My styrax (also from George, maybe 3 years ago?) is blooming for the first time, too... but only ONE branch is blooming. George, any idea why? Here are some of my treasures from the swap... Hypericum androseamum âÂÂAlbury Purpleâ (I'm guessing from George but can't recall? Lovely little plant!) White Penstemon Chocolate Eupatorium (Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate') Stryax Japonica (definitely from George!) with one branch in bloom (will the others join in next year??) Walking onions (love those guys!) and Deb's rhubarb to the right... Can't get a good picture of Richie's Korean lilac because of all the plants exploding around it, but it is gorgeous and bloomed like crazy this year. The rest of you probably know if these are your plants... ;) And there are TONS more not pictured, including almost all the ornamental grasses (will post them later in the summer when they've grown in and are looking their best!)... thank you all! / Marty

Boy oh boy! All those plants I swapped with you look great over at your place!! In the geranium smallii and campanula glomerata pic. I did probably give you Centaurea dealbata also. I believe you meant Penstemon smallii. The Campanula latifolia?/lactiflora? I think is actually latiloba. I think, LOL. Definitely not lactiflora though. Regardless of the names, they all look wonderful! I unfortunately had my computer die in late summer so most all of the pics of things from the swap got lost then. I didn't upload a ton of them. Well, I learned my lesson. Remy

The pictures do not lie. I did enjoy myself heartily. All you guys have gorgeous dirt that your plants come in!!!!!. My limestone/caliche gravel is put to shame. LOL. I got some really special plants, some great agaves. Linda, I would have driven to Medina for that milkweed and ansonia. Special indeed and such a perfect match for my environs. I got home and almost stepped on a hog snake in my garden area that was tangled up in my tomato netting. scared the daylights out of me and my cat. The snake hissed and I had to cut him out before I started making a home for all my things. Still working on stuff. Looks like I am blowing off the C&S and LBJ wildflower sale. I got my plant fix. Thanks so much... Rebecca did finally get there with her birdbaths and we had a after swap swap on the curbside for about 45 minutes or more. She did come home with plants even though she missed the crowd.She got loads of natives loaded on her for her new place. Rebecca, you gets a raincheck next fall for the "IT" cactus.. She and her husband are great people! I love my birdbath. I am tempted to drill a hole and make it into a troth out of it but I am going to wait and let the the birds swim around.. I missed out on the cow poop. I WANT,... always next time.

I saw Shiela with rosemary, in her hand. I sounds like something she would do. I had a great time at the swap. This year I had nothing to do with organizing the swap, I just drove there. Next year, the mayor of Balcones Heights wants us to let her know ahead of time, so she can put a note in their local paper, so if any residents want to attend to swap plants they can. She thought it was a wonderful idea having the swap, so everyone could get together to swap palnts. I call Delia the city secretary, every year, to let her know when we are having our swap, and get the phone number of the officer with the key. This year Delia was not in the office. There are only a few streets with homes in Balcones Heights, you can see them as you drive down Balcones Drive, the main road. Balcones Heights encompasses just less than one square mile. 80% of that is commericial property including Wonderland Mall, Springfield Marriot, Howard Johnson, Luby's, Howard Johnson, Tx Heart Hospital, Norris Confrence Ctr, Dave and Buster's, and at least 6 different Apts complex. There are very few homes, and most residences are seniors, that is why no one ever uses the park, not even children. It is just a neighborhood, but because of all the commercial property, they have a paid fire dept and police dept. If the mayor post information regarding our plant swap in their local paper, I don't think any of the residences will even come, except maybe the mayor. Barbra