Thanks! And an extra special thanks for delivery on the juniper, too. Your yard is beautiful. The weather was perfect, the food was great. It was wonderful seeing everyone again, as I have missed quite a few of the recent trades. Thanks again.

Ruth

Thanks so much for hosting the swap, Jacqueline. It was nice meeting so many of you and exchanging plants.

-Tif :-)
(From DavesGarden)

Jacqueline, Thanks for hosting! You have a wonderful garden. I never did get to sit down in your nice red chair. LOL Thanks everyone for trading and the wonderful surprises! Now I need to edit my want list!
Teresa

Jacqueline, Thank You so much for hosting the terrific swap. The boys and I had a great time, and we came away with quite a few treasures. Happy Gardening everyone!

Hi Tif,

Thanks so much for the garden art, it's beautiful. The monkey is perfect for me. I am ruth1 here, so please send me an email and we can set up a future trade.

Ruth

Thanks Jacqueline for the fantastic plant swap. My friend, Kalpana and I didn't stop talking about the morning till now :) Your garden was a treat to our eyes, and my friend says Thanks a lot for the pepper seeds that you gave her.

Apart from the goodies, we look away memories of a lifetime. Thank you everyone for all the plants and garden art, that you gave us so generously, we will cherish for a lifetime.

~ Madhu and Kalpana

Jacqueline, I'd like to echo the others in appreciation of your hosting the plant swap. The social time and potluck lunch were great and I appreciate the plants I brought home.

Anyone wanting more info on brugmansias & the forum I spoke of, be sure to email me.

Hope to see most of you again at the Green Elephant plant swap the 1rst Saturday in November!

Jacqueline
thank you for hosting the plant swap. It was in a very convenient place to drive to and was a wonderful day.
Frank and I enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
I always wish there was more time to get to know everyone.
thanks, Judy

Don and I would like to add our thanks to all the others. It was a beautiful day all around. Don would like to know what's the name of the purple peppers with the little blue flowers on top. I think he fell in love with several of your plants and got the names of most of them but missed that one. Thanks again, Barb

Thanks Jacqueline for hosting such a great plant swap. I really liked your new hosta bed and that was the biggest pink penstemon I have ever seen! Your yard looked great. The food and weather were fantastic. I came home with such great plants! Thanks Doris, Judy and Kellie for the great surprises! I loved them! It was so nice to see everyone again and meet new gardeners. What a great day! Karen

I'd like to add my thanks to you Jacqueline for hosting. Apart from my *most embarassing moment* it was a wonderful day. I love what you've done with your yard and it was a great place for a trade.

Thanks to everyone for the excellent plants. I can't believe all of the goodies I came home with..many on my most wanted list. Plus the cutest little Gnome with a flowerpot hat, who has already found his place in the garden. Visiting with everyone and the good food was a treat as well. It was overall a great day. Can't wait til the next!!
Susan

I spent all of today in the yard moving things around to make room for all the wonderful plants you all gave me. I pretty much finished the front yard, but didn't even start on the backyard plants yet. :) Very tired from all that digging, but very happy.

The peppers with the blue flowers are purple chili peppers I got from someone at the spring trade. I don't know if they come true from seed, but if you are planning on being at the green elephant, I could bring some for you.

Thank you for all the great compliments on my yard!

Ditto, ditto, ditto! Thanks to Jacqueline and everyone else for being so welcoming and generous to this gardening newbie! I put a few things in this weekend, and will finish up during the nice week ahead.

Thanks again to everyone, and I look forward to chatting and hopefully offering my own plants to swap someday.

Jennifer

I don't think we can make it to the Green Elephant unfortunately. How about if I send you an SASBE? Would you consider sticking it in the mail? I would really appreciate it.

Thank you Jacqueline for hosting! You have mail. I sent you the Sunchoke aka Jerusalem Artichoke recipes that I mentioned.

To everyone who was there THANK YOU ALL for the great plants, and the great time. Can't wait to see you all again soon. - Paul

Yes, I too had a fabulous time at the Newcastle trade, and I'd like to thank Jacqueline for opening up her garden to us all...
I came away with some COOL new plants, met some very cool people, and reconnected with some friends I hadn't seen in a while...
Oh, and did I mention the food? THE FOOD! We Gardenwebbers have the best potlucks!!!
Thanks again for hosting, and thanks to everyone for the great plants....

What a great trade! The weather couldn't have been any more perfect, the traders any more generous and the hostess any more cool. Well worth the long drive.
I'd like to thank everyone who had a hand in filling my vehicle beyond capacity. The look on DH's face when I got home was well worth it!

I tried to email this to you, but the message got kicked back, and I threw away the slip of paper with your email on it away after I entered it in. I also sent it through Gardenweb email, but you know how that is.... Here ya go. - Paul

Hey Paul;
i hear you will have reason to cook up some sunchokes
(other name for them) sometime this summer. Here are
three recipes from the cookbook I call 'the
bible'--Deborah Madison's 'Vegetarian Cooking for
Everyone'
I know she's calling for sunflower seed oil, but i'm
sure you can use canola instead (i think sunflower
seed oil is super expensive....)
Enjoy

*Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes
1 pd sliced into 1/2 inch rounds, or left whole jer.
art.
1-2 tablespoons sunflower seed oil
salt and freshly milled pepper
a few rosemary or thyme sprigs

Preheat the oven to 400. Toss the Jerusalem art. with
the oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bake them in a shallow
gratin dish with the herb for 20-30 minutes. Pierce
them with the tip of a knife-they should be mostly
tender but offer some resistance. Season with pepper.
Serves 4-6

*Sauteed Jerusalem Artichokes with Sunflower Seeds
1 pd sliced into 1/4 inch rounds Jer. art.
2 tablespoons sunflower seed oil
salt and freshly milled pepper
3 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped thyme

Saute the Jer. art. in the oil in a large skillet over
high heat until lightly browned and tender but still a
bit crisp. Taste them as they cook; they can be done
in 5 minutes or as long as 01. Season with salt and
pepper, add the sunflower seeds, parsley, and thyme,
and toss well. Serves 4-6

*Wine-glazed Jerusalem Artichokes with Rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pd sliced into rounds Jer. art.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
salt and freshly milled pepper
2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine

Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the Jer. art. and
garlic and saute for about 1 1/2 minutes. Season with
salt and pepper, add rosemary and wine, and continue
to cook over high heat until the wine is reduced to a
few tablespoons. add 1 tablespoon water, cover, and
cook for a minute more or until tender-crisp.
(Although they can turn mushy in an instant, it can
also take as long as 10 minutes before they're done).
Boil the excess liquid, if any, down to a glaze.
Serves 4

Jerusalem Artichokes
A true american native, the Jerusalem artichoke is
neigther from Jerusalem nor an artichoke. A more
accurate name is sunchoke, because the tubers form
beneath a sunflower. They have a sweet, nutty flavor.
They're delightfully crisp, like water chestnuts, but
during cooking they can quickly and unpredictably turn
mushy so they demand a watchful eye. The knob-shaped
variety is most widely available and usually comes
trimmed into more or less uniform pieces. Look for
firm, unblemished tubers and store them in a plastic
bag in the frig for up to 2 weeks. Scrub them
vigorously rather than peel them. They can be eaten
raw, cooked in winter soups and stews, roasted and
sauteed. They can also be difficult to digest so
start out eating them gradually. Avoid cooking them
in cast iron, which causes them to discolor. One
pound is enough for 4-6 servings.

thanks Paul! These recipes sound great. I have a rosemary shrub too, so the wine and rosemary is right up my alley. :)

Thanks for introducing me to the great plant trade! I loved your house and your yard, and met so many great people. What a day! I hope to make it up to Redmond on Nov 4.

Dear Jaqueline and Derek,

What a perfect day and a lovely group of gardeners (and good cooks too.) Thank you for your hospitality. I hope you got some goodies too.

Regards,

Jim