Sounds interesting. If I can get away from writing source code for a weekend, I'll get over that way.

Stopped by USF Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a mess, as it felt like 90 degrees out, full sun, and very very crowded. I brought my mother with me, as she's always wanted to visit USF's gardens. She picked up a few violets and a hanging plant or two. Me, I went home empty-handed.

Sunday (today), I went back, and things were perfect. 10am opening time, no real line, overcast, cooler, and I had plenty of time to talk with vendors and visitors alike.

I only had two goals for this sale: find some more coleus I didn't have, and try to find some Brugs that would reach great heights. Didn't have any luck with coleus this time around, but my favorite vendor, Vince, from Island Stylin, had 2 six-foot orange Angel Trumpets he wanted to get rid of. I got them both for 15 apiece.

Vince is a funny guy. He doesn't grow the flashiest or most well groomed plants. In fact, though they might grow in a greenhouse, they look as though they'd been growing wild and uncared for in his yard. Be that as it may, everything I've ever bought from him has done amazing. They're Florida tough tropicals that clean up nicely and seem to survive anything you throw at them. I've purchased Canna, Firespike, Justicia, Gingers, Crinums and Bromeliads from him, and they've all exploded with growth once they came out of their pots.

Anyway, the two orange A.T.s have a lot of new growth on them, each with three trunks and some branching. They're not much to look at at the moment, but they're going to make great specimen trees in my yard once I get them established. Sadly, I had to cut them back a bit to get them to fit in my car, but I got a good 10+ cuttings out of it, so any loss will be more than made up for in fertilization and propagation. I'll save photos for when I'm proud of how they look lol.

I also snagged 4 Kahili ginger rhizomes from Vince for 10 bucks, and 3 cane begonias from the Begonia Society of Tampa Bay.

I live a pretty solitary life, and hardly ever share garden war stories and trade tips with others. When I'm at these plant sales, I find myself offering advice to nearby shoppers who look confused about a particular plant, or sharing updates with vendors about how their sold plants have fared since I purchased them. Not only do I leave these events feeling like I've made new friends, but it helps reinforce how far I've come as a garden hobbyist in the last year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's a little article on Vince, from back in 2003