weekend and came home with a maroon flowering astranta, some cucumber seedlings (one Chinese), a brugmansia seedling, Impatiens balfouri, Monarda, red, Prairie Smoke (geum), a bi-colored hollyhock, Siberian Iris, white, Tiarella ÂDark Eyes and a pink canna. I consider a swap a success if I come home with fewer plants than I took. Also went to a friend's plant sale this weekend and bought some mini hostas.

Ah, newbie gardeners...I'm sure we all have funny stories about what we grew when we were beginners. And even now I sometimes let a weed get to the blossom stage as I am not sure if it is something new that I wsowed or an unexpected gift. I dug out many of my trailing rockcress plants last year because they didn't bloom for two years so they must be weeds. This spring a patch I left bloomed beautifully and now I am sorry that I dug the others out. Will sow more! On the other hand, today I saw a plant that I have been watching as it forms a bloom and am sure it is a weed so it will be dug up tomorrow.

Glad she found some helpful and enthusiastic gardeners with plants to share.

I missed the local city swap on Saturday and the big Mother's Day weekend plant sale at the arboretum this year.
Of course, I don't really NEED any more plants but it is fun to go look for something new or different. Also enjoy the time spent visiting with other gardeners and talking about gardening with someone and not having the other person's attention drift away or seeing glazed over eyes.

I've never been able to get to one, although there is one in my immediate area and another one that is semi-famous throughout the mid-atlantic states. They always seem to happen in spring when I am feeling overwhelmed by all the plants I already have. I wouldn't mind going to one in the fall just to see what they are like.

Hey wow it had been a while since I had posted this last Feb and it will be Feb again before you know it,Time for Ws. I have a bag ready to go. But look I laughed all over again reading the post again It makes me want spring and mothers day swaps soon. Rose lady You have got to go to a free plant swap it is great to meet people who have lots to offer from tips to plants to laughs. and inside and outside swaps. trees to weeds. ha. Its so much fun to share. Just like the Gw people seeds and words of love and help.Mnwsgal YOu said it well in your last post so glad to read all the good fun. Some of the goodies you got are so exciting. I love to change things around in the yard. Throw out put in. Its is so much fun.

Here's a link to photos about ours. The main group is from Texas Garden Web... but then last week I started a Meet Up group for gardeners in my county.
In a few days' time we had 5 new people we would have never come across and who had no idea Garden Web existed. All of them came to the swap. Some are Master Gardeners and some just know what a plant and dirt looks like. LOL!

You might think about setting up a 'Meet Up Group' in your area to connect with other gardeners and plan fun stuff to do.

We've got a master gardener tour coming up and one of the new members is going to hold a Happy Hour at his place so we can come over and show him where and how to plant all the cool stuff he got from the swap. :)

Feel free to snoop around the rest of the group discussions if you want.

Here is a link that might be useful: click on the photos tab to see them