Paula,

Count me in. That date is fine with me. We usually have this event about the last weekend in April anyway, and there always will be schedule conflicts because several herb or plant festivals are scheduled for those last couple of Saturdays in April.

The location is fine for me. We always just get up early and drive since it only takes us a couple of hours to make the drive from southern OK.

In most recent years, we've had a potluck lunch in conjunction with the Spring Fling, and it has worked out amazingly well. Everyone who lives fairly close to the swap site brings food, and those who live much farther away usually sign up to bring items that travel well..like canned or bottled drinks, paper plates, cups, napkins, plasticwear, etc. Also, some folks bring goodies to give away as door prizes. I think that last year there were so many door prizes that almost everyone in attendance received a door prize, and that was pretty cool.

I'm going to say this a million more times before, during and after the swap....thank you, thank you, thank you for volunteering to host the Spring Fling. I think your location in the middle of the state is just perfect and about as convenient as can be for folks coming from all over.

I am so excited just thinking about the Spring Fling and can't wait to see everyone there.

Dawn

The only conflict of note that I see is that the Arts Festival in OKC is April 20-25...so that means that's the only Saturday of the Festival...that may be a good thing for some, or a not-so-good thing for others.

I would prefer to have it on another Saturday, but...what do the rest of you think?

Sharon

The 24th sounds good to me and I think it is best to go ahead and set the date now so people can plan. Paula, I also appreciate your hospitality and I think it will be better than having it at the park. It should be pretty easy for me to find since I drove that road back and forth to work for several years. LOL

I think we'll be ok with that, good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise...

I am excited to come learn from the wonderful people on this board, and to put faces to the names I read on here! Paula, Is there a time for this get-together or is it an all day event?

Count me in. That date works for me. I like to attend the Art's Festival too but can do that Sunday.

Roger

We would love to come to this one! But but but -- "we" involves eight people and six of those are kids. If you aren't set up for that many extra people and/or would rather not deal with kids (such as it being solely an indoor function), we'd COMPLETELY understand so please don't be afraid of saying so. I promise you won't hurt our feelings in the least. :-)

That said, if you can handle it, I'd appreciate knowing if there's a park somewhat nearby so I can look up directions to/from it. One of our travel strategies for "perfectly behaved" children is to always, always, always stop off at a park before arriving after a road trip to let the kids get their wiggles and hollers out.

Diane

I would like to be included in the swap. . .I tried emailing pmac and gardenweb says it's an error and cannot locate that user. . .

Melissia

Sounds like a great lot of fun! I went to the one year before last, but I believe you weren't able to attend that one, Dawn, and I look forward to meeting everyone I "chat" with here on the forum.

Is that a bit too early with our anticipation of a longer, colder spring, Dawn? I also hope I have some nice plants by then, too. Just wondered. I hope to have some butterfly plants for folks to try if they want. Will also bring the butterfly book I use to ID, Butterflies of Kansas, Oklahoma, and North Texas so I can show what plants attract what butterflies.

Woo-hoo! Can barely contain myself.

How utterly nice of you Paula, to host the event. The last one I went to was at a rented pavillion out by Hefner Lake. I didn't realize that folks from the forum were now hosting the swap. You are a better person than I. My garden and yard is such a mess, I wouldn't dare show it off to anyone! Yikes!

susan

I am rather tied up till June, on all Saturdays, but will try to make it coming in late.

Thanks for the invite!

Moni

I can make it too. I'm so excited this will be my first swap. I look forward to seeing all of you.

Thank you, Paula for being so gracious.

Teresa

Hi all,

I want to come! Last year was a blast!

Laura

I'm a complete stranger--just barely read the page, but I promise I'm very non-creepy (stay-at-home mother with a 1 yr old angel, moved here from Idaho for my husband's grad program). I don't have any plants to offer, but I wouldn't take any from anyone either or steal door prizes :) I could bring good food though. I would really just like to learn from gardeners in the area, and see what types of pretty things grow successfully here. I'm in the process of learning to "beautify" my home and I need lots of help. If you're not comfortable inviting a stranger I'll understand.

idagrizz - You aren't a stranger for long on this forum, but we are a little nosy so tell us where you came from in Idaho. What kind of grad program is hubby in? We bring plants because we want to bring them, but it isn't a requirement. We talk to each other all winter and get together once a year to see if we are as crazy as we seem on line. LOL Will you be here long enough for a garden, or do you have room for a few containers? It doesn't take much room. Let us know what you are interested in, and welcome to the forum. Carol

Hello,
I'd like to attend the swap. I'm not posting a lot lately, but I think okiedawn, soonergrandmom and lisah will vouch for me. Thanks for hosting!

Seedmama

Seedmama,

Woo-hoo! Great to see you here. I've been missing you. I hope y'all are well.

Paula, I'll gladly vouch for Ms. Seed Mama. She's our "Winter-Sowing Queen" and a great gardener and wonderful person to boot!

The Spring Fling 'Guest List' just keeps getting better and better....and I think we now must dub Paula the Queen of the Spring Fling.

Dawn

Idagrizz...you are exactly where I was last year :) I had no plants or seeds to offer, but we did bring food and a fun door prize (a windchime)...even if you bring only food (or even NO food) and you come willing to meet and learn and enjoy the overflow of others' planting, you'll have a great time! There are many different sorts of gardeners (rural, urban, suburban)and you can learn from all of them :)

Paula, Another vote for seedmama here. She is a nice lady.

Ok, guys...Seedmama is IN! But idagrizz....would like to hear more from you!

Paula

I would love to come, even though it is over 2 hours away from me. It sounds like a lot of fun!

Is it open to the board, or invitation-only?

I am just now getting back into GW, so not a lot of people here know me. I've been trying to post more here, since it has gotten to be such a big group. I was here before there was an Okie board, and even after it got started, there were only a few of us.

Can someone post suggestions of what kinds of plants to bring? Also, I am guessing that we will have a food sign up or a theme for it?

Also, I regularly go to the Tomato Man's place, so I could take some orders (within reason) if some people wanted some tomatoes/peppers, etc. Just a suggestion!

Thanks!

Shelly

Hi Shelly,

It is open to anyone who regularly posts here, so I'm sure you'll be hearing from Paula.

Any and every kind of plant is welcome.....small tree seedlings, herbs, flowers, bulbs or tubers or rhizomes, seeds (they can be seed you saved--absolutely do not have to be commercially purchased), veggie transplants (always oodles of tomatoes), tropicals, cactus....you name it....if you bring it, someone will want to take it home with them!

Anyone who wants to can bring anything for a door prize, and last year there were so many door prizes that I think just about everyone in attendance got one. It was amazing! Door prizes can be anything remotely related to gardening in Oklahoma, or for that matter, living in Oklahoma and door prizes can be used.

Some people brought gardening magazines or books and put them on a table so others could take them home....a nice form of recycling.

Mitch brought some big tree-sized plastic nursery pots, and we all snapped them up.

For food, I don't know how Paula will handle it, but usually everyone just says "I'll bring ......." and it all works out perfectly.

Honestly, it is just about the most fun any of us will have all year just because we get to be together and have faces and voices to put with screen-names. We get to hug, shake hands, meet, greet, talk, laugh, etc. The fellowship is, to me, the most important part of it all and then the food, plants, seeds, door prizes and recycled goodies on the "take me home" table are all just a superb bonus.

Dawn

This sounds like sooo much fun! It is the Saturday before my birthday, so it will be my present to myself! Hopefully I won't have to bring the kiddos with me, but it is a possibility.

I will start setting aside extras and going through my garden books and magazines for "recycling".

I can't wait!

Also, if there is someone that is in the Tulsa area that would like to carpool, and I don't have all the kids, I have a minivan that we can load down with plants! Let me know and we can work out the details.

Shelly

I haven't made a swap in a while....but it sounds like fun. I would love to see Dawn again and meet some new people too!

Hi Windsurfgirl,

We did miss you last year!

I hope y'all came through the storm all right.

Dawn

I'd like to come. Not sure yet what I will have to trade, but I can always bring more red cannas, orange daylilies, pink naked ladies, and, if anyone is interested, probably some pink and/or red hardy hibiscus. My problem will be getting a ride down there since I don't own a car, but maybe I can talk my sister into going.

Debra

Devilwoman-

All that sounds great to me! I would also be interested in the red hardy hibiscus, and I bet other people would too!

We bought a house a year ago with "professional landscaping" which means they planted Crepe Myrtles all around the pool! UGH! I've been digging them up and moving them around the property. So, I've got pretty much a blank slate to fill in.

I'm also moving forsythias, so if anyone is interested in rooted shrubs, let me know!

Shelly

Well, Im a newbie right now. But I sure am enjoying reading everyones posts and gleaning as much info as I can off of GW. I would love to come and participate as well, so maybe as we get closer to this date, I wont be a newbie anymore, lol. :)

Shelly,

I call that hardy hibiscus red, but other people might say it's a deep pink. Here are some pictures of what I have.

I have lots and lots of all these plants; they all came with the house when I bought it two years ago. The previous owner was an elderly lady who was no longer capable of much gardening so they are all in need of thinning.

The pink hibiscus is one I moved from the back yard to the front last spring, the Sunday after the plant swap in fact. When I dug it up I was about convinced I'd killed it because I heard the sound of roots breaking apart while I was digging. I went ahead and carted all the pieces out front, threw them in the hole I'd dug, tossed dirt over them and stomped them down good. Amazingly, they started coming up the very next weekend so they must truly be hardy plants!

I have not tried moving any of the naked ladies yet as I have to dig another bed first, but I have read that they have a tendency to "sulk" after being moved and not bloom for a year or two.

If what I call a "red" hibiscus is what you want I can sure bring you a good piece of it.

Debra

Sorry, my internet(dail-up) was down because of the storm. Can't complain for less thatn $10 a month... Requests to hear more from me attended to... though I'm not sure what kind of info you're looking for. Open to questions.

Hubs is attending OUHSC grad school in Epidemiology (got his bachelor's in Math). Been married for going on five years. My favorite color is blue, I used to like animals until I had a child. I got a BS in History with a minor in AmeriGov. My favorite books right now are the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, though I think my all time favorite might be Les Miserables. I'm extremely analytical and inquisitive--my recent conquests for knowledge have included sewing, quilting, using a digital camera correctly, veterinary work for an accident prone cat, instructing classical guitar (you get a different perspective as a teacher, naturally) and (of course) gardening. Gardening is less of fleeting interest than the rest though, because I see it as more of a responsibility to learn than anything else--you know, being able to feed yourself and beautify your land. Not sure how much to give away... I think my blood type is O...?

We recently bought a house in the SW area of OKC and had one good plant this last year--zucchini, which for all I know is the easiest thing to grow on earth so it had nothing to do with me :) I recently bought some seeds to start a chocolate vine on my back fence, and as soon as I figure out what I want I'll get started on landscaping. I like lambs' ear, but only because it feels nice. It's really not very pretty. I like roses, but I don't want thorns around curious children, and I'm poor :) I think it's pretty safe to say that I have no natural ability in the area of growing plants, so I need more time with those that do, or have at least acquired that ability.

Hope that's enough, and again, ask all the questions you want, but don't get mad if I don't respond immediately, I have limited internet access as my husband uses the computer for school/research, and our service stinks.

Thanks for your time.

First time back on the forum since posting above. So glad I'm "in"! Not able to post much this year, but all of you are very much in my thoughts. I'm looking forward to seeing you.

Ida...wow! Sounds like you and your family are really busy!

I like the lamb's ear, too. ;) It does feel good and makes a great edging plant!

There are some thornless rose varieties out there, I have Zephirine Drouhin on my arbor. It has big beautiful nice medium-pink blossoms that are very fragrant! I plan on adding some more thornless roses soon.

Shelly

Here is a link that might be useful: Thornless Rose Options