Well I hate to brag..... :P We had temps up to 59 today and it felt like Spring! This is after snow just last week..lol Got lots of yardwork done, more WS'ing done. Washed the cars, decided to work on digging out the new garden beds.. then decided I was too lazy to do so. :) Next week.. I hope.

Where is everyone!? Come on out lurkers!

~Wendy / sassyb.

We actually saw that bright globe in the sky today! I went outside and hacked some of the ice out of the driveway. Now it's mostly blacktop!

I started a bunch of seeds last weekend and a few more this weekend. I want to start my tomatoes and maybe broccoli & cauliflower next weekend but I think I will be working.

All work and no gardening makes Becky a cranky girl!

LOL, Becky! I hear you! Even though I'm a stay-at-home mom, I'm not really home all that much, and when I am, I'm usually cooking or cleaning. That's alright, when spring really gets here, the housework will have to wait, because I will be outside playing in the dirt : )

I checked our weather history for the month of Feb., and we have only had three days of sun, and two that reached 40º, with lows in the teens and 20's. Yes, I am a little envious of you, Wendy!!!

I'll check back in later today, to see if anyone new has signed up.

Bonnie

Well, y'all are in colder places than I am, but I feel like winter here in MS has been unusually cold....we got several inches of snow here a few weeks ago! (I LOVED it!!)

Bonnie, have you grown the Alpine Strawberry before? I have seeds for it and am getting ready to start them....I'm actually edging on the end of my "6-8 week before plant out" starting date before my plant out.....anything you can tell me about these or about how to care for them?

Melissa, last year was my second attempt to grow strawberries from seed. The first year I didn't get any germination. Then, last year I tried a variety called Temptation, which is an everbearing type, and ended up with 4 plants that flowered towards late summer, but didn't have enough time to produce fruit before the first frost. They are still under several inches of snow, so I don't know if they survived or not.

I've also tried growing strawberries from purchased plants, and grown them in containers, but they never seem to survive the winter here.

Anyway, this is my first time to try the alpine strawberries, and my understanding is they need cold stratification, so where you live, you might need to refrigerate for a couple weeks first, or sow outdoors in the fall next time.

I'm attaching a link that has more growing information.

Hope it helps some,
Bonnie

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing alpine strawberries

The link was great, thanks! I'm hoping to be successful with them, but this is the first year I am going for strawberries from seed, so we will see :-)

I'd like to join!

Welcome, blodeuwedd!

I bought a couple things for this swap today. Not sure if the container will work or not though, I'll have to see if I have a box the right size and shape.

List of participants:

Booberry85/Becky
Sassybutterfly 2008/Wendy
Opie12/Melissa
Blodeuwedd/ ?
Highalttransplant/Bonnie

There are still almost two weeks left to sign up. Where are all the lurkers this time around? I know your out there ... poke, poke, LOL!

Bonnie

Oh, my name is Summer btw! :)

Good morning! It's been snowing again this morning. It has warmed up enough now to melt off the streets, but there were two cars off in the ditch on the way to take my daughter to preschool this morning. Very scary!

List of participants:

Booberry85/Becky
Sassybutterfly 2008/Wendy
Opie12/Melissa
Blodeuwedd/Summer * Glad to know your name. I couldn't even pronounce your GW name : )
Highalttransplant/Bonnie

Since we are kind of going with an Easter basket theme this time, maybe you guys would like to share what your favorite candy is? I'll start : ) I love toffee or chocolate covered caramels ... and I hate licorice. How about you guys?

Bonnie

I love candy! Milkchocolate, malted milk eggs, Cadbury Mini Eggs, Jelly Belly's, yum! Hope I wasn't suppose to pick just one! LOL!

We're getting hit with snow too Bonnie. Dh & I had a scary long ride back from work today.

So what do you do when your husband decides to be a cowboy and gets your car stuck in the driveway and it's still stuck even after you've shovelled the entire driveway???

You order seeds for a swap!
:)

I'm happy to report after 3 days, my car is freed from it's icy/muddy abyss!

Glad to hear that you car has been freed, Becky! Our forecast is calling for highs in the 40's for the next week, and no precipitation until the end of the week, so I'm hoping we'll finally have some significant snow melt. Our driveway is short, but slopes towards the garage, so it's an ice skating rink at the bottom during the winter months. I have to stomp on the gas coming out of the garage to make it out of the driveway, and have gotten stuck more times than I can count! Plus, in our subdivision, the garages exit onto alleys, which the town rarely ever plows. So the hardest part of winter travel is just getting out of the neighborhood.

Sign-ups end this Friday, so it's time to come out of lurkerville : )

Bonnie

Hum...what candies I like....almost anything, but I can't eat "chewy" candies like skittles, licorice and gummies......the chewiness gives me headaches....can't chew gum either.
I do like peeps (haha, weird huh?) and the cadburry mini eggs....

Hope y'all get out of the snow soon! I can't even imagine having enough snow to be stuck in my house......

Hi, may I join please?
Thanx,Carmen

Welcome, Carmen! Glad to have you in the swap!

Melissa, gum and chewy candy makes my jaw pop (TMJ disorder), but I love stuff like taffy and caramels, so sometimes I just deal with the discomfort. Silly, huh? I've quit buying peeps for my kids easter baskets, because they usually take one bite and leave the rest until they are hard as bricks, LOL.

Here's the list of participants:

Booberry85/Becky
Sassybutterfly 2008/Wendy
Opie12/Melissa
Blodeuwedd/Summer
Gardencraze/Carmen
Highalttransplant/Bonnie

Today was gorgeous, sunny and mid-40's. The snow is melting, and I even saw a few daffodil leaves poking through the dirt! Spring is on its way!!!

Bonnie

Speaking of daffodils.....here is a pic of one in my yard that I took last week.....even more are blooming now! Thought you might enjoy the pic while you wait on yours to bloom :-)

Ahhh..... I love dafs, it's to bad they don' make it in my hot zone

Thanx for sharing

Hugs Carmen

Love the Daffodil pic! It'll be another 1 1/2 months before I see daffodils around here. A 4' snow bank is covering up the spot where my daffies come up.
:(

We've had a lot of snow melt the past 2 or 3 days, and my frontyard faces pretty much due south, so most of the snow that's left is in the back of the house. The perennial beds are almost uncovered now, so hopefully things will start waking up.

Three more days to sign up ... she says, dangling a chocolate Easter bunny : )

Bonnie

My daffodils are JUST about to peek out. I can hardly wait! The crocus have opened up just a tad, they are the first sign here that Spring is finally on the way!

Carmen how are you!?! How's the shop going?? I was thinking about your shop not too long ago. :)

Goodness Becky I can hardly imagine so much snow that your car gets stuck... but then again just 2-3" of snow for us is a SEVERE winter storm..lol :P

I look forward to our partner posting this weekend!

Hugs ya'll,
Wendy / sassyb.

Had a little snow last night, like maybe 1/2", just enough to annoy.

Anywho, today is the last day to sign up. I'll be checking in later today, and will post partners tomorrow.

I have a friend coming over today to learn how to wintersow. We'll be doing tomatoes, which means no more changing that list, LOL.

Bonnie

Hi ya'll, looks like you all are doing good. :o)

Hi Wendy, good to see ya,I'm so ashamed of myself I still did'nt send you your promised gift, but I promise it will be worth the wait.

My box is ready except for that personal touch.
Oh I really hope to get Wendy so I can kill 2 birds with one slingshot. :o)

My friends have a great night
Carmen

Good Morning, everyone! Here are your partners for this swap. Please be sure to email your partner as soon as possible, to get their mailing address, and find out what kinds of seeds and treats would really make them feel special. Have fun, and be sure to post here when you have shipped, and when you have received.

Booberry85/Becky - Blodeuwedd/Summer
Sassybutterfly 2008/Wendy - Gardencraze/Carmen
Opie12/Melissa - Highalttransplant/Bonnie

Thanks for joining the Spring Fling Swap!

Woohoo! Thanks Bonnie! I was just peekin' in to see if we had a partner list up yet. :D

Carmen! Yay!! lol Send me an email hon and send me your address again if you don't mind. I'm heading out for a few hours and later tonight we're going to a drama production our local high school is putting on. But LATER tonight I'll get back to ya!

Hugs ,
Wendy/ Sassyb.

YAAAA!!! Wendy I sent you an email w/my addy

This is so awesome, now I can send that special gift i've been holding on to.

Thank you Bonnie!! and thank so much for hosting and awesome swap.
Hugs Carmen

Your welcome, Carmen!

Melissa, you have mail : )

Summer & I have been in touch. She loves peppers, beans & tomatoes and is trying cukes, eggplants & squashes. What could be more perfect!!

Our snow is S-L-O-W-L-Y melting.

Booberry, your snow is melting and our weather seems to be gettin back to FL weather. We have been freezing our bunz off over here. Most of my plants froze to nothing and we had another freeze warning last night. This is crazy crazy weather we've bin havin.Coldest winter in Fl history since 1977

Spring is almost here yayyyyy!
Hugs Carmen

Goodness today was a GORGEOUS day out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we had a temp of 70 today!! And now it's gonna rain for the next 5 days.. but TODAY was gorgeous! lol

Hey Carmen! I just got into my email tonight and I'll email ya back this evening! I've nearly got your box ready to go too!

Hugs everyone!
Wendy / sassyb.

We've had sunshine the past couple of days. Hurray! Tomorrow we might even see 50 degrees here. Still lots of snow to melt though.

Summer, I forgot to mention in our emails. I placed a seed order about a week ago, but I'm still waiting for the seeds to come in. I'm keep my fingers crossed that they'll be in before friday!

Hi everybody, looks like boxes will soon be flying,
My box is flyin the coup today.

Wendy I just mailed your box I'm sorry I said Mon. but it did not work that way. Here is DC# 03092880000017040730 ENJOY!!

Hugs Carmen

I picked up some items for Melissa's box today, just waiting to hear back from her about a few items on her wishlist, and then I'll get her package on its way.

Weather is improving here. There's still snow on the mountains surrounding us, but the snow piles in the parking lots are almost gone, and most of the snow that's left is in shady areas.

You guys be sure to post what's in your box. Nosy Nellies, like me and Becky, love to hear all the details : ) It gives us ideas for future swaps!

Have a great day!
Bonnie

Nosy Nellie and proud of it! :)

I got home from work today to find one of my dogs (they're little)had been up on my seed starting table and knocked over half a tray of seedlings. GRRR! I just finished replanting things.

...check is in the mail....Ohh....
I mean, your package is in the mail Summer!

Woohoo! Yours will be in the mail tomorrow evening or Friday morning. I'm just waiting for one more thing!

Melissa, your box went out this morning. I'll email you the DC#.

Just a reminder, tomorrow is the deadline for shipping your package. If you are waiting on a seed order or something, please email your partner and let them know there will be a delay.

Thanks,
Bonnie

WOW!

What an amazing box I received from Carmen today! I wish I'd added lots more to yours now! lol oh the joys of having a trading partner that is in a warmer zone than me! :D I received LIVE PLANTS!!! wooohoo!! :D

First of all Carmen, here is your DC# for your box: DC# 0309 2880 0001 6007 6556, it went out priority so hopefully it should arrive by Monday. p.s. you'll get a giggle when you see what your seeds are in. It'll look sorta familiar! lol

I received an AMAZING box which was a lovely surprise as today is gloomy and stormy and full of wet muck filled yuckiness in my yard.. this truly brightened my day!

I received:

Gourmet Rose tea - I have always wondered what this tastes like..now I can find out!
A beautiful blue'ish-purple butterfly windchime. My whole front porch is covered in windchimes my mom used to collect and the color is PERFECT!
A handmade rose card that Carmen made herself! (You should sell these!)
A very adorable butterfly clip that looks handmade too (??) This would look wonderful attached to a trellis with vines growing all on it..
A picture frame magnet :)
Water crystals for plant pots (very cool, never seen these before!)
Dubble Bubble Eggs Bubble Gum (a WHOLE bag..lol my daughter has already snatched these from my grasp..)
A very pretty mint green 'pearl' bracelet and red 'jeweled' fashion pin (again, snatched lol)
Seeds include:
Early Scarlet Globe Radish
White Lisbon Bunching Onion
Beefsteak Tomato
Cali Wonder Bellpepper
Waltham Butternut Squash
Snowball X Cauliflower
Sparkler White Tip Radish
Cherokee Wax Yellow Bush Bean
Danvers Half Long Carrot
**all of these were packed into the cutest little miniature garden tote :)

no I'm not done yet ladies..

She sent a gorgeous plate flower, if any of you frequent the Garden Junk forum you've seen Carmen's lovely work and her ingenious idea of flattening a spoon to serve as the handle to showcase it in the garden. If you haven't seen them yet, please do go check it out!!

Lastly, an assortment of wonderful plants. I was sooo not expecting to see anything live in this box! :D
I received:
Purple Emperor Sedum
Iris (and yes they grow wonderfully for me here in my zone!)
Christmas Cactus cuttings
Sedum Angelina
some purplish Heuchera *YAYYY!*
and another that I think is White violets? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Gosh, THANKYOU Carmen!! You really outdid yourself, I am in awe of my goodie box!!

and ThankYOU Bonnie for hosting such a fun swap!

I'm going to go play in the dirt now!

Thanks!!!!!!
Wendy / sassyb..

I opened my mailbox today and what did I see...but a box for 'lil ole me!

Inside were some lovely surprises!

A bag of wonderful chocolate eggs :D
A pretty magnet that says "grow" and daffodil flowers on it
A really neat Magic Towel with Snoopy on it
And.....seeds!
Burpee Early Yield Peas
Giulio Radicchio
Joseph's Coat Amaranth
Amana Orange Tomatoes
Sweetie Tomatoes
Arugula
Muncher Cucumbers
Mizuna
Lemon Basil
Flying Saucer Squashes

Hope you enjoy your treats Summer!

Oh I will! I especially love the Flying Saucer Squashes! I can't wait to see how those turn out. :D

I hope you enjoy your package. I sent it out yesterday.

Hi everybody I hope you are enjoying your boxez. :o)

Wendy, I'm so happy you like what I sent,I was really afraid for that plate flower.
The violets are very lite lavender for my zone, they may be a little bit different for you. I was pretty sure I put a name to that huchera.
I'll have to see if I still have the tag. ENJOY!!!

Hugs Carmen

I received my treats today from Summer! In my package was:
Peppermint patties (which I've made a dent in already!)
Reeses Pieces in a carrot cone
Gardening Gloves (always needed)
A cute little green pail with butterflies on it

For seeds I received
Rudbeckia Goldstrum (Rudbeckia are my favorite flowers!)
Morning Glories Star of Yelta
Columbine Harlequin Mix
Lupine Russell Hybrid Mix
Rainbow Heirloom Tomato mix
Watermelon Radishes
Purple Ruffles Basil
All alarm Hot Mix Peppers
Kaleidoscope Mix Sweet Peppers

Thanks so much Summer!

My box from Melissa arrived today! Inside was a very nice basket full of great stuff!

Lots of chocolate goodies, which the kids immediately tried to talk me out of ... don't think so, LOL!
Lilac and lavender scented candle
Sharpie marker (thank you, thank you, my old one was just about dried up, and I use them for labeling my wintersown containers)
Cute little notepad that says "If you pray for rain, be prepared to deal with some mud." (Love it!)
Green metal turtle windchimes (very cute)
Pair of heavy duty leather palm gloves (Boy did I need some of these! My husband's work gloves are way too big, and regular canvas or cloth garden gloves just aren't tough enough for some jobs.)

In addition to all of these goodies, there were tons of seeds in the basket too:
Greencrop bush beans
Henderson bush lima beans
Early Sunglow corn
Parade cucumber (can't believe you found one I didn't already have)
Poona Kheera cucumber (grew it for the first time last year. They were very large, and crisp, almost melon-like, and a very good producer.)
Sakata's Sweet melon (Can't wait to try this one!)
Orangeglo watermelon (on my wishlist)
Louisiana Green Velvet okra (our nights might be too cool, but I'm going to try it anyway - I miss fried okra!)
Burgess Buttercup squash
Cocozelle squash (I almost sent this one to you too, LOL)
Mini Bell Yellow pepper (Would you believe I grew a Mini-Belle Mix last year, and only got red and chocolate, no yellow, so thank you!)
Czech's Excellent tomato (new to me, yippee!)
Nature's Riddle tomato (also new to me!)
Emerald Evergreen tomato (yep, didn't have that one either)

Wow!!! I am so pleased and thankful for the wonderful box of goodies you sent. Thank you very much, Melissa!

Bonnie (who plans on keeping those chocolates for herself!)

Carmen ~ I hope you received your box ok? It says it was delivered yesterday, plmk. Thanks!!

What a wonderful bunch of boxes we're all getting! Great job everyone!

Hugs,
Wendy / sassyb.

Hi all,
Wendy I'm so sorry I didn't post when I got my box, Hardly any time to breath these days,

Anywhoooo, I received my box from Wendy ,and OH what a terrific box it was
It was a nice size Garden Tote with all the garden tools !!I mean everything for your garden,6 easter eggs,a pink
(my fav. color)note pad and 6 wonderful packs of seeds. Lookin forward to growin these.
Thank you sooo much Wendy!!!! I love my garden tote

Hugs, Carmen

I got my basket from Bonnie today :-)

It is GREAT!! My "basket" was a hanging basket :-) with some delicious looking candy...gonna have to hide it before the kids get back from granny's house! She also included a pair of garden gloves! I really needed those too, I was looking at some just today while I was out.

The seeds she sent me where:
Christmas Lima
Rattlesnake Bean
Miniature White Cucumber
White Wonder Cucumber
Tigger Melon
Yellow Brandywine Tomato
Egg Tomato
Tall Telephone Pea
Kaleidoscope Mix Carrot
Vivian Lettuce
Purple Beauty Pepper
Alma Paprika Pepper

I didn't have any of these seeds, and can't wait to try them! I'm gonna get my peppers and tomatoes started tonight!

Thanks so much Bonnie for such a wonderful basket! This has been a really fun swap.

Glad to know your box arrived, Melissa, and I hope you enjoy it!

Well, ladies, I believe all of the boxes have safely arrived, which means this swap is now over : (

Thank you to everyone that participated. Hope to see you guys again next year!

Bonnie

Thanks for hosting the swap Bonnie, you did a wonderful job!

Glad you enjoyed it Carmen!

Hugs,
Wendy / sassyb.