What a dismal day today.Rain pelting down.Leaks in the breezeway and sun room. Luckily it didn't rain yesterday. I planted almost all of my lovely plants that I got in the plant swap except for the holly bushes. I'm waiting for my son to dig me some holes for them.You were all so generous in the plants you offered.Just to name a few, Kathie, there were so many toad lilies in the bundle you gave me that I planted them in 4 different places.And Peter, I planted 7 of your raspberries. Well the weather wasn't perfect on Sunday but in a way I think it was one of the best swaps we have had. Everything was low key and I think we all enjoyed each others' company as much or maybe more than getting new plants. Should I mention the food which was fabulous?I was told once that people who gardened usually were very good cooks as well.This certainly proved true on Sunday.I've been feasting on the left-overs and my sister particularly likes the monkey bread.Thanks again for coming and I look forward to seeing you all in Spring Annie

Hi everyone What a great day for a swap. We really lucked out with the nice weather. Thanks for all the trades. I'll be trying some new things. Thanks Laurel for the fern leaf bleeding heart and the food. You may want to put the hosta and forsythia in some water until you get them planted just to keep them from wilting- they should be okay in water for a day. For those of you who are trying to remember what those things were in the styrofoam or paper cups- they were lobelia cardinalis-red, spikey, humming bird like them, they prefer a moister rather than drier area. Thanks for the plants everyone. Hope you enjoy the trades. Did some geocaching on the way home.

Sorry, I was following the other thread and missed seeing the posts here. karen_w - I will bring several different rose cuttings ( I have Pope John Paul, Mardi Gras, Felicia, Hansa, Peach Drift, Easy to Please, Easy Does It, etc, etc) I would love the Pink Pet and Millenium Allium. lorabell_gw -Is the Alpinia hardy here or does it need to be brought indoors? If it can stay outside, please bring some for me. Jaimie - I will bring an Arundo Peppermint Stick and Mardi Gras for you. Bring me anything you like. Fragrant, shade loving are always welcome. But anything is fine.

Thanks everyone for coming. I was surprised at the turnout. There will be a fall swap sometime around the end of September so pencil it in. For those of you that came over for a home garden tour at my house - to put things in perspective, When I moved into the place in February of 2010 it was a blank slate except for the giant Poncirus trifoliata (which I failed to point out on the tour), a large camellia and two ancient muscadine vines, so everything you saw was planted after that. The cactus garden was planted in 2012. The greenhouse was built in 2013. The fruit trees and vines were planted starting in 2011 and new ones get added every year. The tropical fruit trees stayed small while in pots but once I planted them in those wire 'cage pots' they spring into life and take off. Also, for the ones grown from seed, I kept only the most vigorous growers and those trees grew way faster than normal. I will add that I get more fruit from the trees in the greenhouse than I ever do from the trees outside in the ground. Thanks for coming by.