I love the poem, NonnaG. Every time I offer to be hostess I wish someone else who was participating lived nearby. it would be such fun to do this along with someone else who loves sorting through seeds!

93 more packets of seeds need to make it into their permanent place for mailing and then I'll start getting them ready for their trip to you. I am hoping I can mail them out on Wednesday because I have a short trip planned Thursday - Saturday. If I can't manage to get them out on Wednesday, they will go out next week on Monday for sure.

Okay - back to work sorting!
Jeanne

Jeanne,
There is a good chance that I may be moving this weekend. I may have to give you a different address. Right now we're in the paper work process. If you can, can you hold mine back from sending. Sorry :(

I'm really hoping to get into this place! It has an area which is perfect for a garden!

Thank you...

It's one of those "there is good news and bad news" postings, but the bad news isn't all that bad.

I had hoped to get all the envelopes ready to mail today. I really misjudged the time allowed. I worked on them almost all day and will only have about 1/3 ready to mail tomorrow. (It's very likely I'll be away for 3 days after that, so I will get busy with the rest as soon as I get home.)
I'm listing the ones that should go out tomorrow and maybe I can do one more in the morning before I head to the post office. I can't remember if I used to do a final "look through" of all the seeds that had been sorted into your bag or not, but I'm doing that this year and it's slow...

Ready to mail:
joyfulflwers
ishareflowers
NonnaG
woodsidetrader
canyonwind
l1oness
upacreekinin
rubywing_287

Will keep you posted. Just hope the nice surprises are going to make it worth the wait!

Jeanne

Jeanne, thanks for the update. Did you grow Stump of the World tomato? That might fit one of your themes.

Weds and Thurs are my mostly off line days.

Mary E.

Thank you for the update Jeanne. Looking forward to my new surprise seeds.

I was able to pack up two more envelopes so add
Micyrey and Stefaniechamo to the list.
Hooray, I'm glad I found a little bit of time and could get 2 more done. Now to start weighing and measuring and figuring out postage.
Enjoy the day! It looks like we'ill have another beautiful day here.

Mary, I probably have tried Stump of the World over the years.I've tried many different kinds. I can have very good luck with a variety one year and I replant it and then it doesn't do well the next. I have such an odd time with tomatoes! I had 3 varieties this year (7 plants) and maybe got a total of 20-25 tomatoes from them. That's total, not per plant. The one I had the best luck with was one developed for hot weather climates and it's the only one still producing. Probably not much longer though. The others I got it at the technology school plant sale and they didn't have tags on them so I'm not even sure what they are. Oh, and I have some tiny golden tomatoes that self-sow. I get a few tomatoes from those as well.

Well, I'd better stop chatting and get to work on figuring out postage. Some will likely come with stamps and some with the postage strip from the post office. Sometimes it's just easier to pay the post office and use the stamps you sent later on. We'll see...

Jeanne

Jeanne, wherever you are going, have a lovely mini holiday! Enjoy!

Annie

The post office receipt shows that the packages I mailed today should arrive on Saturday. Let us know that you received.

I was planning to go up to NC to see my daughter, son-in-law, and 8 month old granddaughter tomorrow through Saturday, but having some problems so I'm postponing the trip until the following weekend. I would have enjoyed being there for my granddaughter's first Halloween, but at 8 months old she doesn't understand Halloween anyway. So I'll continue working with the seed envelopes and will get them mailed on Monday.

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!

Jeanne

Aw sorry to hear youll be missing on your grand daugthers halloween, but atleast the most important holidays are still ahead thanksgiving and.christmas, thank you for all of your hard work, i look forward to the packet this saturday. :)
- stephanie

We get a lot of trick or treaters here. Maybe the most of anyone in this swap. I still have to buy candy for them. And get my pumpkin carved.

Mary E.

OMG!!!!! I got my seeds today!! 29 packets total and that means I am going to have to read up on everyone of them in order to sow them properly which I consider part of the fun. Thank you everyone and special thanks to Jeanne for all of your effort in this swap. I will certainly be joining the swap next year.

Happy Halloween , I love my seed treats!!!!

Done and done. Ready to light tea lights in the pumpkins. Dinner will be chili made yesterday. Son dyeing his hair green for his carrot costume. Boooo

There were snow flurries in the air this morning. Windy all day and the lake is blowing onto Lake Shore Drive.

Mary E.

This post was edited by cottonwood468 on Fri, Oct 31, 14 at 17:07

Thanks for posting that your seeds arrived, joyfulflowers. Woodsidetrader sent me a message that hers arrived also. I'm impressed because the post office receipt said Sat. for the delivery date.

I have 4 more envelopes ready to be mailed and will get them to the post office tomorrow. We have morning hours only - at least I guess we still do!

browneyedsusan
susieqsie
primrose 1x3
sjc48

I should have the rest ready to go out on Monday.
Enjoy!
Jeanne

I went to throw out the envelope the seeds came in and to my surprise there was something extra in it, which I will not say to avoid spoiling the fun. Thanks again Jeanne for that special touch.

BTW: I have to mention, there was a bit of a trick in one of the seed packets...lol...which gave me a bit of a jump. It seems a small spider made it's way here in the pink Angel Wing Begonia packet just in time for Halloween...lol At any rate, I set him free in my backyard. It's up to him to survive the upcoming winter.

Oh my, joyfulflowers, that spider must have hatched while it was on it's way to you. Glad it sort of worked out as a Halloween surprise.

Mary, as I was going through the baggies late this afternoon I found some more seeds for you so I will send them in a separate envelope. Apparently I started 2 different baggies with your themes, GardenWeb name, and number. Will get it out to you soon.

I'm going to try to put together a total of all the seed packets before I finsih up. Should be amazing!

Off to eat dinner and watch a Halloween movie or two --- not a scary one though! LOL

Jeanne

I love all of my seeds, all of them were packaged with so much love and so original, thank you hostess and everyone for being a part of this, it was truely a pleasure being a part of this swap
Love,
Stephanie

Thanks, Jeanne, I will look forward to that. It is such a chilly night for the intrepid Chicago trick or treaters. Sleet doesn't stop them!

Mary E.

Yay! My seeds are here. I am so happy. I never knew there were so many different peppers. I want to start planting. I know I have to wait but it's making me crazy. Lol. My spring garden is going to be amazing ! Thank you all so much. Oh. By the way check out free seeds at WinterSown.org.

NonnaG

Jeanne, I brought in yesterdays mail this morning to find my Theme Seed package. I am absoloutley amazed at what is in this package. Thank You to all of you for your generosity.

And Jeanne, so much work on your end. I can not tell you how much I appreciate all your efforts. And Jeanne, I am with you in that there are seeds here I have not ever heard of but they fit the bill for one of my themes. Like Joyfulflowers, I will keep my trap shut...surprise...surprise. That was really cute !! I can say there was not a spider in my package...LOL!

Thank You, Thank You to all of you!

And Jeanne, Thank You, Thank You....Fantastic!!

Annie

I have seeds! Wonderful seeds! What a great Halloween present! I'm super excited! 3 weeks ago we bought and built one of the Harbor Freight 8x6 greenhouses. I'm going to have that thing so full of seedlings and plants that I won't be able to get into it!
Thank you to everyone, and especially Jeanne for this great swap!

Maggie S.

This post was edited by upacreekinin on Sat, Nov 1, 14 at 12:42

My package arrived today! I haven't had a chance to go through it - I did glance inside and am already excited to dig in! Thank you for all of your hard work Jeanne! I can't wait to see the new things that came in.

Mandy

I received my package yesterday. THANK YOU so much for everyone's generosity. And for the hostess efforts. Fantastic job! My family also thanks everyone for all the good food they will be eating next summer.
Peggy

Jeanne,
You can send my package now. It'll be the same address you have. We made a decision to stay here. Not that we really really wanted to, but... that's how it goes. So, I'm getting my basement ready to grow some greens and other stuff! Nope, I cannot wait to start something, lol! I built a table to plant greens in. Still working on a few things with it, just can't wait, Haha!

Thank You!!!

Drat I had typed a long message and the computer froze and I lost it. For more details read the FOTESS post. I have no computer service due to a storm - at the library with an iPad to type this. Yes, I packed some seeds by lantern and candlelight on Saturday (seriously, I did!) got more put together on Sunday when we had lights again. All but a few are getting mailed today. Will get the others out tomorrow. Crazy time here! Anyone want to head over to my place with chainsaws and saws? It looks like a hurricane came through. So much for preferring heavily wooded property.
Mary, I did not mail your package earlier. Don't know why I added it to the list.
Going to end now and head back to the post office. It's a 2 trip day! I figured people in line would be really upset by the quantity I had.
Take care. I'll be in touch as soon as I can.
Jeanne

Hey Jeanne, don't worry. Tomorrow I am a judge of Elections (get up at 3am, get home around nine thirty) and Wednesday I'll be recovering. Spring is a long way off. Wish I could help, sending good thoughts your way.

Mary E.

Jeanne- My package arrived today. Great job!
So sorry you had a storm to deal with. I hope things are getting better.
Love the selections everyone. I was hoping to thank you all individually but some of the packets came with no identification. So, thank you one and all for your great choices and generosity. Can't wait to get these seeds growing! --Jen

Jeanne, so very sorry to hear of the inclements you are having to deal with, sending good thoughts your way. I rec'd the most wonderful and amazing package today and I want to thank you all of you for making that happen! I am getting very excited at trying my hand again wintersowing this year. I am very pleased with everything and thank you all very much!

Jayeanne

I got my package of seeds today, and am very pleased with the selection. You all really nailed my themes!

A special thank you to Jeanne, hosting the swap, for the surprise treat, and for the Apple Blossom Yarrow, been wanting to get some other colors going.

I wondered if anyone would send peanuts for the "Peanut Butter and Jelly garden" and Alana did, I hope I can get them to grow!

I got many packs of different sunflowers for my "Vincent" garden and also Siberian Iris seeds, can't wait to grow these!

Many thanks to all who sent seeds for the Apple Pie garden, the Apple Gourds should be a challenge, space wise!

And Jensen, thank you for the Dusty Miller seeds, they are perfect for the Peanut Butter and Jelly garden. It took me a moment to get it: a Miller grinds seeds for the bread!

Many thanks to everyone who sent me seeds, this swap was great!
Shirley!

I just got home from work and a wonderful surprise was waiting for me in the mailbox -- my pack from Jeanne!!! I'm about to peruse the contents, but I wanted to post that I received it. Thanks so much, Jeanne for the wonderful swap. This one was tons of fun!!!!

*races off, seeds tight in hand*

Now that I've had a chance to look through the seeds I received. I want to thank everyone who sent in seeds for me! I am absolutely thrilled with the diverse selection of seeds I received. And another huge thanks to Jeanne for putting together such a great selection for me.

I also received my package of seeds today. Thanks to all who shared their seeds with me and thanks to our great hostess.

Mine came, too, and I'd like to thank you all for your thoughtfulness. Can't wait to start sowing.
Thanks for all your hard work Jeanne...job well done!!

Hi Jeanne
I got my packet of seeds this evening and I'm having great fun sorting and looking up all the different kinds that are new to me.

Thanks for the creativity and time it took for you to pull off such a mammoth job - you're amazing!

And thanks to all the seed-senders for the thoughtfulness and generosity in sharing your precious stash. I too am so grateful and will be sowing these seeds with thoughts of all of you in my heart.

Love to all
Susie

I received my seeds today. Thank you all for your generosity and creativity. I got many seeds that I didn't anticipate and am looking forward to trying. Special thanks to Jeanne for all her work and the surprise enclosure.

Susan

My package just arrived! Thank you Jeanne for your hard work. Thank you to everyone who participated.

My seeds are home. Thank you Jeanne, and everyone. I hate to single out a few packs because there were several clever and special seeds in my package, but I'll list a few that caught my eye while I was taking care of that little treat Jeanne included in the bag.

I was not thinking beans when I listed "What can brown do for you?", but I received some unexpected gems including brown soybeans and Kentucky Wonder Pole beans, among others. Love those and the flowers like Heuchera 'Mocha'.

Too Tall Jones drew several sunflowers, as I had hoped, but there were tall tall cosmos and Dahlias and Telephone Peas-can't wait to try those.

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea brought nice blues like Lord Anson's Pea and Heliotrope 'Marine'. How perfect was that one?

A lot of orange came for Retinal Burn. Shades of orange are among my favorites, but an interesting selection that was not orange was 'Fireworks' Gomphrena.

And Ghostly Apparitions netted Casper Pumpkins and Dictamnus albus as well as Dixie White Baby Lima Beans.

There were many more great seeds, but y'all don't want me to list the whole bag, so I'll stop there.
Thanks! Alana

Oh, Too Tall Jones, I liked that one!

The Mail Carrier rang the bell! The Theme Garden package arrived! What a treat on a gloomy day. My themes were: Chicago Fire Festival, Someone to Watch Over Me, There's No Aqua in Aquilegia, Black as Her Heart and Statue of Liberty Tempest Tost. Between Jeanne's expert artistic sorting and the creative minds picking seeds, I am extremely happy. Things I never thought to ask for and special things and I really haven't yet absorbed it all. Love my surprise, too.

To all the seed senders, thank you! I liked picking things for you, too!

To Jeanne, I hope you are OK. It may be awhile til you read this, thank you for all the fun and seeds.

Mary E.

Everyone's thoughtfulness made me tear-up a little, when I looked at all the great seeds that were sent to me. What a great group.

Thank you all! Jeanne I hope you're doing well.

Sheri

This post was edited by Panhandle_Seed_Swap on Sat, Nov 8, 14 at 6:17

Apologizing for lack of brevity in advance - perhaps a cup of tea would be in order?

Jeanne, I received my seeds on the 5th, and am overwhelmed at everyone's imaginative generosity. Was it the storm-tossed conditions where you live that inspired you to interpret my theme, "You Can Go Home Again" as a Wizard of Oz calamity? I laughed myself silly when I took out your asters "Double Rainbow" and then the melon 'Kansas' for a vine to clamber over the rainbow en route to Kansas. Still smiling.

For places where the yellow brick road was out, Janine sent a 'Magic Carpet' (Armeria maritima 'Rubrifolia)...talk about floating over pot holes in style. The road had also sunk a bit in boggy places, so Susie's 'Persian Carpet' (zinnia) kept my toes dry.

On one especially spooky night, everything was dark as black-bean soup, so an unknown trader's 'Northern Lights' (Linaria) illuminated the road so well that a spell cast by a Wicked Witch over our party sickening us with 'Blind Eye' (Garret's Papaver dubium (Blind Eye Poppy)) was lifted. Maybe the soup helped too - I had followed a Kitchen sink recipe and just dumped all this swap's foody offerings into it (something in there had to have helped) - dem_pa's Anasazi Beans, Yotetrapper's Mustard, Jensyen's Indian corn and Chinese Garlic Chives; and Browneyedsusan's Northern Sea Oats and Midwestfarmwife's Yellow Foxtail Millet helped thicken this delightful brew, which reached its absolute epicurean pinnacle of supreme foodiness with poisondartfrog's Queen Anne's Pocket Melon.

Well, that was a pretty heavy meal, so thanks to Susie's Magic Beans, I was able to 'Double Click' my heels (pinkiris' Cosmos bipinnatus 'Double Click' mix) and fly over a few more bogs and pot holes.

This time of year, travelers can forage among Gum Drop groves (Janine's Zinnia 'Gumdrop Candy') that have been seeded by trick or treaters during long ago Halloweens. For those more health-conscious, foragers can munch their way through thickets of Cottonwood's Tomato 'Indigo' "Blue Berries", I1oness' 'Boston Pickling' cucumbers and pinkiris' Sunflower seeds.

Satisfying my Fee Fi Fo Fum I smell something nice theme, the road often meandered through something fragrant, including Drippy's Dianthus alwoodii, Janine's old fashioned Heliotropium arborescens, Rubywing's Cupid sweet pea and Unknown's Rose Mix. Scents of clove came from every basil known to mortals - Sweet from pmb2005, Lime from Panhandle, Cinnamon from Midwestfarmwife, and Purple Ruffles from Canyonwind. Janine's Evening Stock, Panhandle's Fennel, Jensyen's Agastache and Nonna's Lavender turned this symphony of scents into a masterpiece.

Coming home, my constant companion, poisondartfrog's Kingfisher (Felicia bergeriana (Kingfisher Daisy) 'Cub Scout') brought me a steaming cup of Sandlapper_rose's 'Cappuchine' (Rudbeckia). It was morning, and during the night the rain had bejeweled every leaf and twig with WoodsideTrader's 'Persian Jewels' ( Nigella damascena).

Thank you everyone for such a magical trip, and Jeanne for opening the gate to this fantasy.

Also to this swap, I hope you won't mind, but since I did not post a wish list, I received a few seeds whose plants I either was already growing or that I might not be able to grow next summer, so I passed them along to someone who I found out needed seeds. She protested to no avail - they're on their way.

Karen

I must say - I totally loved your story, Karen. Thanks for the fun read!

~Susie

Karen, you win for posting about what you received. I grew six of those Indigo Blue Berries cherry tomato plants this season. They were loaded with trusses of black marbles. Next I am going to put one in an upside down thing. You have to wait for them to get red (red not orange, wait for it) where the sun doesn't hit. We had frost last Saturday night, I still have a couple of handfuls, ripening indoors.

Mary E.

Karen, What a delightful story...

Thank you to all who sent seeds in special for me.

I'll name what was sent in for me all stapled up as I am looking my theme swap seeds.

jensyen sent one for each of my themes.,poisondart sent me 5 commercial packets jaynine..I got 3 packets of petunia excerta"i'm sure you only sent one special for me>, I think I will have enough of them to last a couple of seasons! Jaynine also sent var. dames rocket...yay! panhandle sent me 2 special packets of seeds labeled please do not touch, they are from ishares wishlist. She also sent bells of Ireland. I got a good chuckle out of them labeled that way! yotetrapper sent me 3 packets one is ivy leaves mg .Primrose sent me a couple of nice arisaemas ,dem-pa sent sweet sultan, hollyhock pink and celosia pink .promise sent 3 packs of seeds, bells of Ireland being one of them. Susiequsi sent some petunias...Susie, keep your eye out for an email from me.

I wish I could list them all but I had lots with no players name on them so I am unable to mention you here.

Jeannie, I got the most packets from you ,20/25, you didn't need to throw those in to fill in. I didn't need to get anywhere near the same number of packets back. I'm sorry maybe I forgot to tell you that this year.

Oh, another interesting packet was labeled" a bit of a mystery, blue flower on wispy stem" no player name on the packet though...I'm thinking nigella, YOU?

I'm very curious to know who the person was that played but didn't get seeds back. I didn't have anything from anyone not getting seeds back "not that this is a problem, I don't always have something for everyone either!>....just that curiosity killed the cat and what he found out brought him back...haha. I have an idea of who it may have been but I'm not sure as I didn't get any packets from them.

Again, thank you everyone!

Lisa

A big hello to everyone! I am still without Internet and phone service. When I called on Sun. and they told me "by the evening of Nov. 11th" I obviously thought they were greatly exaggerating! I am not very close to the library so this is only my second trip here to "check in". I hope everyone has received now because all of the seeds have been sent. Loved your story, Karen.
Yes, some senders told me they did not need as many seeds back, but if you sent 100 or more I wanted you to get at least 100 back. Everyone with less than 100 should have gotten at least a few more than what they sent. I'm just happy to hear YOU are happy! If you didn't need what you got (or the number you got) just share again.
Hope to be back online soon.
Jeanne

I received my packet of seeds and thoroughly enjoyed curling up on the couch and eating the piece of dark chocolate Jeanne sent while looking over each and every packet of seeds! I was utterly amazed at the selections and pleased at so many matches to my themes. I'm sure that I will look them over many times throughout the long upcoming winter, dreaming about where to plant specific varieties of flowers and planning the vegetable garden. Thank you very much to everyone and to Jeanne for being hostess.

I received my seeds on Thursday or Friday. Sorry it took me a bit to say something. It's been hectic here at the home.

When I got them, I was super happy. made my day. It took a few hours to open them up. And the constant thought of a big seed packet was on my mind the whole time they sat to be opened, lol! There were some very interesting seeds in there and I was very happy to get them. They arrived just in time too - I was planting seeds in my 3' X 3' inside planter box. I was then in deep thought as to which ones to plant out of the new seeds. That night I think I stayed up to 6 am just looking at them all, Haha!

Thank You All for the wonderful seeds. And Thank You Jeanne for the time it took at doing such a wonderful job, especially during a really rough time your having. Hope to hear things improve over there for you! I loved the prize you put together. I hung it up in my gardening dungeon as some here at home would call it. =)

I had a chance to go through my seeds recently and wanted to thank all of the people who sent in the seeds - everyone did an amazing job at picking out seeds, and Jeanne did a great job at sorting too! I have a great selection to start out my 2015 garden with.

Thank you again!
Mandy

I swore I posted on here saying I received my seeds but now I'm not seeing it? Hope I didn't post on a wrong thread somewhere, lol.

Anyhow I got them the other day and was way impressed. You guys went above and beyond this year, this was the most impressive Theme swap I've been in. I love everything!

Thanks so much for all the seeds. So excited to plant them at my new home next spring! Thanks a bunch, and especially sandlapper rose for hosting... know that's a ton of work!

I'm just posting one final time to say I read through all the messages carefully once we had our internet connection once again and thank you all so much. I love reading about your reaction to what was received. The gardeners who sign up for this swap are always so creative!

I can't help but end with a picture of the sorting by candlelight and lantern on the day of our snowstorm. This was a day I won't forget. LOL

Best wishes to everyone and have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and I hope everything grows for you. I begin winter sowing in January and there will be lots of fun ahead for me as well.

Jeanne

This post was edited by sandlapper_rose on Mon, Nov 17, 14 at 22:15

So wish I could have participated this year (sigh) - we are still in limbo, though - hope I will rejoin again next year. Sounds like you all had a wonderful swap; Jeanne is the best!