Yes, we participate & have enlarged gardens with mostly free plants. We surrounded some fruit trees with the spreaders at the back of the lawn so it would be much easier to mow. These plants are going to duke it out this year, so we'll see who wins! Bee balm, Japanese anemone, almost 50' of staggered ribbon of ditch orange daylily, foxglove, peach leaved bellflower, ajuga, various Lysimachias (yellow tall, golden creeping jenny, white gooseneck, etc.), tall Sedums, Geranium macro as edger, Goldflame spirea, and more all received free or from divisions of previously free plants along with some natives in the shadier spot with the stump. Be on the lookout for ride alongs & remove ASAP when you get home. -snails, slugs & those white eggs -aphids, white fly ... -invasive weeds in the roots: horsetail, bindweed (morning glory), quack grass -weeds on plant surface of potted plants especially that liverwort (scrape off top layer to remove the weed seeds present...) Also, learn to --ask if it's a spreader (or rambler, or creeper) or does it seed about...then listen carefully so you'll know if it fits your garden bed --label them as you receive, research that the plant given matches label (check leaves, stalks, flowers, etc.) before planting out in your carefully arranged existing beds --accept the unidentified plants & ask others at the swap if they're familiar with that plant. If it is still a NOID watch carefully so you can identify before you give them garden space --take pics & post on GW forum Name that Plant to help ID it --water right away once home as plants are usually dry from the digging & traveling in cars to the swaps --plant the bare root things into pots or a nursery bed ASAP so plant survives while you research & watch them for habit. When they bloom you'll be able to identify much easier, so takes time to care for the mystery plants. --shop at nurseries all times of the year to see plants in various states of growth. Sometimes, plants are given with unusual common names, so research helps. Especially in early spring or mid-fall swaps you can't identify plants that are dormant. Some examples: giver could only say grows in sun with yellow blooms in summer & her mom called it sundrops. I repotted & sunk in nursery bed in the fall have identified it as Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa). Another in early November showed some blue flowers & had plant clumps in a cardboard box showing it as a low grower with creeping rhizomes & fading foliage from a friend who didn't want them at her new home...I planted in a low flat with good compost & mulched for winter. I took some out & planted when it started showing growth this spring, then after those ones bloomed blue & I could identify it as blue eyed Mary or Omphalodes I moved the rest of it to another bed. These 2 months of blue have been a great complement to yellow flowering Celandine poppy & Lamium 'Aurea'. A current NOID received 2 weeks ago is a tall deeply divided small leaved foliage plant given a few weeks ago in a plastic bag that she said is a daisy that showed up in her vegetable garden. Upon getting home I found 5 parsley starts around the base. Parsley went in veg. garden & the plant in nursery bed. I'll be watching closely when the blooms appear to makes sure it's not a weed It's not the common oxeye daisy on the noxious weed list here in western WA or the currently yellow blooming weed in nearby pastures.

Hey Ya'll, I don't think I'm going to get to come to the plant swap in the morning :( I think I must have some kind of stomach virus and don't want to share that while we share our plants! You all might not like me if you took home my bug with your flowers! I have stuff in pots that I did earlier and kept hoping that I'd feel better today to get other stuff gathered up--but I wasn't able to get out to the yard. I can let you all know if you want to get together again later. Maybe we could have a garden party at my house and I could share my goodies then. Momof2, thanks for saving peonies for me. If you would continue to hold them, I'd love to pick them up from you later. If there are flowers left to share at the swap, I'd love for you to gather a few in a box for me to pick up when I get the peonies. I was so looking forward to meeting fellow gardeners and making some new friends. Oh well, another time! Ya'll take care and I hope to meet you soon. You sound like a fun bunch. Terry

I live in Wappingers Falls and I went to a plant swap in CT last spring. I would love to have a plant swap in Dutchess County, with the cost of gas these days! I've got lots of campanula, gaillardia and some asters to swap. Probably more things as time goes on. If there is a Dutchess County swap, please give details. The one I went to in CT was very casual -- people came and put their plants to swap on tables. Everyone browsed for awhile and took what they wanted. It was hosted by a nursery, who provided meats (hamburgs and hot dogs) and buns. Everyone else brought side dishes and desserts. It was so fun and relaxing. I've seen other plant swaps listed where they have "rounds" where you pick a certain amount of plants, depending on how many you bring. I think it would work either way; I really enjoyed the one I went to, though, because it didn't feel like any "plant police," it was just fellow plant lovers trading away their extras with no strings attached.

I'm so sorry, but it doesn't look like I will get to more plant part questions. Perhaps I can try it again one month when I am hostess again. Congratulations to Nicole who won our Gardener's Derby Game and to Emily who is clearly first in the Plant Parts Game. I'll get little prizes send out early in June. Thanks to everyone for posting comments, pictures, and participating! We continue to have storms off and on and the humidity these past few days has been horrid. I heard someone say it is so oppressive because of two air masses that came together - all I know is you can hardly stand to be outside. Meanwhile, I'm arranging more times to get roofers and other people out here to evaluate damage and schedule repairs. The roofers can return on Monday which is great. The back part of the roof hasn't been repaired yet and I started getting interior leaks which correspond with where they still need to do repairs. This tree episode has been a nightmare, but the services I dealt had some very nice people to deal with so that has been much appreciated. (However, I'm glad I called LOTS of them because here it is over 2 months later and I haven't even gotten a return call from some of the tree services. I know they are busy, but they need to leave a message or something about how backed up they are.) Here's a picture of my gladiolus that's in bloom today. My plants seem to have loved all the rain. Of course, we have very sandy soil so they don't stay waterlogged in it.