hey Sharon Thanks for starting the new thread.
Obviously I have not posted AND I have not sent seeds yet either. I'm off to a very slow start this month. Much like the clivias.
Four years seems to be about the earliest you can look for them to bloom. My daughter keeps hers in tha family room in the winter and under the porch in the summer. Tells me mine are getting "too much light". Well, mine look fine but I still have couple years to wait for bloom. I'm anxious for DD's yellow and/or red ones to bloom so I can get seeds from them. Wonder if I'll ever see mine bloom? That could be a long ways off.
Anyway, thanks for posting Sharon and Jeanette I'll try to mail Monday. Tomorrow is a Holiday at the PO.

Hi Mary Ellen (mellen).
I'm sending your November seed packet out in Monday's mail. Look for it by the end of the week. Hope you and your family are doing well.
Ann

Just 'bumping' this to the front page;)
Bonnie --your seeds go out tomorrow!!
Jeanette

Ann,
I sent your seeds out this afternoon.
They should get there in a few days....
Happy Thanksgiving......
Bonnie

Kathy, what is your zip code ?hope to mail your seeds monday. thankyou carol

Ann, received my seeds yesterday. I was smilin' big! Thanks for two more filled wishes. I couldn't believe it! Cosmos pied piper and tassle flower scarlet magic. WoooHoooo.....Plus beauuuutiful nicotiana marshmallow. I just love nicotiana. That was the main plant in our circle drive two summers ago. Thank you and thank you and thank YOU! Mary Ellen

Sharon, your seeds came today. I love what you sent, and a few of them I have not grown before, so that will be a fun thing for me. Love the card you sent....homemade of course. I used to make homemade cards but gave it up in place of all the homemade cooking I do now. Every time I look at the flowers from the seeds that you sent, I will think of you. Thank you so much for the nice variety. The holidays are coming up, and I hope that you and your family have a nice thanksgiving. We are having a quiet one, just the two of us, as all our children are busy going to other relatives. Anyway, you have a great Thanksgiving.
Darlene

Hi Darlene,
So glad you liked some of the seeds. It's so hard to know what to send sometimes.

We eat our Thanksgiving Dinner at 1pm so those that have other families to visit can eat with them later in the day. That works for the ones that are close. I have a lot of brothers and their wives always seem to be the deciding factor about where they are eating. So Mom decided long ago to have our dinner early so she could see her boys. :o)

Mom is now gone, but the tradition lives on. Those that travel to get here like the early time ... they have time to eat and visit before they drive back home.

Only 16 at our dinner this year ... we are spreading out.

How many for the rest of you?

Sharon

Sharon, you have always sent out seeds that I use, which is super. I grow a little of everything, annuals, perennials. I have a shade garden with hostas, ferns, hepatica, lungwort, wintergreen, etc. Then a huge sun type flower garden, with a lot of perennials and annuals tucked in, a lot of bulbs and some shrubs. I have a huge spot that "was" all dahlias, now I am searching for a nice shrub for it, maybe hibiscus or something that flowers. I also have a lot of hydrangeas, although I have only purchased 2, most are started by me, also 36 roses, a lot of rhodies and azaleas. Inbetween, I have a lot of lavanders, foxgloves, shasta daisies, and other plants. I am always willing to give new plants a try. Has anyone ever started cardoon plants? I have seeds from a neighbor, but have tried several times and cannot get them to sprout. Sharon, our family is all right here in town, they just go early to other homes, and spend the day. We are not upset over it, that is what happens as the kids get older. We have been married almost 50 yr. now, so well adapted to changes in life. Everyone have a nice thanksgiving, and be thankful for all the beauty that is around us.
Darlene

Bonnie,
Your seeds arrived today. Just in time for being extra thankful this year for having you as an exchange partner. I've been wanting to try monkshood from seed and I love cooking with thyme so the seeds are most appreciated. The trailing soapwort will be lovely along the top of my stone border in a new bed I put in just last spring. Thank you Bonnie. I've really enjoyed getting to know you this year through your wonderful seed selections and notes. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Ann

Darlene,
I have started cardoon in my north bed facing south, in the backyard that gets sun from the east in the morning and sun in the afternoon from the west.
Right now the plant is about 3 feet tall which started to grow late in the season and didn't flower. The foliage is striking, kind of like prickly fern and thick. I think that it will die back this winter in the cold and then if I plant more seeds in the early spring, it will grow and flower after several good months of sun. I'm hoping for flowers this year. I just put some seeds on top of the soil and used my thumb to press them in about an inch below soil level. I covered them with soil and watered them about once a week or when I thought about them. I would mark where you plant them as they take a while to show. I think getting sun most of the day worked along with pretty much forgetting about them and letting nature water them. I did put a wire pyramid over them to protect them from my cats digging them up or out of the soil as they grew. That's it.
Nothing special. I do have tons of seeds left..so if you need more, let me know and I will send you some for the spring.

Bonnie

Beth, how many more months of your seed swap do we have? No, I'm NOT getting tired of it. I just got some new seeds for certain people. Thanks, Mary Ellen

Isn't December the last month???? If it's not, someone needs to refresh my memory banks. I'm still suffering from CRS syndrome. It's progressive and incurable. LOL That's Ok I won't remember anyway.
BB

Hey Beth, I thought it was Dec also.
I have a pretty card all picked out for my seed pal and some seeds for our last 'hurrah'.

Beth, I got the seeds from Sunflower swap, how sweet of you to send me the small sunflowers! I do have a couple pots I can try and grow those in. :o)

I sure am enjoying this 60 degree weather. I just know it won't last. Took a couple walks, hubby emptied and cleaned out the hot tub. Last time we will be able to do that till April.

Sure am looking forward to Feb/March to start some of the nice seeds I've received in this swap.

Thank you so much Beth for putting this one together. It didn't seem to have the strentgh of the last one you did, but even so ... I've enjoyed it!

Sharon

Bonnie, thanks for the directions on the cardoon. I will give that a try, I think I have about 30 seeds left. They sure are a striking plant. Sharon, I can't believe the weather or heat wave there! We are having a rare snowfall at present, it is early for snow here, which does not last but a few days. We lived in Mich. and I remember a lot of snow. Beth, what is CRS syndrome? I am curious, and can pray for you on that. I have eye surgery next week, so focusing on getting more nutrients in the system so I am stronger for that. At present, having a colon flare for 2 weeks, which is not fun at all, so I missed all the holiday sales on Fri. But last week, just for a break, we went to a nursery, and I got a lot of items on sale which was nice.
Darlene

HI Sharon, the seeds you sent for the sunflower swap were terrific and you said your space was limited so I tried to choose acordingly. You are right about this swap not being "as strong", a good term I think. There is so much emphasis on swapping boxes stuffed full of goodies I think I lot of the real garden swap flavor is lost. There are also not as many of the old timers here. That is, of course, true everywhere. There just aren't as many of us still doing things.
Sharon, in AK there are people who use their hot tubs all year. Probably even more in the winter because mosquitoes are not a problem then and the northern lights add an extra enchantment. Ya gotta love it.
Dear Darlene, my CRS is a matter of can't remember S---. I have never had a good memory and it truly is getting worse. Praying for me is a good idea as I find I need to write everything down, even at work. Then I need to remember to take the paper with me so I can read it and refresh my mind. It's scary.
We joke about it. I remember a patient saying, "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most", but it's far from funny. Thanks for your kind thoughts.
Beth B

Bonnie--you should have had your seeds by now--they went out on the 20th--let me know;)

Beth--I hate to see this come to an end--I didn't realize Dec was the last month--I have CRS too hahahaha!! I will miss the monthly stash of seeds--have many to winter sow though--- so wish me luck on that!!
Jeanette

This fell off the front page--hope nobody got hurt--hahaha!
Bonnie--did you get your pkg???
Jeanette