Okay, here are some of the things I THINK I can bring:

Bouncing Bet a.k.a. Soapwort
Jerusalem Artichoke bulbs
Variegated Garlic
Chives
Possibly (I need to look) small rusty blackhaw viburnum
Some form of Ghost Plant
A 2' potted grapefruit grown from seed
A few thornless blackberries or blackberry cuttings
Other stuff.

Patty has convinced me. It's looks like I'll be coming. I'm really looking forward to meeting all of you :-)

So far I have potted up:

Fanick's phlox
Fruit cocktail shrimp
Winter honeysuckle bush
Night blooming jasmine
FUSCHIA PINK FIRESPIKE
What I call VINE CASSIA because it's tall and needs to lean on something.
PINK PENTAPETE Seeds
SCARLET PENTAPETE Seeds
Green Malabar spinach seeds
Cuttings of my UNCLE NAP'S HONEY FIG

I can dig:

Inland sea oats
Coral vine

My yard is packed so I don't need any more plants (famous last words :-) but I could use any soil ammendments you might have, like old cow or horse manure, broken bags of potting soil, fertilizer, or pinebark -- stuff like that.

Or if you have any hardy succulents I am starting a collection of those. No agaves unless they stay small.

See you there!

Here is a photo of the pavilion at our new location.

Over the years many people attending swaps for the first time have told me how confused they were about what was going on. To help the newbies get a better idea of what to expect we've borrowed some of this information from another swap hostess (with permission).

When you arrive, please seek out the hostess if we don't greet you first. Especially if you haven't been before. Any of us will help you with any questions you might have. Get a name tag, sign up for door prizes, and if we have one, sign the list for future notifications of swaps.

Don't forget to bring a sack lunch. We'll need sustenance for continued swapping !

We will have door prizes. If you'd like to donate to our stash, please bring a new or gently used gardening item. We usually include things like fertilizer, gloves, tools, outdoor decorations, books, etc.

Garden Junk and Garden Art is also welcome for trading. Hoses, trellises, rusty buckets, signs, you name it ! We've had people bring homemade soap, mosaic pots, and other great items.

In the past, we welcomed your donations to help pay for the rental of a park pavilion. We are happy that this swap will be held at what may be our new regular location, and at no cost (for now). If you ever attend a swap that asks for donations please drop a few dollars in the jar to help cover the cost -- which is usually covered out of the pocket of the hostess. Please consider that you're leaving the swap with plants that would have cost so much more at a nursery. A little money in the jar will go far to help these great swaps continue. THIS TIME. . . we would still like to collect donations to present to the church. They offered us this wonderful pavilion for our swap, and it's a small thing for each of us to give back. Thank you.

You may want to bring cardboard boxes to haul home your booty. You may end up taking home more than you bring, and it's not always easy to get it all back in your car. Packing in boxes will allow you to stack them and keep your plants safe.

Bring something to use for labeling the plants you receive. Old window blinds are excellent for this purpose ! They last forever and they're kept out of landfills.

On that note, please label your plants for others. It saves a lot of time at the swap. You don't have to tell everyone what each plant is, since they already have names on them.

Another helpful hint, which takes more time, but is great to have: consider putting a notebook together of your plants. Add pictures and descriptions of each plant you bring. Over time, you can add to it as you accumulate different types of plants. This also saves time at the swap. Others can view your notebook to see what a certain plant will look like.

While swapping, please do not take plants off another's table without asking. They may be across the room promising that same plant to someone else. Please find the owner and ask permission. Everyone's different, of course, and may bid you take whatever you like. But it's good to err on the side of caution, and ask anyway. It's a good idea for all of us to put our name on our table so that everyone knows who to find when they see a plant they'd like.

Plants under the tables are not for swapping. This is where we place the plants we're taking home.

Some plants are special or rare and the swapper may want something special in return. This is understandable. On the other hand, some of us don't always need something in return. Please consider everyone's feelings while swapping.

You will see here that people are listing the plants they have to trade, and maybe the ones they're looking for. If you are new to this and wonder what's going on, this is what we call pre-arranged swapping. You can list what you have and others can either post here what they would like from your list or they can contact you by email (if you make sure you add your email to your preferences). You can check their lists to see if you'd like to make a swap. Keep track of each swap and bring the plants to the event for that person, and they will bring what you liked from their list. This is not necessary, of course. You can just bring your plants to the swap and trade in person. But if you pre-arrange swaps, it's kind of like reserving a plant that you really want. If you wait until the swap, someone else may get it before you do. And that can be a bummer !

Last but not least, have a good time. Make new friends ! I've met really great folks at the swaps and we're still swapping many years later !!

patty

The people at the church may have some picnic tables built by the time we get there, but it's best if you plan to bring tables and chairs for yourself. There are never enough tables.

Charlotte, shall we bring our own sack lunch this time ?

I went through the greenhouse to get a list together, but I could add things later. I didn't really think about walking through the yard for other ideas. Here's what I have so far:

Pink Trumpet Vine (Podranea ricasoliana)
American Pillar rose - this is a rambler of epic proportions
maybe hyacinth bean vines
maybe clitoria vine
salvia coccinea red, white, and maybe dreamsicle
firecracker plant / russelia
bilbergia
crag lily echeandia
coleus
rain lily pink or white
canna
crinum
ruellia squarrosa
carolina jessamine (only have 1)
birdnest sanseveria
Mother in Law's tongue sanseveria
Old Man's Pipe / callisia fragrans
pregnant onion
spider plant
jade
different kalanchoes
donkey ear kalanchoe
Jingle Bells kalanchoe
cissus quadrangularis
ghost plant
angelwing begonia
artillery fern
lyre leaf sage
cedar sage
fruit cocktail shrimp plant
bee balm
maybe columbine
might have some irises that need to be separated

WANT:

daylilies - something other than orange and yellow, unless they are bicolor, ruffled, etc. Would love pinks/purples/creams

maybe interested in flowering natives and drought resistant

also love salvias

Since I have SO many plants, I would very much like to consider garden junk ! So, if you have things laying around cluttering up the garage or back yard, let me know what you have. I might be able to take it off your hands. No junk too junky to consider ! You'd be surprised what I've taken in trade. :-)

Please email me directly for any exchanges instead of replying here. I see email much more often. Thanks so much !

Also -- as you add your HAVES, also post your WANTS. Some of us make up lists of what we have in abundance, but if we see that someone wants something in particular, we might be able to find it for them.

Patty

Thanks Patty for putting up the swap info.
We usually have a pot luck lunch. You are welcome to bring a sack lunch but we have always have fun bring dishes to share and see what we end up with. We always have had plenty of food and if someone doesn't have many plants to share they can bring an ice chest with drinks or supplies for lunch.

Have: large plastic cat litter buckets. They've gotta be good for something. Don't want to throw them out. If you need some, let me know.

Want: Plastic lids. All sizes. The kind on coffee cans, butter tubs, salsa containers, you name it. Also old plates, or anything that will catch water under a potted plant.

Thank you !
patty

Is anybody coming other than the folks who posted above?

Would love to know for planning purposes -- how many plants to save back from the San Antonio swap to bring -- if any, or whether to even make the trip.

Let's hear it for Manchaca :-)

According to the evite responses we have 16 yes and 10 maybes. There are several other people who don't want the evite and don't post in Gardenweb but are planning on coming to the swap. I know we will have some new folks from the community garden coming also. We just aren't a very Gardenweb posting group. Hopefully, more swappers will at least post to let us know they are coming.
I'm still working on my plant list. It's going to be a great swap! I'm so excited about our new location!

Okay -- GREAT! Thanks for your response :-)

Hello everyone, I want to come this time but not sure as of today. I had planted several seeds and had some sprouting and putting on new leaves but my plans got interrupted we finally received "the call" and so we are presently indisposed for any kind of outing-s, and have been since 2 weeks ago not sure how much longer we will be in Seton, his transplant recovery is kind of slow but steady Thank God for that.So at this point I am not sure which if any of my seedlings survived the past 2 weeks and when we go home I am not sure what kind of time and patience will have for gardening, but will try my best to attend. Thanks Marcie

Hi All,
Will try to make it. If I do, I have established:
3-gal flame acanthus
1-gal mt. laurel
Can dig if you want it:
white fall aster (tall and vigorous!)
old fashion purple bearded iris
coral berry
viguera (native yellow skeleton daisy bush)
green aspidistra
white yarrow
Madam Galen trumpet vine
ruellia-purple, tall, vigorous!
1 gal, 3-5 gal pots, empty

WANT
bulbs and rhizomes! crinum, amaryllis, sprekelia, hardy bearded iris that are not purple, other bulbs
aristolochia fimbriata
variegated aspidistra
yarrow other than white blooming
fern

redthistle,
I am interested in your grapefruit plant!
roselee,
I am interested in your honey fig!

I forgot; I also could bring Folger coffee containers, industrial size. These are incredibly great for collecting kitchen veggies trimming for the compost pile. Any takers?

Less than a week until the swap. We welcome anyone who wants to join us.
Here is my list so far
Lamb's ear
Liatris
Zexmenia
Gulf Coast Penstemon
Mistflower
some seedlings of double purple datura

I can bring cannas if anyone wants some
For the water gardeners I have Parrot feather but will only bring if requested.
Val, I will bring you some things on your list so you have to come!
Patty I will bring you a purple daylily and I would like to have a cat litter bucket if you have one.

oooh Charlotte ! You make my little gardener's heart go pitty-pat ! Thanks for bringing the daylily ! Now...please tell me what you'd like from my list...or tell me what else you're looking for. Not everything I have is on the list ! That goes for everyone. Please let us know your haves and wants if you'd like to "reserve" a plant on someone's list.

Val -- I can bring you irises, bulbs, crinums. Can I request your purple iris and viguera ? Thanks SO much ! Looking forward to meeting you.

patty

ValT -- could you email me directly so I can ask you some questions about bulbs. Thanks !

soriano471@sbcglobal.net

patty

Hope to see you at the plant swap tomorrow.
The address of the swap is 1011 FM 1626, Manchaca, TX 78652. It is at the intersection of Manchaca Road and FM1626. The pavilion is at the back of the west side of the Manchaca United Methodist church.
Some Gardenweb members have told me that they are having trouble posting here but they are coming with a variety of plants. If you don't have plants bring food for the potluck lunch or something garden related for the door prize drawing.
The weather is going to be fantastic and we are going to have a great swap!
Charlotte

I can't begin to tell you what a wonderful swap this was! The weather again was perfect, location wonderful, the 20 or so friendly swappers were more than generous, the food superb. Again I came home with plants that I didn't know I needed so badly -- some I'd never even heard of before. I took pictures I'll be posting on the gallery in a day or two.

In back of the swap pavilion at the Methodist Church was a newly formed community garden. The dedicated director of the gardems gave us a nice welcome and invited us back. Donations received went to this church project. Of course I took pictures. There were lots of young people working hard at turning over the soil and learning how to use a shovel and digging fork. Included will be photos of a rediscovered ancient watering method they are using.

As good as it was that's not all that made my day. We were following Laura home to visit her garden, turned in the wrong driveway and saw three Basenjis in the back yard. I raised and exhibited Basenjis 45 years ago and had the first of that breed in Texas so of course I had to get out of the car and get reaquainted with one of my favorites breeds of dog. We had a wonderful conversation with the home owners about the amusing characteristics of the the 'barkless dog' originally from Africa. Come to find out they are part of a Baseji rescue group. They may be hearing from me later.

THEN we visited Laura's wonderful large garden. She has oodles of great plants in a spacious area and tons of fantastic yard art. Glorious! I took pictures that I'll be posting on the gallery.

T-H-E-N we went to a great little nursery specializing in succulents and desert plants not far from Laura's house. The Basenji people had just been there and bought a yard full. I took pictures there too and will post them. The prices were like wholesale!

T--H--E--N we stopped by a garage sale near my house and picked up more goodies.

What a day! :-) Thank you Patty for taking me and thank you to all my new friends for being there and for being who you are.

Thanks to all who attended another fantastic swap!
Our swappers are amazing, we always have more than enough plants, door prizes and great food! We had 20 swappers including those who were too busy swapping to sign in. I won't name any names (Patty, Charlotte, and a few others!)Our new location is perfect and the Community Garden folks were the best hosts. Hopefully we have found a permanent home for our future swaps so plan to join us at the next swap sometime in October.
Charlotte
P.S. It was great to meet roselee in person and who would have guessed that we also have basenjis in common!

Had a great time! Wonderful to see you again or meet you for the first time. Thanks to Charlotte for pulling it together. Much as she denies it, there is a bit of work involved it that!

I missed it, guys. Y'all look good on the pictures posted in the Gallery section.

Charlotte, where's your son? I didn't see him on the pictures.

Carla, I could barely recognize you with your hair tied up. Patti and Esther, you don't get older, do you?

Omar

Omar we missed you! Now that you see how much fun you missed you better keep your Saturdays open in October to come to the next swap. My son was at a JROTC activity in New Braunfels. He is hoping to come to the next swap.
Charlotte

This was a GREAT new place ! And to those who thought it was too far... if you went to Buda, this was only a few minutes further. Coming from West of San Antonio, I also was concerned about this, but it really was so close and didn't make any difference at all. I felt safer. There was more room under a roof for everyone -- which will be nice on those days we might see some sprinkles. We had a lovely clean restroom to use --THANK YOU, BILL !!

Charlotte, I'm sorry if I didn't sign in...I thought that was only for email, and since I'm already on the list, I didn't fill in again.

Omar ! Me, grow old ? Nope ! I refuse. You MUST come in the fall. We did miss you and hope you return. I missed Curt, too. I saw a picture of him in his JROTC uniform...you wouldn't recognize him. He is SO grownup ! Tell Curt we missed him, Charlotte !

Had a great time seeing familiar faces and meeting new folks who have the same addiction. Came home with plants for the new flower bed and looking forward to sharing at the next swap. Hope you'll all return with me !

Go see Laura's garden in the Gallery. Ragna took pictures.

patty

Yes, I'll try my best to make it this fall. I always have a great time in your swap.

Omar