Saturday I received a cheerful Santa card from Shirley (brittneysgran) along with seeds for calla lilies and two kinds of coneflowers, White Swan and Sundown. Thank you! I'll be starting all of those right away.

I am so sorry I couldn't post the seeds and cards I received the past week due to my computer not working then when I got on, I couldn't locate the current posting. Now that I found the current one for this year here are the cards and seeds I received:

From Nikkineel: a home made card with Mexican Hat yellow & red seeds and blanket flower seeds.

From Jeff (VaJeff): yellow ratibida; gaillardia goblin & canterbury Bells.

From Heidi (xiangirl): husker red penstemon; 2 color pincushion flower; 2 colors of gaillardia; New England Aster 2 kinds of Mexican Hat; and helenium flower seeds.

Thanks so much for all the flower seeds. I will be busy fixing a new spot for these come warmer weather.

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas with plenty of seeds to plant come time for planting in their different areas.

This post was edited by cardinalwv on Sat, Jan 4, 14 at 20:47

Sorry everyone, I got hit Christmas Eve with the flu, followed by a head cold...not what I wanted from Santa, but even with being sick..I enjoyed time with my kids. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas !!

BINGO WORDS ....

HOPE
IVY
TREE
FROSTY
GOODWILL

Lisa ..ishareflowers, to answer your question..I didn't do any gardening this year. I have to have help, and both of my kids are so busy in school and working, that I just enjoyed what was growing. I appreciate everyone asking...I love doing this swap, because it allows me to still enjoy being connected :)

I finally it to the mailbox and low and behold, there were 3 more cards!

Primrose sent me centaurea the bride, gomphrena, melampodium,silene and purple alyssum. Thank you Karen!

Redthread sent me a cute snowman card...It came in a baggie from the post office because it was opened But the seeds made it through! She sent trailing petunia and alyssum. Thank you!

Sjc (Shirley) sent me a cute card of thanks for the seeds I sent her and included a unopened package of rudbeckia Cherokee sunset seeds...Thank you Shirley, you didn't have to do that!!!

Kym, Sorry to hear that you can't garden at all. I was hoping to be able to send you a little something pretty..lol

Lisa

My card tree, made with all the wonderful cards I received during this trade. The cards on the mantle are from family.

I have to confess, my dog swished his huge tail across the table and mixed up my cards. I had them seperated into thanked and need to thank. So I would like to make sure I thank everyone that sent me a card and seeds.

Thank you to : Dem_pa, DirtDaddy, ForeverRecycleReuse, Lorabell, Patrob, plant-one-on-me, roper2008, yotetrapper, jimryder, flowergirl34, mchill320, nikkineel, panhandle_see_swap, detrilgirl77, pinkiris, ran_grow, socialgardengal, VaJeff, cghpnd, cryptid, debby_1

Thank you all so very much. I am planning two new flower beds and 3 elevated garden beds to make room for all the lovely seeds I received this month. Happy NEW YEAR to everyone and successful gardening to all,

MIssyGA64

I hope all had a wonderful Christmas! Some of the cards are from family and other friends! But I loved them all. Thank you all so much for making my Christmas brighter! Melinda

I have a few belated thank you's. Sorry for the late response! With having to travel out of town and the chaos that followed upon returning, I'm just now catching up with things.

From socalgardengal I received a sparkly card of a cardinal perched on a holly with a snowy winteresque background. Included were seeds of white rosa rugosa, which I've read is rather prolific with hips (good for tea) and tolerates part shade - it will make a great addition to the tea garden. Also included were dwarf cherry rose nasturtium seeds - I'm going to have a ton of nasturtiums this year and I can't wait to grow them! Thank you!

Roper2008 sent an adorable card of a puppy in the snow. These cards are too cute. They make me want to go out and adopt another puppy. Included were seeds of siam queen basil (I love basil, especially the thai types); hopi red dye amaranth - looks surprisingly similar to, but darker than, a volunteer celosia I've had for years - which will add a great pop of dark red/burgundy to contrast the other plants; lady bird nasturtium - a great addition to my new collection! Thank you!
I've been going to that Feed and Seed every spring and summer for the past four years or so for bedding plants, vegetable starts, potting supplies, and seeds - great prices and a nice assortment! They're very friendly and helpful.

From Ruby_Dog, a cute reindeer and santa card with seeds of siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' (I've wanted this for a while now), veronica 'Sunny Border Blue' - will go great around the buddleia and chartreuse agastache, and mixed calendula - another fantastic addition to the tea garden. Thank you!

This swap has been a treat, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season and thank you for all your generosity and kindness. Happy gardening in 2014!

Christine (socalgardengal), sent me a cute sparkly cat card with Tomato Ingeglio, Jaunne Flamme, dwarf czech bush, rutgers (c), stump of the world, Marrian's peace, Lettuce red salad bowl and Argula Roquette. Thank you for your generocity. Love tomatoes and can't wait to try them. Thank you so much

Nikki, sent me a hand made card with Pole beans "malibu", Coleus chocolate colored cherry (love it) and Dahlia Fireworks stripped (love to try). Thank you so much

lexigurl, sent me a very cute wreath card with Bibb Lettuce, Burpeeana early peas, Yellow pear tomato, Peurvian purple pepper, Hungarian yellow wax pepper (love peppers) and sibarian kale. Love everything and can't wait to try them. Thank you so much.

Alana, sent me a nice santa christmas tree and deer card which folds over with Zinnia 7 color mixed (commercial) seed. Love Zinnias and will grow it. Thank you so much.

Admission of Guilt
I was searching for one more stamp today and found 10 cards I had forgotten to mail. If we can't find something in our house I say, "It's carefully filed." These really were carefully filed. I should have left myself a note to make sure I mailed them!
So...if you get a card halfway through January it's probably from this crazy seed swapper! I am so sorry. I apologize to everyone, especially Santa Kym.
Heidi in Nebraska

Aha,...tonight I finally finished posting positive "Rate & Review Exchanges" posts for all who have so generously sent Elly & I cards-n-seeds. - Truly, we absolutely dearly love this swap!! Super-duper ultra thanks to all!! :)

Thank you browneyesusan for the wonderful seeds you sent!!
Tonya

I have 2 more thank you's!
Ericka-ct sent me bright lights swiss chard in lovely Noel card. Love chard!
Annie-canyonwind sent me rainbow and oriole orange swiss chard!
I am thrilled with these seeds! Thank you both so much!
Melinda

Thank you very much poisondartfrog for the green mist Ammi visnaga. How perfect as I do both fresh and dry flower arrangements. Appreciate it.

I got a lovely Labrador card from Annie/canyonwind today! She include Stump of the World Tomato and Ananas D'Amerique Char Verte melon... thank you!

Thank you to all the dear Secret Santas who sent me cards and seeds! I got cards and seeds from:

canyonwind
plant-one-on-me
roper2008
Lorabell
debby-1
vogt0047
missyGA64
l1oness
pinkiris
nikkineal
Ruby_Dog
poisondartfrog
ishareflowers
katkni
aquadragonfly

The USPS is a bit strange this year, so please let me know if you sent a card and I didn't receive it. Thank you!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Lorabell, I'm glad you got that! It was mailed 10 days ago and was among several others that apparently did not find their way. That means there is still hope that they will!

And two stragglers for me, today.
Debby_1 sent Coleus along with one of my all time favorite Marigolds-Simba, in a peaceful rural snow scene card. I am so happy to have them!

Shirley/sjc48 sent a lovely commercial pack of Coleus, Rainbow Blend, that appears to be intact despite the abuse the pretty "Let It Snow" card apparently endured. Thanks Shirley! I will be sowing them soon.

Alana

The USPS is either really lightning fast or turtle-slow! I just read Heidi's post about her cards going out yesterday and then I got one in my mailbox tonight.

And it feels like Christmas all over again. Thank you so much, Heidi, for sending me my wishes! The Morning Glory seeds are amazing and I'm so glad to get white ones. My husband and I saw a wild one and tried to keep watch of the one bloom to see if it set seeds, but it disappeared. So these seeds are special as though from a special friend.

Also, I'm looking forward to growing impatiens again since they are hard to come by down here.

Thanks a million - may your gardening days all be blessed....and I love the little seed packets that look exactly like big ones. Did you make them yourself? They're perfect!

Susie

I've received 3 more beautiful cards since Christmas.
primrose1x3 sent, blue flax , clematis meraclei folic, dianthus Holborn Glory, Liatris spiceta & achillea millefolium yarrow.
ishareflowers sent, Blue Hungarian poppy, Prince of Orange poppy, red, purple, pink poppies, California poppies Jelly Beans & Sonata White cosmos.
debby_1 sent Rustic colors rudbeckia & Containers Choice
Red tomato seeds.
I'm going to sow the cutting flower seeds in my raised beds, hoping to have blooms for April 26th. My daughter is getting married and if I have enough flowers blooming, I'll offer to make mixed bouquets for the reception.
Thank you for the beautiful cards and sharing your seeds.
Happy Gardening in the new year!!

May be this one is the last and final card of the season. Enjoyed the swap very much. Thanks kym.

Cryptid Darrin - sent me a nice hand made card, "how to grow Japanese red maple tree instruction." How sweet! Pretty crocheted butterfly pin. So pretty. My special thanks to Elly, and lots of seeds. Seeds are Japanese red maple tree (super excited), Tomato san marzano (looks interesting), Tomato Mortgage lifter (love it too big fruits), Basil Napeleatano (good one to try), Pole bean kentucky wonder, Eggplant florida market (yum). Thank you so much can't wait to try these.

Happy New Year to all.

This post was edited by jas_il on Mon, Dec 30, 13 at 20:23

I haven't updated for awhile, but these are what I have received. I may have already posted some of these though.

From Dawn(lexiegirl) a glittery card with a mailbox full of presents. Seeds were jalapeno pepper, red cayenne pepper, variegated tomato and red russian tomato.

From Iris(rane_grow) a cute happy holidays card with a bear balancing presents. Seeds for black prince tomato.

From Imogene(CardinalWV) a handmade card made using magazine cutouts.. Seeds were columbine, hibiscus and black knight butterfly bush.

From Kathy(katkini) a lovely card of a holiday garland. Seeds were nemophilia, jewels of opar and flax.

From Anne(canyonwind)an adorable card of a black and a yellow lab puppy surrounded by colorful ornaments. Seeds were dr. lyle tomato and rose beauty tomato.

From Patricia(patrob) a nice card of santa carrying his sack of presents. Seeds were matina tomato, amana orange tomato and mexican mint marigold.

From Alana(poisondartfrog) a santa express card. Seeds of calendula bon bon apricot marigold.

Thank you so very much everyone for the lovely cards and seeds. Such unique and interesting varieties that I can't wait to grow out!

I received a beautiful card with the Santa Express Train on it with Santa waving as he enters the train from Miss Alana, thank you so much Alana, it's a very beautiful card and I was so happy to have gotten one more in the mail.
Inside were:
Basil Summerlong
Organic Watermelon Allsweet (have never ever heard of this one, will be anticipating the watermelon from these...woohoo!!!)

Thank you so very much Miss Alana!

:) Aqua

I'm glad to see cards still coming in. I feel like I have a few I haven't heard about but I know between the irregularities of holiday mail, people getting busy and/or sick and cards getting mixed up, there's some that we'll just never know about, and that's OK!

The most fun for me this year was figuring out what to send to people who had the most specific requests. I don't have a lot of specialty varieties that were on wish lists, but didn't want that to stop me from sending a card to as many people as possible.

I received yesterday--just in time for my birthday today--some balcony petunias and cockscomb mix from Annie (canyonwind). I suspect those are the old-fashioned petunias whose scent I love so much, and cockscomb's unusual blooms always fascinate me too. Many thanks, Annie!

I recieved a pretty card with huechera seeds yesterday from erika_ct. Thank you much! :)
Tonya

SANTA CLAUS
LIGHTS
KISSES
GINGERBREAD
CHIMNEY
BELLS
GREETINGS

First off sorry for the delay... wait times and bad hold music have made the new year celebration a bit edgy :(

Thank you Cryptid for the lovely butterfly pin. Let you wife know they are my favorite colors and I love butterflies. Perfect gift. and also for the cinnamon basil and parsnips and salsify. I love growing root veggies for the cellar.

I have many thanks to post...I always wait till Christmas or Christmas Eve to open my cards, and actually opened them the day after this year since I am sick.

I truly appreciate that you took the time to send to me...
I do the swap because It brings me so much joy in seeing the happiness :) Many thanks to you ALL for joining the swap and making it what it is !!

Thanks soo very much to those that sent cards ...love them all !!

socalgardengal
ruby_dog
jimryder
nottougly
kchd
poisondrtfrog
pinkiris

and to those that added a little something ...which wasn't needed, but enjoyed ;)

ilovefarac thanks for the cute Santa card, and for the help with my Angels this season...meant a lot to my family !

ruthz thanks so much for the tea ! I will think of you as I enjoy a cuppa :)

panhandle seed swap, thanks so much for the music cd !

dem_pa thanks for the zinnia seeds , I will have my daughter direct sow them this spring.

l1oness the gift tags are so cute ! thanks :)

katkni, the snowflakes are just adorable, what talent you have !

naturegirl_2007 thanks so much for being a SECRET santa this year, and hope you will join in fully next season :)

plant-one-on-me thanks for the cute paper seed strips, what a cute idea ! I hope you and your granddaughter are doing well ...

canyonwind, what a sweet thing to do ! I was given a Santa of the Year award...much thanks !! Much thanks for the help with our Christmas :)

lorabell, sent me a bar ofhandmade honeysuckle soap, which I cant stop smelling :) thank you !

dirtdaddy has always sent to my dog Princess, since she injured her back a few years ago. She knew as soon as the package came..and really enjoyed her bones. She says "ruff, ruff" to ya Dave :)

clipclop sent a beautifully handmade ornament made from a Tennessee spinner gourd she grew, how creative ! much thanks :)

cryptid and Elly, sent me two beautiful butterflies, and a ladybug. Darren, not sure if you remember my friends daughter passing away, and they called her Ladybug..but anytime I see a ladybug I think of little Morgan. hope your feeling better, and please thanks Elly for me !

flowergirl34 sent me a hand crocheted tea towel with apples on it, just happens my kitchen is done in red and apples ! thanks

To those that sent one card, to those that sent 60....this swap couldn't be as awesome as it is without YOU !! It isn't about how many you can mail......its about sharing in the spirit of the holiday with our fellow friends and gardeners.

Thank you for making my season bright, and I wish you ALL the best in 2014. Anyone want to keep in touch on FB...feel free to send me a request.

I will be back with card count total, and more BINGO...just wanted to post my THANKS :)

Today I received a cute card of animals climbing on a reindeer from Katie(redthreaddiy) She sent quinoa and lemon balm, along with other seeds that are part of a trade. I will get your seeds to you asap.

Thank you!

And yet another card arrives in my mailbox. I received it from Erika-ct yesterday. The card contained picklebush cucumber seeds. I am going to be making a lot of cucumbers this summer. Yum, thank you Erika. Margo

i returned from a week long visit with my family in Florida to find a pile of cards containing seeds. It was like Christmas all over again! Thanks to:

Canyonwind for Balcony Petunia and Cockscomb seeds

Nikki Neel and Sarah Kate for Vigna caracalla, and oregano.

Katkni for Cosmos and Double Cosmos, lemon basil and moss rose seeds.

Poisondartfrog for Salvia nubicola- I do not have this one and am looking forward to trying it.

Ishare for Helenium helena Red Shades, Tiarella 'Silverado', Platycodon 'Astra" double white, Geranium 'Confetti", Heuchera 'Mocha",Celosia 'Pink Candles',two kinds of petunias, Salvias 'coral nymph' and 'Snow Queen'. I was blown away!

Debby for Heuchera and Iberis seeds.

Many of these seeds were on my list and some were new to me. I love trying new plants and will enjoy interplanting perennials with annuals that I received. Thanks for the beautiful cards as well.

Susan

Just wanted to stop by and thank Kym for hosting this swap again this year. It is one of my favorites and I appreciate the time that Kym puts into it. Good Job, Kym!
Happy New Year, Everyone!
Shirley!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Happy New Years!!!!

I have been out of town. I returned to find more elf action in my mailbox!

Ruby_Dog sent a darling card....a very brave cat sitting on a dogs back!! And seeds Snapdragon Tall Deluxe mixed colors, Rutgers Tomato and Gaillardia. Wonderful!!!! Thanks so much Betsy!

Erika_ct sent a snowman card and Heuchera seeds. Looking forward to growing this.....the dark peach foliage wil be nice!! Thank you so very much!!

Erika and Betsy, may 2014 bring you a happy garden!!

Annie

susieqsie I'm so glad you got the card. I mailed those cards 12/16. That's 14 days! So for those cards I just found and mailed...it will probably be Valentine's Day or Easter before they arrive. I also know I've been worrying about this way too much. Let go and let God...or the USPS! I loved hearing your stories! So often morning glories have become invasive and I was hoping nobody would say, "Oh great, more morning glories...what was she thinking?" lol
Here's our Nebraska weather report. Sunday was 60. Monday was 6. Tuesday was 53. Wednesday it's 25 and 6" of snow! We're taking a state vote whether to call it "bipolar" weather or "whiplash" weather! Gotta love it!
Heidi

Got a late card in the mail made by Nikki/nikkineel, containing lots of interesting seeds to try and echinacea cheyenne spirit which I just saw in a catalog the other day that I wanted!! :)
Thank You and Happy New Year Everyone!!
~michael

Hi all,

A little late thanking everyone. I hate to see this end, but will eagerly participate next year.

From erika_ct I received purple broccoli. We grow a lot of broccoli.

CardinalWV sent foxglove and sunflowers. I'm just getting ready to start a batch of foxglove so that should work out well.

Ruby-dog sent watermelon (my husband loves these), sea holly, and columbine.

Xiangirl sent double zinnias, conflowers, and marigolds, several varieties of each. These are all my favorites.

Poisondartfrog sent Vanilla Cream marigold (yea).

And last but not least Susie sent marigolds, geranium, salvia, romaine lettuce, and zinnia.

Thank you and I hope everyone has a very good gardening season for 2014.

Debby

Lexiegurl -- Thank you for the lovely Christmas card and the following seeds: Purple Tomatillo, Ananas Noire Tomato, Boothby's Blonde Cucumber, Roma II Bush Bean and Blue Lake Pole Bean. Thank You Dawn!

Thinking this will be the last card that I receive in this swap. I have definitely enjoyed both the giving and receiving of all these holiday cards. It had made checking the mailbox fun :) Thank You Everyone!

Sorry I haven't been here. I was out of town for the holidays, visiting my family back home in NY. I just got home last night and was blown away by how many cards I received, more than any other year I believe!

Thank you so much to everyone.

CardinalWV: Columbine and Sweat Peas

ClipClop: Confederate rose, moon and stars watermelon and 4 o'clocks

BrownEyedSusan: Rose Campion

Nikkineel: Swirls and peppermint stick zinnia, rose campion, and double white lady butterfly pea vine

Debby: hollyhocks and red zinnias

VaJeff: fuschia and bicolor 4 o'clocks, and knee high red profusion zinnia

SoCalGardenGal: Fuschia and white 4 o'clocks and dark pink hollyhocks

Laurie: Fordhook Giant hollyhocks, Lima beans. 4 o'clocks and basil

I1oness: Homemade Pickles cucumber and dill

jimryder: Sweat peas streamers mix and azureaus blue, boston pickling and Beit Alpha pickling cucumbers

MissyGa64: Dixie speckled butter pea and moon and stars watermelon

Rane-Grow: Rebel Yell tomato (new to me, had to look it up, excited to try this one!)

Cryptid: Mixed color o'clocks and rose campion. Cryptid's wife Elly also crocheted a beautiful butterfly pin for me. I also crochet, and it's very very nice work! Be sure to thank her for me, it's lovely!

I feel I may have forgotten one or more people who sent me cards, and if I did, I apologize. It was a crazy Christmas for me with a recent loss in the family, and going out of town and if I missed you it wasn't intentional. All these cards really brightened up my days. So thank you all so much again!

Sorry I just now found the current listing for thank you's for the seeds I received just recently after they were forwarded due to me travelling to warmer weather.

I want to thank the following:

debbi1 - sent a santa claus Christmas card with cherry brandy rudbeckia and larkspur flower seeds. I love both kinds.

patrob (Patricia) sent - nicotiania; helinium; gaillardia. inside a beautiful card with santa on the fronnt.

Betsy (Ruby-dog) sent: helenium red & gold, geum which is new to me but I love pictures of them; nicotiana mixed. inside a Christmas card with a cat & dog on the front

Lisa (Ishareflowers) sent: scabiosa red; 3 different varieties of geum; and double balloon flower seeds plus some stokesia seeds (I have only one color stokesia and I love them).

Thanks so much and I love all the flower seeds I received and plan on planting them come warmer weather.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Imogene

This post was edited by cardinalwv on Sat, Jan 4, 14 at 20:44

Another card in today's mail! What fun!

Alana, thank you for the glittery Santa card and seeds for Redman Super Cactus zinnia. I love cactus zinnias and look forward to growing this beautiful variety.

Cardinal, would you be kind enough to go and edit the post that you put my last name? Thanks I share

Today I received another card! According to the note written on the envelope, it was delayed due to the zip code being incorrect, but at least it made it!

Thank you Kathy (katkni) for the very pretty cardinal card and seeds. I received lemon basil (I've been looking forward to trying this!), calendula, black cumin (sounds interesting), and cosmos. Thank you so much!

P.S. Although a bit late, I finished my rate and reviews for everyone I received from today. Thank you all!

Mandy

This post was edited by l1oness on Thu, Jan 2, 14 at 19:41

I wanted to thank Kym for hosting the Secret Santa
Swap, and also everyone that participated. I think
this is my 3rd time, and I always look forward to it.
Lots of fun sending out the cards, and receiving them
too.

Happy New Year Everyone.

sack
nutcrackers
manger
carols
baking
jolly

We mailed 1,023 cards, and ilovefarac guessed it EXACTLY !!! WOW !!!!!!

by my records, no one should have received less than 10 cards, which is amazing in my book..I always strive for no less than five.

Many, Many thanks to everyone for such a wonderful swap, and I hope you will join again next year. Happy growing :)

Just when I thought we were done, I received another card from Heidi (xiangirl). Thank you! I look forward to growing the different kinds of Cosmos and Columbine you sent.

Thank you! I hope everyone has a great 2014! Thank you for running this swap Kym!

Mandy

Thank you so much Heidi (xiangirl) for the adorable Christmas card and the much appreciated cactus zinnias, husker red penstemon, and the moonflower daturas! I will be growing all of these for sure! Thank you so much and I hope you have a blessed and beautiful 2014 !

Wow, that is cool! I never thought I'd get it exactly right on the exact #. That's just the number that popped in my head. I just love this swap. People are so kind and generous and makes it so much fun at Christmas! Thanks again Kym for hosting!

Thank you to Detroitgirl77 for all of the pepper seeds! There are a lot of new varieties that I don't have yet and can't wait to grow. Thank you!