Howdy from Belton in Central Texas. It's time to put on your happy face. This Saturday is our Fall Plant Swap. We'll be meeting at the most awesome site... the Bell County Master Gardner Greenhouse - behind the classroom. This is next door to the Scott & White Clinic. Providing that you bring a chair, we'll be sitting behind the classroom and using their tables for our plants. Many Master Gardeners will also be coming, so bring your gardening questions at the same time. This is a pot luck plant swap... so bring whatever you have. Please bring rooted plants and label them to the best of your ability so you know what you're trading. You'll be the expert on that plant since it grows in your own yard. You'll be sharing that information with others there. If you don't have any plants, don't let that stop you... bring some good potting soil, pots, seeds, tools and anything else that would cause a gardener to want to trade a plant for you item. You'll probably go home with more than you came with... it's just the gardener's nature to want to share. For those of you who use Gardenweb.com, you know it's all free. For those of you who aren't familiar with this site, you'll want to spend some time wandering through it. If you want to continue the visiting through lunch, bring something to add to the table: casserole, dessert, drinks, napkins, and so forth. Bring your good books on plants for Central Texas so everyone can look through them. We'll start setting up at 8:30am and probably start winding down around 1:30pm. By all means, bring a friend or kids. We'll have access to see the Demonstration Vegetable Garden and check out the Master Gardener's Greenhouse while you are there. You'll want to plan on coming back on October 21st to the Fall Plant Sale if you see something you want. If you post your name here, others might want to arrange a trade with you ahead of time. Once you come the first time, you'll want to come back for the next one. Watch out... you might make a friend! Time is short so get busy potting up those plants. By all means, please pass this email on to your other friends. If they'll write me back, we'll get them on a database so they'll get future invitations. Here is a link that might be useful: Directions to Belton's Master Gardener Greenhouse

I'd like to invite you to come to our plant swap. Here's the information: BIG FALL PLANT SWAP HOSTED BY THE GARDEN GATE CLUB EVERY SPRING AND FALL THE GARDEN GATE CLUB HAS A BIG PLANT SWAP AND THIS FALL SHOULD BE THE BIGGEST EVER. ANYONE CAN ATTEND BUT IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME TO COME THEN PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL ME IN ADVANCE. FALL PLANT SWAP/POTLUCK SATURDAY OCT, 14, 2006 HOSTED BY THE GARDEN GATE CLUB DATE: OCT. 14, 2006 (TELL YOUR FRIENDS) TIME : 11:00 TO ? PLACE: 1011 YVONNE DR. JOSHUA, TX 76058 TRADING MATERIALS : PLANTS, WELL-ROOTED CUTTING, POTS, BULBS, SHRUBS, GARDEN ORNAMENTS OR JUNK ART, GARDEN MAG. BUNDLED, & BOOKS. PLEASE MARK CONTAINERÂS WITH KIND OF FLOWER PLUS SUN OR SHADE. USE OLD CONTAINERS & PLASTIC FORK WITH PERMANENT MARKER POTLUCK: I DONÂT KNOW WHICH IS BEST THE FOOD OR PLANT SWAP. PLEASE BRING A DISH TO SHARE+UTENSILS (MARK YOUR NAME) AND ANY BEVERAGE. I WILL PROVIDE PLATES, CUPS & NAPKINS. 11:00 PEOPLE ARRIVE, SIGN IN WITH NAME & NUMBER OF PLANTS,GET A NAME TAG, SIGN-UP FOR DOOR PRIZE, PUT YOUR TRADE PLANTS IN THEIR AREAS. VISIT WITH OTHER FRIENDLY GARDENERS & VIEW ALL THE WONDERFUL TRADES. THIS SWAP IS PATTERNED AFTER A LARGE SUCCESSFUL PLANT SWAP UP NORTH . THEY HAD 125 PEOPLE & OVER 2,800 PLANTS. 12:00 ENJOY OUR WONDERFUL POTLUCK. AFTER LUNCH DOOR PRIZES. THIS TIME WE WILL BE GIVING OUT GIFT BASKETS, BIRDSEED AND A PRETTY WINDOW BOX PLANTER. 1:00 ROUND ROBIN: WHAT WE ARE ALL WAITING FOR!! EVERYONE SELECT ONE PLANT. ROUND ROBIN 2 EVERYONE TAKE ONE PLANT. ROUND ROBIN 3 EVERYONE SELECT TWO PLANTS. ROUND ROBIN 4 EVERYONE SELECT 3 PLANTS. ROUND ROBIN 5 SELECT 4 AND SO ON. EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE HOME AS MANY PLANTS AS THEY BRING & SOME OF US BRING EXTRAS FOR FELLOW GARDENERS. TIPS OF THE DAY: PLEASE BRING A WAGON TO SHARE, FOLDING CHAIR AND IF YOU WANT YOU CAN BRING A TABLE FOR PLANTS. THERE WILL BE A WAGON AND A FEW CHAIRS AVAILABLE IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE. R.S.V.P : gardengateclub@netzero.com or call Carol Turpen 817 447-3438 I CANÂT WAIT TILL OCT. BECAUSE I RECEIVED SO MANY NICE PLANTS AT THE LAST SWAP. If you are not a member of The Garden Gate Club but would like to be then you can sign up on the club site. http://groups.msn.com/TheGardenGateClub/homepage.msnw

Yes!! YES YES!!! We're still on and it looks like its going to be a beautiful day for plant swaps, lunches and visiting. I'll try to remember to take some pictures.

http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/astro/springmeeting/easttexasmap.html Draw a circle from Canton to Athens to Tyler to Lindale and back to Canton. In that Circle you will find the little Towns of Ben Wheeler, Van, Brownsboro, Edom http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Van+Zandt+County&btnG=Google+Search http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=chandler+Henderson+County++Map&btnG=Search http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Lindale+smith+county&btnG=Search I should of, could of, but did not give very good info for meeting place. You can eat in Edom or visit the Candle Shop or Bird House Shop, visit Blue Moon, Swap Plants and as always Take a Walk in the pines (next year they will be cut and thinned). I will have a sack lunch, but want to go to Blue Moon, maybe Mary will come visit us. If you want to pitch a tent and spend the night that is fine to. Or we do have 3 RV sites if you travel in an RV. Children are welcome but MUST BE KEPT UNDERCONTROL at all times. We do have every thing from wild hogs to snakes which does equal danger!! for adults and CHILDREN. HAPPY TRAILS TODAY, pinecone