Happy Birthday to you Pinenuts. Everyone needs a special day for their birthday so make it happen. Weather sure has turned to fall here in eastern Washington. Warm during the day but cold at night. Want to hold off freezes so that I realize more out of my garden. You tend to it for months and all it takes is one night and "poof" its all gone. Five more working days to retirement and then I will have lots of time to garden. Have a great weekend everyone!

Ellie

Cz, thanks for the plants! I am going thru seeds right now. There are some very interesting varieties in here. Thansk ! - Jen

Debby- robin flying your way tomorrow!

WEC51107206
here is DC # :)

Wow, I haven't checked the forum lately (a week) and the box arrived today already! I thought I was mid Oct? ;) FAST traveling box, LOL! Do I hold it until the end of OCT so we go back on track? If so let me know.. Because, if I send it now- we are really going to be 'off' on dates, November b-days would start in two days, I always ship priority- LOL!

Ok, about the box~
It's a seed round robin, LOL! Lots of seeds...
Plus 2 plants were tucked in-- a tuberous pink begonia, and a piece of a Artemesia "Silver" mound, both are in baggies, so I can't tell if they are rooted or not until I take them out. ;)

Thanks Jlee/Jen! When the box arrived, I honestly had no clue to what swap it was from, LOL. I have to check in more often! :) This summer has been so busy! Fall's always a more relaxed time when the kids go back to school!

October is my favorite month! My real birthday is Dec. 17th. With Christmas so close, everyone used to get me one gift- and say it was for Christmas too. ;)

It's fun having an early birthday.
Will check in tomorrow and see if I should hold the box.

Deb

I sent it early due to the artemesia from pinenuts. I already had that one so I sent it along- I believe it is rooted, as is the begonia. The begonias- there are 2 are well rooted. I cut them back a little for shipping.

Hi,
I know I'm sending the box early- only because our weather is really mild, 70's this entire week! I'm including 'live' plant material, and won't be able to soon. So- it's on the way to Shelly! DC 03110240 0001 7543 1097 it should be there in two days if priority's running normal. ;)

I took some seed pacs- around 8 of them. ;) So, I'm happy with my b-day gifts! I replaced the seeds, added live stuff and it's on the way to Shelly/Sred 98!

Happy b-day Shelly!

Deb

Oh my, the birthday box is moving quickly.

Happy October Birthday to Jen and Deb!! And Happy November Birthday to Shelly as the box is headed her way!

Happy Fall!

Annie

I agree about the box moving quickly, LOL. I didn't expect it either, but do understand that this is probably the last month to be able to add 'live' stuff to the box! I had to share some of my Yellow Christmas cactus so I sent cuttings! ;) Plus, other live things.. So, Shelly enjoy all the goodies I sent- your going to need a new box. The box needs to be replaced. I love to recycle- and you can't reuse the box anymore, it's on it's last stop!

Deb

O MY you ladies are fast. I have not even said HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the OCT Ladies..SO..HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEB AND JEN!!! sorry to be late and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Shelly!! Guess I better check in more often. Sounds like you ladies are getting some wonderful Birthday gifts. Enjoy!! Have a wonderful evening everyone!
Sherri

Wow! Who needs a hostess when the players are so amazing??!

First, I want to apologize for being MIA for the last few weeks. It's been one surprise after another in my family. Things have settled down again (for now) & I'm trying to catch up with my regular life again.

We've really zipped through these birthdays! & I think everyone has a great point that it would be nice to keep shipping as quickly as we can before it gets really cold.

Can I suggest that we see if the members who haven't gotten the box yet wants it early as part of an "Intermission" period, & then we resume again in Jan as usual?

Here's a recap of where we are....

August - 1)flowergirl34, 2)farmergirl2009
September - 1) pinenuts, 2)poisondartfrog
October - 1)jlee160, 2)debbya
November - 1)sred98, 2)earthlydelights
December - 1)sherrih, 2) pdsavage, 3) celeegra
************************************************
SUGGESTED INTERMISSION
rosemctier
roper2008
canyonwind
robin1962-2008
mavis07

************************************************
January - 1) rosemctier, 2) roper2008
February - 1)canyonwind, 2)flowergirl34
March - 1)robin1962-2008, 2)rosemctier
April - 1)sred98, 2)debbya
May - 1)earthlydelights, 2)canyonwind, 3)mavis07
June - 1) jlee160, 2)celeegra
July - 1) sherrih, 2) pdsavage

Does that make sense to everyone?
PLMK! Grace

Well...what a surprise! Lol! A month early!! I think the address labels got switched. So, should I go ahead and take mine out or just send it on and get it again in November? What do I do??

Shelly

Teh box is moving quickly due to live plant material- everyone has received up to and now including you. Please see Graces post above:)

sure, i'm up for super speedy early boxes before frost hits! sorry i've been mia too,, so much to do with the semester and the garden and everything else! hope evveryone has had a happy birthday or will have LOL

Shelly,
I posted in the above thread that the box was being sent to you.. All of it's for you- take whatever you want! ;). I sent it early so 'live' stuff could be included. In a few more weeks plant material will freeze and turn clear.
Happy b-day! Enjoy the yellow Christmas cactus and other goodies! :)
Hugs,
Deb

Hey everyone. I haven't checked this thread in a while and now i'm glad i have. this box sure is making the rounds very quick. i think i might be next. great idea, considering the weather is still decent enough to get plants. i have to think about what i should be sending.

can you all believe it's almost mid-october? this has been the fastest year yet!

happy birthday everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

maryanne

Hey all, I'm very disappointed, the box came to my house sometime this week and I've been away all week and don't get back until next week. I seriously wish there had been some communication. the last comment on the thread is from me on the 11th!

The mailman took mail to my neighbor today because another package came and he noticed the one he delivered as well as my mail during the week was still not taken in and had some concern. she called me this morning so of course thinking there may be plant materials inside I asked her to open any boxes. She told me there were "leaves in plastic bags" inside of one. Not sure what any of that is. she's taken boxes in for me before with plants and said they certainly were not plants, but leaves. she also said there was a small white envelope with my name on it that had a package of seeds in it. I asked her to take it out and get the box back in the mail, which she did based on the letter. so there is no confusion, sherrih gets it next.
Very disappointed to say the least - I really think there should and could have been some communication, at least I could have been prepared and had someone look out for things.

Thanks anyway Grace, but I will definitely pass on the second round. a real waste of money for a package of seeds, seriously.

Maryanne

Maryanne,
I have no idea what happened- why would there only be one pack of seeds in the entire box? Something went really wrong..
When the box left my house it was totally FULL!
I couldn't fit one more item in! It had a nice mixture of seed packs, plant starts, orange pixie bulbets, little witch candle- totally full box!
I'm trying to remember what plant starts I included- yellow christmas cactus, spider baby, Boston ivy, African violet leaves, etc. I have a list somewhere on my computer desk--

I took from the box 8 seed packs, begonia, artemesia piece.

Maryanne should of received a box full of stuff... :(

Deb

oh dear, maybe your neighbor didn't understand that the other stuff in the box was up for grabs, not just the stuff with your name on it?

i didn't even know christmas cactus came in yellow. i've only ever seen it in pinks!

Hey ladies, I have a question? What do I do when the box get's to me? Should I give Maryanne's Plant's a good soak and mail them to her along with the other things in the box that was meant for her? As far as the christmas cactus it should be fine. I am assuming it needed to be scabbed before planting. I can send her the things meant for her in a new box and then pack what I have for pdsavage and mail them to her in the robin box along with whatever else stays in there??? SUGGESTIONS!!!! HELP!!!
Sherri

Sherri,
I'm not exactly sure what to say.. I sent the box to Shelly Sred98 and she sent the package to Maryanne. So, I'm not really sure what was added to the box, and why there was only ONE pack of seeds. I know when I sent the box to Shelly- it was totally FULL, there was not room for one more item!

I have a feeling Maryanne doesn't want the package again, she would have to pay postage AGAIN for it to go back out. I'm sure she might post here with an answer- so wait a few days.. If Maryanne doesn't post- as a suggestion, and it might be different than everyone else's so wait to see what's decided. Keep the package contents (if it's something you can use/like) refill it with nice things and send it to the next person. Hopefully, Shelly (Sred98) can clear up some questions too..

It's awful when a swap goes bad- but with communication from everyone, usually things work out.

My question is- I'm wondering what the leaves are- I know it's nothing I sent, everything would of rotted by now! Except the Christmas cactus/yellow. Yes, yellow- it's gorgeous and in full bloom right now, I had to add some to the box! Yellows are sooo hard to find!

Things will work out.. hopefully! ;)

Deb

Bummer! I am sorry Maryanne had a bad experience. I too wonder if the miscommunication might have been between Maryanne and her neighbor, who might not have had a firm understanding. Perhaps the box WAS full of seeds, but she thought only the one with Maryanne's name on it should be removed instead of Maryanne choosing any that she wanted.
At any rate, it is unfortunate.
Alana

Deb, Thanks for the advice.I really hate that she had a bad experience with the robin. What I meant was to take Maryanne's things out the box and mail them to her myself( no postage to mail back on her end) and then put things in the box that I want to add to the robin and special things for pdsavage then send the robin box on to pdsavage. Either way I will wait a few days and see if she post and if she wants the things meant for her I can mail them out to her. I am sure we will figure out what to do in either case.
Sherri

My Internet/phone keeps timing out when I've tried to post. I'm at my husband's office so I can clear up a few things. I had to track down Grace's email from a trade we did in May and I emailed her Friday after reading what was posted about the box I sent. I take responsibility for not tracking down Grace's email earlier and giving her the DC#. But, no one posted they were going out of town for 2 weeks, and if the same neighbor would collect the package, I don't see what would have been different. Here is what I sent to Grace:

" I had to track down your email from our May trade. I haven't been able to bring up GW since I got the box. I was able to read today but still can't post. My browser times out. I am really upset. I can tell you everything that was in the box and what all I added. I took out ONE thing...a stalk of the yellow Christmas cactus and NO seeds. I added several packs of seeds and a personalized one for Maryanne. There was much more than "one bag of leaves"!!��

As far as plant material, there was Boston ivy(from someone before me), a huge bunch of Christmas cactus(about 7-8 rooted pieces), rooted purple vinca (several bunches from me, 5-6), several good size��cuttings of Citronella (maybe 6? From me).

I had gotten African Violet cuttings in the box, but they didn't travel well and arrived squishy. I threw them out.

I also put in several packs of seeds. I can't remember how many...maybe 6 or 7?�� There was also stickers, tattoos, and a little witch candle. They left with the box, I don't know if they are still there or not.

I guess I should have hunted down your email before and sent you the DC since I couldn't get on, but I didn't think too much about it. I knew it arrived, and didn't remember seeing anything about anyone going on vacation for 2 weeks when it was their turn.

Anyway, I am not happy with what was said or the fact that there was supposedly only one "bag of leaves". WTH??�� I also had to pay $6 or $8 shipping for a stalk of Christmas cactus, when I could have bought a plant for less, but I know that's part of the RR process. Plus, I had to hunt down a box and our small town PO didn't have regional rate boxes. But I didn't complain. I found a small priority box, added quite a bit to it and sent it on, hoping the next person would enjoy all the extras I packed in there. Instead, when I am able to read, they imply there was nothing in the box and I dropped the ball. I most certainly did not!

I do not want you to think I am upset with you. I'm not!��Just venting at the host, since I'm not able to post to the thread!��I have done RR with you before and I think you know I send things well-packed and send a lot.

I am sorry she wasn't home for the delivery, but I would seriously wonder about the neighbor. Something doesn't add up. There were several packages of rooted plants and cuttings, wrapped well and yet there was only ONE?��I don't think so.

Oh! And I forgot I had put some bright green sweet potato vine cuttings in there. I overwinter mine and they do great.�"

So, everything that was sent to me was passed on, plus some. With the exception of the violets and a stalk of Christmas Cactus. And for my personal seeds, they were gourd seeds and I took only a little out (there was a huge baggie!) and sent the rest on!

I'm trying to remember what seeds I put in. I know there was large white datura, lilac datura, blackberry lilies, Raspberry Rose hibiscus, and several color 4 o'clocks. I can't remember anything else right off the top of my head.

Anyway, it definitely sounds like the neighbor didn't look closely or at all. I'm sorry that the next in line wasn't home, and I should have tracked down Grace earlier, but I didn't. For that, I take responsibility, but the box was crammed full. I almost changed it to a medium box, but figured this was probably one of the last boxes to have live plants, so I didn't.

I appreciate those of you that have traded with me in the past, and stood up for me. Thank you.

Shelly

Shelly,
Thanks for clearing everything up.. it's sounds as though there was a lot of miscommunication.

Deb

Hi everyone
I'm so sorry that there is so much confusion.

Maryanne, it sounded like you were ok with the quick trades. I'm so sorry that you were out of town. In any case, I can understand if you want to drop out of the trade.
Sherrih, I think it would be best to send the box back to me for now. I was almost up anyway.
I'll sort through what's there & we can regroup about how to move forward.

Sound good to everyone? Please let me know.
Thanks, Grace

Hello all,

I had to go back and read what I wrote, because it seemed to really create confusion.

I said....
She told me there were "leaves in plastic bags" inside of one (ONE not all...ONE)

I said....
there was a small white envelope with my name on it that had a package of seeds in it (I DID NOT SAY there were no seeds in the box, I said there was one envelop with my name on it and there was a package of seeds in the envelop)

Not only did my neighbor "look closely", but she did what i asked....she took pix so i could clearly see what was in the box.

based on the pix, no way would this box require a medium size box.

some items weren't marked, so who would know what these things were?

my being out of town was totally unexpected - no one expected a friend to be attacked and left for dead.

shelly...your statement: Instead, when I am able to read, they imply there was nothing in the box and I dropped the ball. I most certainly did not!
(me) To set the record straight, I never implied that you did anything....i'm speaking just what was sent when it came my time. i never said YOU did a damn thing.

i know we take our chances with these RRs, I should have learned my lesson from days gone by. But this sounded good, lots of enthusiasm. I guess i anticipated more....i was thinking bulbs, plants, etc. just like rule 4 stated....rare seeds for rare seeds, common seeds for common. Bulbs/roots etc. for other bulb/root/starts that will travel well for a few weeks.......... there was nothing rare, no bulbs, etc. so, for $10, i got a package of seeds....and i think that stinks!

and aside from pix, she made a list, so those of you thinking my neighbor did something, please rethink. she has intercepted boxes for me on many occasions, with great care and enthusiasm, so I do value her word. she's not a gardener but recognizes the importance to me, has helped me plant many things, has soaked plants for me if delivered when i'm away, etc. great care - i'd trust her with anything.

Grace, just so you know, i asked that she take out the second label to me. i am not interested in the next round.

Maryanne

p.s. here's your delivery confirmation 03110240000175430908

Hi everyone
I think there is a lot of confusion and it doesn't help to speculate or get defensive. I hope we all joined in good faith that we would have an interesting swap and somewhere that broke down.
I know for my part, life took over again, so I was not the most attentive hostess that I should've been.

I asked Sherri to take what she would like & send the box back to me.
In the meantime, could everyone confirm if they still want to continue this swap? Now that winter's almost upon us, it's going to turn into a seed swap anyway.

Let's all take a breather while the box makes its way back to me.
Remember ladies, this is supposed to be not stressful & disappointing but friendly & enjoyable.
Thanks, grace

Grace,
I'm still in for the next round... ;)

Deb

Hello Ladies, I recieved the box today!!! There was alot of seeds, a witch candel, tatoo's, stickers. The Plants did not fair so good. autumn Joy sedum-brown,something marked spider- brown, citrnilla geranium smells wonderful- brown 2 leaves were half green so I am going to see if I can root them,looks like a vine most of it brown 2 pieces still green am soaking them to see if they spruce up, and I did take a few seeds out of different packs that I wanted to try.
I plan on adding seed and plants to the box, pdsavage is the last person to recieve the box before Grace. I suggest that she still get a chance to have her turn. I have to admit I was a lil upset by what happened, but I decided I was not going to let it ruin my turn. I also think that pdsavage is looking forward to getting her turn as well and I don't think it would be fair to skip her.
What do you think Grace? Ladies?
Sherri
O BTW I am still in for the next round..

Don't worry! I wasn't going to forget pdsavage. I was going to sort through, add a few things & send it off to her.
I contacted her to see what she wanted to do. Sherri, why don't you sort through the box while I wait for a reply from her.
Get back to you all soon!
Thanks everyone! Grace

I added the autumn joy sedum and 'spider' baby.
So they were in the box for awhile...

Spider plants are one of my favorite plants- they are known to be one of the best air cleaning plants. Plus they are so easy to grow.

Deb

Oh almost forgot... Was the vine Boston ivy? If so that was mine too-- I love this vine, it does lose it's leaves for fall- turns crimson in the spring, again in the fall. So plant the stem, and with the few leaves being green still it should be ok. You can't kill Boston ivy, lol!
I'm really surprised the violet leaves didn't make it, usually they can last for a month in a box. I belong to several online groups that do violet leaf round robins, and we always write dates on the bags, so most are amazed at how long they survive! I've ordered leaves from south Africa directly- and they were in the mail for 5 weeks. When they arrived I soaked them in warm water, pinch of sugar and every leaf survived. If plant material ever starts to rot- cut off the rot and dust with cinnamon. It's a natural fungicide.

Deb

Deb

Thanks Ladies for the advise. Deb the violet leaves were not there anymore,but there was ciyrnella geranium, it smell soooo good, it had 2 leaves that were half green and half brown I am going to try to root them but the stems are solid brown. The vine may be boston ivy I will try and save it all.
As Soon as Grace let's me know I will either mail the box to her or pdsavage. Will let you all know how the plants fair. thanks
Sherri

Just thought if something- the package of Boston ivy was clearly labeled. So that pkg. might be something else.. I label everything I send.
I do a lot of round robins with other groups- so am used to being organized. ;). The citronella cutting sounds neat- in the spring I want to collect a few scented geraniums.

Deb

Pdsavage is definitely ready got the box!
Sherri, would be great if you sent it along to her, & of course post DC so we can track.
Thanks everyone!
Grace

I am for next round:)

I`m sorry,ladies,but I`m going to have to drop out of the round robin.It seems to be quite confusing to me and I`ve never done a round robin before.I`m afraid I`ll dissapoint someone.I guess you could say I`ve chickened out!!

Hi Ladies, Happy to say the robin in back in flight. It's on the way to pdsavage.. The DC# is 0311 0240 0001 7543 0892. Happy birthday I hope you like your goodies..Enjoy!!!
Sherri

Checking in....Happy Birthday PDSAVAGE!!!!

Happy Weekend!!!

Annie

Who has the box?

Deb

Supposedly pdsavage. If the box shows up, pass me up please.
Sorry.

USPS track and confirm has the box delievered to pdsavage on Nov 10. I have been checking the robin every other day or so and not a word from her, no PM's either...

Did you see the post on the seed exchange for the Secret Santa
Swap (4th annual). Did the box go to Oregon?

My mistake, pdsavage is not listed in message. This should be put
in the rate and review trades if box never shows up.

Hi Everyone
First I truly apologize for dropping the ball. I should have been a better host or reached out to see if there was someone else who could host while I couldn't.
As things kept happening in my life, I kept thinking, it's just this one thing or once we get over this crisis, I'll have time to get back to everything again. And it just hasn't stopped.

Not as an excuse but only for explanation, the last few weeks have been a turmoil with my grandmother in & out of a coma, my parents possibly getting a divorce, and my own job up in the air. It's still not over, but things have calmed down enough to come back to this.

In the last couple weeks, I did try to contact Peggy (pdsavage) a few times with no response. I also know that Sherri tried to contact her to confirm receipt of the box, again with no response. At this point, I'm assuming that the box & Peggy are long gone, which is sad & disappointing since this was supposed to be a friendly swap.

For my part, I'm sure that many of you are also disappointed with me & my lack of attention to this RR. Please believe me that it was not because I didn't care & I really feel so sorry that it's ended up this way.

Anyway, for now, I think I cannot continue to host this. I know a lot of you lost many valuable seeds & cuttings as well as time & money & trust. Again I'm so sorry for that, & will contact you individually about it.

A great thanks to those who did participate in good faith!
Sincerely, Grace (celeegra)

I have seeds i can contribute Mostly veggie heirloom and flowers and a few herbs! :) And would like to pass a gift along. I'm new. I'm not sure how you know who to pass it to next? do you get an email? Also, can you take like 3 seeds from a few different packets? :D .....oh.... i see what happened that is disappointing. I hate people who screw it up for everyone else. It was a great idea, I am sorry to everyone who lost what they lost. Some people do not care about others. Kind of off subject but how do i get adopted? I was looking for that posting but cant find it. I'm 21 live in Washington vancouver area and have a garden (moms), in Goldendale area i have my grandmas farm/fields :) and a green house a mother who loves indoor plants and me who loves to baby them and watch them and spend time at my moms home working on projects together. I have experience with cuttings, transplanting, separation, spacing, covering for cross pollination, grafting, starting seeds but am not too good at orchids due to temp problems and my lack of experience with tropical plants but I have a willingness to learn. And a heart to know not to try things again lol like buy another orchid.

Mailed Dec 19 2011 to Caleegra
DC# 03102640000059712893

To all feel I had stole all those seeds well...I was delayed in sending them as hubby had surgery and we where in the middle of trying to buy a house.
They where sent early so I thought I had extra time.The box was sent to the main person running this and I had not been on here for months as I have been supper busy.As to the email I simply had not used that one for awhile.Anyway hope there are no hard feelings as I did send the box out and where it is now I have no idea...Im just glad I kept that DC#...

Hi all
I did receive the package from pdsavage in late December. There was no warning that it was being sent so it sat outside for a few days. The plants were all frozen & thawed by the time I got it. I still have the seeds in the box as they were sent to me & was planning to use them to restart this in the spring if people are still interested & if my own life quieted down by then. We'll see.
This thread is officially over.
Thank you, grace