Thanks so much for all the tips! I love the idea of pre-swap, but am trying to figure out logistics since this is with people I communicate with a bunch of different ways. Some of my neighbors I don't even have phone numbers or last names, much less email! I suppose I could ask for people to RSVP with their emails, and then I could encourage people to send lists around.

(And I can tell I'll need the entire bit of my backyard lawn area for tables, if this works out!)

Below is a copy & past from the link for the swap. We finally realized that a sack lunch was best that way there was not worry about plates etc. Ours also evolved by word of mouth. A friend told a friend. Since your state does not have a page on gardenweb, you might want to list your swap on any forums you regularly use.
I would not list my address, primary email or phone to the general public. Set up an easy to remember g-mail or something account. That way people can email you and not overwhelm you.
Most of the people in the link found us by surfing the internet about plants. Patty and I have been friends for about 12 years. I asked about hardy amaryllis and she responded.

I remember one year, the "hot ticket item" wasn't even a plant. It was zip bags of old dried chicken manure.

We used to give a prize for who drove the farthest. I think one couple drove 225 miles once.

Have fun!

Kathy

******* Bring your own sack lunch and drink. A dessert to share would be yummy :-)

The main theme for the swap is to enjoy the company of other gardeners, keep things loose, & have fun.

We all bring our extra plants, plus any garden related "stuff" like garden magazines, iron fence pieces, baskets, buckets, pots, manure, fertilizer, etc.

Pre-trades are good, since you know you'll be getting something you want, & you know your stuff is getting a new home.

You can swap anything for anything, no "rules" about seed-for-seed, plant-for-plant, etc; as long as the gardeners agree, there you go.

You can swap a Ferrari for a package of tomato seeds if you want (or a cow for a package of magic beans ;-)!

Just post what you have & what you want, & people can reply with offers. once both gardeners agree they're in business!

Do not remove plants or other items from tables. Plants and things no longer up for trade are placed beneath the tables and are off limits.

It's handy to put your pre-trades for each person in a box with that person's name on it & jot down on the label or box what you are to get from that person.

If you have room in your vehicle, it's good to bring a card table, cart or little red wagon.

Loose comfy clothing, comfy shoes, a hat, maybe a sweater, water, hand lotion or sun block, newspapers for packing, Sharpies, notebook, camera, labels, etc are all good things to have on hand "just in case".

Even if you don't have much extra plants or garden material for trading yet, cookies & brownies go over very well. We don't worry about even-steven trades.

Many of us have been doing this for several years, & we *always* have tons of plants that we'll trade for a token or even "free to good home".

(Even if you've only decided to start a garden on Friday night, by Saturday afternoon, you can start working on your garden!)

We also bring fun stuff for door prize drawings. You can bring anything garden related like used or new books, pots, decorative items, tools, gloves, etc. for the drawing. We like to have lots of things so everybody gets something. *****

Here is a link that might be useful: San Antonio sawp

Plant swaps are a great idea. Plantmaven/Kathy started ours here and I am so glad she did because it has been a great way to learn about plants that do well here and get my garden going. We meet at a park here in town because it has a shelter in case of rain and accessible restrooms. The rules are pretty relaxed to make it easier on everyone. Each person sets up their own table and decides the criteria to accept a swap or not. Other swaps have more detailed rules and criteria, but ours works great with just a few common sense rules.

Here's a running thread we had for our spring swap in the Texas forum Exchange pages. As you read through you will find a post with the rules in it so you can see how it works for us.

Here's the Photo Gallery showing how it all went down.

We time our swaps for the best planting times to get plants established before they freeze back and in spring we try to beat the heat.

LOL Kathy! We cross posted the same thing!

Thanks, guys! I think I really want to just make this for people I already know, since I don't hang out on any local GW forums. That way I'm fine having it in my back yard, and not making it a huge thing.

I'm thinking I'm not going to try and do the pre-swaps, mainly because I think it would get too complicated with the group of people I'm inviting. These aren't people who normally do plant swaps (afaik) so just getting them to plan ahead enough to dig stuff up may be enough work! If it catches on, maybe I can expand it in the future, but this is more just to try and organize everyone who keeps talking about wanting to trade stuff! (Plus, a bunch of my friends who keep seeing photos of the garden on facebook but haven't been to the house.)

That sounds like a good plan for your first one. One of our members does swaps at her house too. I went this spring and enjoyed the added bonus of getting a tour of her garden.

I forgot that we also often have neighborhood swaps. This is one where we have tickets and you can buy plants too. For every plant you bring you get one or two tickets (size depends) and then you can use your tickets to "purchase" plants but the tickets have a $1 value too. So people can come and purchase plants an hour or so after the real swapping happens. We used the money for various projects like putting a garden around the church sign where the swaps were held.

Hi Irene!

Here in Denver there are two great plant swaps per year, through the Rocky Mt garden web. I've included a link with FAQ about how it works...It's a fairly big production here, probably way more than what you're planning, but it may show you some ideas.

Have a great time!
Betty

Here is a link that might be useful: Denver's Great Plant Swap

Betty -

Thanks for the link! I may grab the part about how to prep your plants. I hadn't thought about needing to divide the plants a couple weeks ahead of time, since usually I just divide stuff and then plant it immediately. (And probably my biggest contribution to the sale will be irises, which don't really need to be individually potted, thank goodness.) I'm not sure if I've ever potted up a plant I've divided, come to think of it - I've only even given divisions to neighbors who live really, really close. And one time I dug up a bleeding heart at my MIL's house and brought it home in a plastic garbage bag.