Well, I try to avoid reading those wish lists, since they tend to make my own wish list longer. As I try to restrict myself to solid colored hostas, and some streakers for breeding purposes, this is what I have ordered so far: Arctic Blast Barbara May Cherry Tart Chishima Iwa Clovelly Empress Wu Fluted Fountain Fujibotan Glorious Hacksaw Hyuga Urajiro Marrakech Neptune Maya Swingtime Montana ÂGinrei Purple Boots Purple Haze Red Dragon Ruffed Up Sahara Nights The RazorÂs Edge Totally Twisted I'm also always looking for species or any plant collected in the wild I don't have yet. Love from the Hosta Mill, Rob

Hi, folks! My opinion on a typical pack of seeds would be 20-25, and fewer for large, rare or expensive seeds. Many times tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds are more like 12-15 seeds. Counting out poppy or foxglove seeds is a pain, but a tiny pinch is about 40-50, so I do that. Some people measure out 1/8 teaspoons or 1/4 teaspoons of tiny seeds. I don't have a 1/8t spoon, and 1/4t is a large proportion of my seeds. If you're agonizing over whether or not to send in just a few of a seed, you can always ask the recipient, or you can use the gardenweb list search. Search for people who also have that seed, and read the list for people in this swap. If a couple of us have it, you don't need to worry about dividing up your small supply. You find the Search Lists function by clicking at the bottom of the page on Member Pages, and then choose Search Members' Exchange Lists. That is also a way to figure out who to send to, by searching for people looking for a seed you have. However, sometimes someone will type "No datura, please" but the computer just sees that "datura" is in the wants area. So this search can get you started, but you should still personally check. :) GARLIC: I'd love to try some different hardnecks! Cloves or even bulbils. Cloves are big--should we plan to send somewhat roomy envelopes and extra postage money to pay for getting the cloves to us? I grow two hardneck types and can offer bulbils, unfortunately I don't know the names. On seems to be a porcelain, one a rocambole. (One has a ton of tiny bulbils, one has larger bulbils, so please correct me if you think I'm wrong). You plant the bulbils at the same time as big garlic, and then dig it up the next year when it yellows the right amount. Then you replant it in fall, unless you want to eat the baby garlic. In my reading, it seems pretty definite that if you leave garlic in the ground without digging and replanting, it just splits into smaller bulbs and is less and less what you intended when you planted it. That happened to my mom. Dorisl, it's nice to see you here! I'll try to find good pink stuff to send your way. :)

Hi, everyone! Mmmm, apple cider doghnuts. I've only had those once, and we ate the whole bag within 15 minutes of leaving the orchard. They're scrumptious! Ollierose, I try to know the botanical names for the plants I grow, (or at least list them with it) so I only look up botanical names that seem really familiar, because those may be seeds I can send in and I'm just not making the right mental connection. If I don't recognize it at all, it's not something I can send in. If you want to look things up, the fastest way I've found is 1. have the google toolbar 2. type the Latin and the word plantfiles 3. read all about it. That's also my first step in deciding if I want a plant, but I always look them up on a few sites, because they all have inaccuracies sometimes. I like to increase my chances for trades by making it easy for the trader to know that I have what they want, or they have what I want, by using both common names and latin. Except I'm sure I've neglected to do that completely :) It's another cold, grey day, and I have so much garden cleanup to do, still perennials to get in the ground, plus a couple hundred bulbs--but all I want to do is sit in front of the woodstove with my tiny kitten!

Those are good. I especially like #1. Linda