Thanks, Deborah. Hope to be there.

Hi Woods, hope you can make it. We're really excited about it this year, since this will be our 1st spring swap!

I have plenty to bring and still sowing and potting more about every day. No one will go away empty handed!

I wasn't at the last swap so how did you handle things? How does the swap work? I probably won't have too much to swap but I would love to meet y'all!

I'm looking forward to the spring swap this year. I have some things already potted and ready to go. Will probably get more before the time comes. If anyone wants to try to do some special swaps, my wants are on my page at the link below. If you don't see anything on my want list that you have, just let me know what you have to trade. Who knows, maybe I need that too! :-)

Thanks,

Vickie

Here is a link that might be useful: Vickie's Exchanges

Hi Cherry, we do this one pretty much the same as the one in Raleigh. All plants, (gardening mags/books,yard art, pots, buckets, houseplants, anything garden related) go on the tables. Everyone steps out of the shelter and we go round 1 and everyone grabs 1 plant/item. Round 2, everyone grabs 2 plants/items. Depending on how many people and how many plants we'll up it 3, 4 and so forth and then after everyone has had the chance to get a few of their very favs in the first rounds, we just let everyone take what they want of the rest. Special trades are done at our cars. You don't want to mix those up with the general trade stuff. There is absolutely no selling/money involved.

Newbies to this are not expected to bring the gobs that the rest of us do. If you have something great, if not no worries cause some of us old timers bring plenty of extras that we've grown from seed, divided, dug babies or propagated. We love for new people to come so we can help them get started and create new swap zombies!

Afterwards last year we had finger foods (kept it simple for the 1st one). This year we'll either do a potluck or hotdogs and fixins which everyone chips in for. This is also when we get to yack with like minded people that love to talk plants and gardening.

Hope you can make it!

Now that the Raleigh swap is over I thought I`d try to stir up some interest in the Greensboro swap. We will be bringing lots of things, some of which are; lemon thyme, rosemary, tangerine southernwood, lemon verbena, pineapple sage, some cistus, red barberry, large ornamental grass, bromeliads, salvia dorisiana, salvia cyanea and some other things I haven`t thought of yet. The Raleigh trade is great but wouldn`t it be nice if we could really get this trade going so we wouldn`t have to drive so far? I know there are lot of us gardeners in this area. Hope to see you all there!

Dawn and Bob

I am planning some kind of door prize, so that should be fun. More details as I think it through or I may just surprise everyone. Potluck afterwards. I've got all the plates, cups, plasticware, napkins and ice covered. Bring your fav dish to share and something to drink.

Hi Dawn and Bob! Ya'll are jewels for helping to get this rolling! Thanks! The salvia dorisiana sounds great and fruit scented to boot! I saw it described as a Tropical fruit punch, grapefruit, and/or tangerine scents! Way cool! I couldn't find salvia cyanea unless it was atrocyanea? If that's it, then what a pretty blue and 6 ft tall, wow! I have a cistus/rock rose (I was inspired by Johns). Planted it last year under the eve of an outbuilding (and on a slope) so it would be dryer in the winter (also a warm spot) and it stayed green all winter. Holding my breath now waiting for blooms. If you're into bromeliads I'll bring you some of mine. It's a species I got from dtp, but I've never been able to get it to bloom. Maybe you can help me figure it out.

Here's some of what I have to bring......
(obr = only by request - don't mind digging but only if someone wants it)
Allium schoenoprasum - obr
Allium tuberosum - garlic chives - obr
Althea officinalis
Arundo - variegated reed grass - obr
Begonia - hardy
Bronze fennel (1)
Celandine poppy (1)
Crassula - jade/houseplant
Crocosmia - obr
Cryptocereus anthonyanus (aka Selenicereus anthonyanus)- (1 or 2 cuttings)
ZigZag orchid/houseplant (1 rooted)
Digitalis - white foxglove
Erysimum helveticum - wallflower
Hedychium 'white'
Hypericum calycinum - St John's wort
Iris cristata - obr
Iris mini - family passalong
Mallow - mixed seedlings
Malva moschata - pink (will have a few whites too)
Oenothera speciosa 'Siskiyou'- Mexican Evening Primrose 'Pink' - obr
Also have the Yellow Primrose - obr
Polygonum multiflorum - Fo-Ti cuttings, easy to root - obr
Sedums - assortment - obr
Verbena bonariensis
More later......

My seedlings that were zapped by cold temps became sluggish for a while but I think they're starting to take off again. The wallflowers are looking great and the white malva moschata is starting to take off again. More is sprouting!

I'm going to set up a forum for special trades. I'll add Rootdiggers and ferndottars lists on, also.

Watch for it!

Vickie

Thanks V,... and BTTT

Never been to a plant swap, but sounds intriguing. Are tropicals accepted? I have tropical ladyslippers to trade.

Hi lazygardener, would love to have you come. All plants are welcome and I would love to do a special swap for one of your tropical ladyslippers if I have something you'd like! If you're into indoor tropicals I have a species bromeliad I can share or a night blooming orchid/cactus (no spines).

If you have any questions (that I haven't covered above) let me know.
D

Hey folks, would really appreciate a show of hands?

I am going to try to come, but can't say for sure yet. I can bring a couple of rooted brugmansias (in water). Other than that, I probably won't have time to get anything together as this is the busiest time of year for me.
Kitty

I'll miss you. We just can't do it all, can we? I plan to go to my first meeting of NC Native Plants Society and SC NPS this weekend. Have a great time!

Kitty, hope you can make it!

Woods, I understand and hope you have a wonderful time at the NPS meet this weekend. Was looking at their website and it sounds wonderful! Are you going on the canoe tour of the Spider lilies on the Catawba river? What an awesome site to see!

Hello! I'm very new at all of this, so I guess you would know that I have never been to a plant swap. If it's OK I'd love to stop by and see what's happening.And meet some people that likes gardening and planting like I do. We just got our garden planted yesterday Also my flowers and Herbs. The herbs are my favorite. Like I said if it's OK I'll stop by Sat. between 11 and 3.
OH by the way I don't have anything to bring to trade. But I can watch.
Thanks
Maryann2007
Byrdnmber2@yahoo.com

Maryann, excited that you're going to join us and don't worry about plants, bring something for the pot luck and your fav drink. Also an empty trunk because you will have some new plants to take home. :)

What kind of herbs do you need and I might have some for you. I always have lemon balm, greek oregano, thyme, etc.

I'd like to get
caraway
garlic
lemon balm
tarragon
stevia
If I can get a least one of these I'll be happy as a lark.
I really like the different sage and salvia, I have a few salvia, May night, and snow hill, and Lady in red.
Hope to meet everyone on Sat.
Maryann

Maryann, I can certainly bring you some lemon balm, but it'll probably pout for a while as it doesn't like being moved. Wrong time of year for garlic (plant it in the late fall) unless you meant garlic chives? My stevia is just now returning but I'll try to root some or dig some for the fall swap if you like.

Hi there!
Rootdigger, thank you for all the trouble you are going to to put this together. You wanted a head count... Bob and I will be there, we plan to bring his sister, maybe his exwife, [she`s nice!] and maybe a young person or two. That would mean someone in their twenties! Since it`s Cinco de Mayo I thought I would bring something like a taco salad or cassarole. I will bring plates and silverware.
Kitty, it would be wonderful to see you, whatever happened to Puddle of Mud? The two of you put so much effort into the Triad Spring Trade last year. We had a great time, thanks to you.
Does anyone need any bird house gourds? We have lots of them dried.
Maryanne, we will have lots of herbs for you. I kind of went crazy when I discovered how easy it is to root rosemary and thyme.
See you all soon!
Dawn and Bob

Maryann,
I just looked at your seed list and wondered if you could bring me some of your allium seeds? They are so popular with the hummingbirds. I didn`t mention that I will be bringing scented geramiums too. I think there are four kinds. Rootdigger, on the salvias it will be a guessing game. I got them from Sandy Mush last year and brought in cuttings, not really sure which is which anymore. The salvia cyanea was how he had one of them labeled.

I have decided on some door prizes......
Came the farthest
Newbiest gardener
Been gardening the longest
..and a couple drawings which everyone can take part in. Nothing fancy but should be fun.

I'm still potting up. Today I did a few houseplants, jade, philo, a weird aloe, and a couple other odds and ends.

I have all the paper, plastic (plates, cups, napkins, plasticware) and ice covered. I'm also bringing chicken and some kind of salad or baked beans.

Remember newbies, if you don't have any plants you can always bring food.

You can also bring seeds, cuttings, garden mags or books, pots, yard art, buckets, or anything else you can think of that's garden related and you want rid of. Time to clean out the shed?

Dawn and Bob, guessing game salvias are fine with me! Will plant and see what happens. Glad you're bringing guest, the more the merrier! Please bring some of your bird house gourds. I know my husband would love those! I have one of the old long handle dipping gourds hanging above my desk that I think Don's dad or maybe granddad grew. It's pretty cool!

Hello Everyone!
I'm really looking forward to Sat.
Ferndottar I will gladly bring you some Allium seeds.
Rootdiggernc, I'd be happy to wait to the fall for the stevia and garlic.
by than I should have a few thiings to bring.
Please look at my seed list and let me know if you want somethng from it, and I'll bring it Sat.
I also have some small pots to bring if someone would like them I don't use them.
I'll to fix something good to bring Sat.
See you all then
Maryann

Does anyone have any extra moonflower/Ipomoea alba (the vine, not datura) seeds? I went to start some soaking and discovered I'm out or have misplaced it or something.

Looks like it's going to be another rainy cool day tomorrow. I know we about froze to death last fall, so I'm looking at some options to get us indoors. Will post something later after I check some things out.

We're all set. Got a couple tarps to block the wind on the end and side of the shelter that is towards the lake (that's where the breeze comes from). Also we're bringing a small heater to set in that protected corner. Between the tarps and heater it should be pretty nice inside the shelter.

This should work great, but if it was to be really nasty Mr Nelson (of Nelson's Nursery) has said we could set up in one of his greenhouses. So we have a backup for our backup. :) The only thing is since he's having a big sale tomorrow, we would need to shuttle everyone to the place,... so we don't use up all his parking. It's only 1/2 a mile up the road from where we'll be. By the way, he has the white Cat's Whiskers!

How was the swap?

Wish I could've made it. Between scheduling the kids' move out of their dorms, and getting my own exams and projects finished (still underway), I just couldn't get there! Maybe an early fall swap, or has one already set one up?
Kitty

Kitty, I can only speak for myself, but I sure had a lot of fun, lol... I think the others did too! We grew from last fall and had way more plants than anyone needed. We will do another in the fall (our 2nd fall swap). I meant to ask the gang, but I think I'd really like to do some crockpots of chili and also grill hot dogs this fall. If it works out I'm also planning on having a guest speaker on natives so that should be cool. Hope you can make it.

Here are the pics from our swap and the Raleigh swap.

Here is a link that might be useful: 2007 Spring Swaps