hi everyone we finaly got some much needed rain and my brugs really needed it i have isabellla and frosty pink blooming they are about five feet tall i really want a red one Trish my husband mailed your box wensday i hope you like it it has been so hot it was hard to send plants i hope they arrive safe today i took my grandson to see monster house for his 7th birthday and found a real good deal at payless shoes 20.00 shoes for 5.oo that was a deal got his hair cut for school and everyone be careful checking emails from wireless phone we have someone stole my name and ordered phone and sent them to Maryland and luckly my network sent me text mess to say my account password had been changed and i called and asked what was going on and some one fauded my account what a bummer i had to put fraud allert on my credit and it feels weird to see how easly they did it well i hope everyone has a nice evening stay cool patty

Update here with some cards and goodies I've received over the past few days. Hope I don't miss anyone. I received a thoughtful card from Wenders67. Thanks Wenders! From quiltingfox/Sandra I got a nice card, and Joe pye Gateway, and Trifolium Incarnatum, 2 things I recently discovered I needed. Thanks Sandra! Lastly, I received a wonderful card and envy stuffed with goodies from GraanieB/Bea and Mary. They sent me Romaine lettuce, fennel (I hear the butterflies like that too), eggplant (had been meaning to try that sometime so 2009 must be the year for that), Cress, Zucchini, White hyacinth bean vine, zinnia mix, Lantana 'Carlos', and Coral Vine. What wonderful surprises. Thanks Bea and Mary! Again, thank you all for the wonderful cards, seeds, and spirit of giving that has been shown here in this great swap. I have enjoyed it all so much, and hope I didn't forget to acknowledge anyone here. Now, if I was just caught up on getting some free seeds or seeds for postage together to be mailed. Sue...off to catch up a few emails, reviews, and pack some seeds

I'm with you Iris...if stamps only grew in the garden I'm happy that some of my cards have been received. I wish I'd put packing tape on the envies after hearing about some of the cards arriving torn. rosemctier and redthreaddiy had the right idea! In the past few days a lovely assortment of holiday greetings have arrived. I've been too ill this year to decorate so the cards are my bit of Christmas cheer. I appreciate the time, energy and care put into each and every one! Thank you Vina/flowergirl34 for the poppy 'lilac pompom' and columbine mix. Your packages are always so colorful and cheerful. I like the use of a money card...afterall, seeds are better than cash :) Lisa/pumkingal, those are the cutest lil stickers! Thank you so much for the blue sea holly. I'm so excited about the bok choi! I love eating it and cant wait to grow it. You made my day with the story about your little grandson 'nans we got planting to do'. How sweet :) Faye/nottougly, my kitty (he's 17) loved your card so much...he rolled on it. Now his black fur is all gold sparkly :) Thank you so much for the Goodneck burgundy Loosestrife. I grew swiss chard for the first time this year and found I really like it. And the seeds are unusual and funny looking :) Rose/rosemctier, I wished for a purple basil...Thanks to you, I'll be growing 2 varieties! 'Purple Ruffles' and 'Dark Opal Purple'...I cant wait :) I'm so happy to also receive Five Spot and Penny Black. Heidi/xiangirl, thank you for the suggestion for squash bugs. I'll have to give that a try. The squash and pumpkins appreciate any help they can get :) The Gaillardia will be fun...you never know what you're going to get...so much variety. I'm so excited about the fennel! I've not grown this before. Those are some tiny seeds. Cant wait to try it. I really appreciate the info on the packet. Thank you so much! Katie/redthreaddiy, I loved the pics you shared of your cards ready to mail. I was lucky enough to receive one of them today :) Your generous gifts covered the flower garden, herb garden and veggie garden. Eggplant 'long purple' and 'black beauty' basil 'Italian large leaf' Pineapple sage...I bought a small plant of this from the farmers market a couple years ago. By the fall it was nearly 3 feet tall and covered with lovely red flowers. I'm so excited to grow this myself :) Salsify 'mammoth sandwish island'-I had to look this up. Its supposed to taste like oysters. This will be fun to try. Has anyone grown this?? I love trying new-to-me tomato varieties. Thanks to you I can try: 'Costoluto Genovese' 'Great White' and 'Rosso Brunno F3' For the flower gardens you sent Mallo 'mystic merlin' and Poppy 'double shirley mix'. Thank you for your generous selections :) I think its time to edit my trade 'wish list' and remove all the wonderful seeds I now have :) I know the swap isnt even over yet but I'm already thinking about what kind of cards to create for next year...fun fun fun :)

I am so excited! I received 3 cards today! HECK YEAH! I spent another full day preparing my cards and seeds for others and am still going! :) Thank you to debby_1 for the cute santa cat card and the seeds! I got Oat Grass (never have tried that before! looking forward to sowing them!), red canna (I am starting a bulb farm this spring, so I am very excited to have new varieties!), and California Wonder Pepper (so happy you send these because I didn't get seeds from the ones I grew last year.) Thanks so much! I'm planting everything you sent this spring - love it all! Xiangirl sent an amazing handmade card loaded with seeds! She sent gaillardia Punchella (I only have one variety of blanket flower so I am super excited to try this new one!), Reed Grass (a grass I haven't tried or have heard of, and am very excited about!), Goldenrod (have never grown them but I've been wanting to try this!), Autumn Joy Sedum (I don't have this sedum yet! It looks gorgeous!), Milkweed (I LOVE this!) and Butterfly Weed (I have never grown this before but it looks gorgeous!). Thank you SO MUCH Heidi! You sent varieties that I didn't have but wanted to try and I am super excited to plant them all this spring! Last but certainly not least, I received a cute snowman/winter scene card from Ruby_dog! She included Ruby Star Echinacea (I only have purple and white, so I am EXTREMELY excited about this one!), Scabiosa 'Summer Berries Mix' (I LOVE LOVE LOVE these flowers. Can't wait to see what colors I get from the mix!), Jalapeno M Peppers (I love jalapenos - I pickle them, dry them, use them in endless recipes!), Watermelon 'Blacktail Mountain (have never grown these or have heard of them - extremely excited!), Butternut Squash 'Waltham' (I have so many uses for these as well!), and Okra 'Bowling Red' (I didn't even realize there was more than 2 varieties of okra. This is so cool!) Thank you so so so much ruby_dog! I love everything and you are so generous! Here is a link that might be useful: Secret Santa Swap 2012 continuation thread This post was edited by redthreaddiy on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 16:44