Anyone else coming from NW Ohio (Toledo area)??
If so are you interested in carpooling? I'm willing to be either the driver or the passenger. I've got a station wagon, so we should have no problem fitting in both our plants.

If you're interested, email me!!
-Stephanie

Hi, Beverly,

Responding to your question in thread III: would you believe that EVERYTHING came back? Every single plant is back among the land of the living. I could not be happier. The ferns are all back and healthy, the hostas are the same, and I've got some new toad lily babies as well!

:) :)
Gina

I thought I posted this - but I cannot find it. Anyone bringing Black raspberry plants? My sis that is also coming has been looking for them and cannot find them anywhere.
Thanks!

jeepers... I thought I was doing pretty good with the 20 or so pots I had so far to bring!! I can't imagine having 100+! You guys certainly do keep busy =)

Actually, I was very bummed yesterday. I took some time off work yesterday afternoon so my piano could get tuned. I figured while I was waiting, I'd dig up some of my extra iris and daffodils to bring. Wouldn't you know it would pour all afternoon long?! Hopefully, the weather will be better this evening- I need to find new homes for them!!

Anyways, I'm bringing some veggies (hot peppers, bell peppers, and tomatoes) along with some herbs (dill and lavendar). I tried WSing a differnt basil varieties, but I didn't uncover them soon enough and they FRIED. It was VERY sad. I might have some coleus seedlings too.

See ya'll soon!

-Stephanie

Thanks, Granny 57! I think the weather will cooperate this year.

Stephanie...hope you can find a carpooler! So sad about your basil. I overwatered several containers - it's my first year to WS. We learn as we go along!! Your plants sound great. Your 20 plants is a very sensible number - my oodles is nuts. That's part of the reason I want to do a plant swap. The neighbors just won't take any more!! I hate to compost all the seedlings and divisions.

Gina...wonderful!!! SO GLAD you're plants returned despite their being stomped on. That's great.

24 hour count down!

See you tomorrow...Beverly

PS.. Everyone...if you can fit a collapsable chair for yourself in the car...bring it along. I know there won't be enough spots at the picnic tables for everyone to eat lunch. Thanks!

PastVast:

I have been bummed out by all the rain and cold here in eastern cincinnati the last couple nights too! i have 80 plants ready to bring but could very easily bring 40 or 50 more and i was hoping to dig them up the past couple nights!
oh well... i understand there might be a fall swap too so maybe that will be a good time to dig more plants too!

Sue
"The one thing all gardeners share in common is a belief in tomorrow"

Well...I just survived the Cub Scout cook out. The boys are not all in bed yet, and I still have to load up the van.

No problem! Who needs sleep? We're talking PLANTS! The sun was shining brightly as it set this evening.

See you all in the morning!

~~Mimi

Hi folks..It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....here in Hilliard today. Safe travel to all of you. See you later.

Beverly

Wow! Am I the FIRST to say thank you for the great event. The weather was perfect, food and company wonderful as usual and a tremdous offering of plant material and gardening related objects. I ate too much, so I'm sitting down for a bit. I got a few nice things for my own garden and took a bunch of the leftovers to my parents who are switching to perennials now as they get older.

Seems like every year, one person's common plant is one person's all time wish list plant. I got some great tomatoes, scabiosa, stuff from Alison's pile (my parents now own a bunch of her hollyhocks), some nice winter sown plants - perhaps Gina's penstemmons, trillium, jacks,etc.

I thought it was interesting that even though we were down to what appeared to be common items, I found a stash of Virginia Bluebells and Centaurea Mountain Bluet. Two GREAT plants!

I was amused to see that other people had an abundance of lupins - I sowed about 100 of them this winter and about 25+ are now in the hands of you guys. I have no idea what these flowers are going to look like, so please feel free to chime in. The seedlings came up strong, are very very healthy and transplanted fine here.

I also took some seed that will end up in my winter sowing newbie packs that will be offered free to new winter sowers on Garden Web. It's my little pet project to get gardeners to consider growing from seed and learning to winter sow.

Thanks folks! See ya on the web - we're spring sowing and I'm helping with the data base for zone 6. Looking forward to the fall swap and seed trade season. Happy Gardening!

Hi folks...just a quick message for now. Here's the count - some 125 people and (drum roll, please)...2833 plants. WOW!!!!!!!

I'll post more a bit later. What a pleasure it is to see all of you and share a day of friendship, food and swapping. I've said it before and I'll say it again - gardeners are some of the best folks around.

I'll post more later.

happy planting...Beverly

I've done it, I've done it! All my plants are in the ground! Thank you for such a wonderful day. I don't think I could pick a favorite plant from the swap, I'd hoped to find some tomatoes and pinks, and found both...plus a few others of course. If anyone knows the name of the dark purple iris that was in bags in the large blue tub let me know. I had a stem sitting in the bucket so people could see what they were getting. I'm not an iris guru and I haven't been able to ID that plant that came with the house I'm in...if it's any help the only other plants they had here were Stella's, a Blaze rose, and the same hostas you see everywhere...so it's not going to be anything fancy - a generic iris:)
Thanks again for all great time!

WOW!!! What a great and wonderful time I had meeting everyone and sharing everything and eating all the delicious grub.Beverly and Mimi, you two are Awesome!!! How very well organized and prepared the two of you were. You handled everything with warm greetings and grace. I will definitely will be back next year,And look forward to it with as much enthusiasm as I came with this year.It was all
I expected it to be, and all I knew it would be.I was never bored or disappointed and enjoyed all stages of the whole swap. EVERYBODY!!!Was Wonderful!! and Friendly!! and I would really love to continue the chattyness as long as I can with you all, So how do we go about doing that? Is there a cut off time for this site?Can we make up our own thread and call it the, Were still here And haven't said it all yet!!! ( like we could ever)!!Any thing to keep in touch and still be able to read what's going on with everyone.( BIG GRINS!!! )It was my pleasure to finally meet you Beverly and Mimi and can't forget my new bubby JoAnn. A personal thank you to James and Michelle for their kindness and to the young lady (Whose name slips my mind) For trading the Blood grass with me. I really appreciate it!! And Beverly,I overheard you say that you wanted some of that Blood grass and it was gone before you could get any,I was going to take some out of the pot for you before I left and got side tracked. So if you still want any I will make arrangements to get some to you.I know!I know!! It's time to say so long.
Thanks Bunches Everybody!! You were Swell!!!!!!!!

WOW! What a geat swap! Thank you all for all that you contributed both in time and materials to help make the swap a fabulous experience! Everyone was kind and came with a giving heart. So many poeple in one place can deteriorate into selfish nastiness and there was none of that. You are all great folks! Thanks again!

Lee and I will be posting pictures later. We're exhausted and the boys are crabby.

Here's a list of the things that folks forgot:

2 folding lawn chairs

Blue bowl with pasta salad in it (you can have the bowl back. We're going to eat the salad!)

Oval blue plate

Door prize painted resin "rocks"

Let me or Beverly know and we'll get them back to you.

I did plant up the german Iris that I got from Alison, the cigar plant from Granny Margie and a Lily from Trish. They only got done because they went into my horse trough and I can sit on my picnic bench to do it.

Granny, we can start a thread on the Garden Party forum if folks want to chat.

Thanks again everyone!

~~Mimi

Also remember we have the Ohio Valley Forum!

Thank you for all your work and organization we had a great time!

Rebecca

hey all,

Big thanks to mimi and beverly, what a great day, the swap was awesome, and the food great, if this swap get's any bigger you will need alot of help, has to be the largest group of gardeners in one place i would say. I think this website needs to acknowledge the hard work done by two people that are really important to keep this going for a long time, I am sure this is getting harder and harder for the two main people who have organized this event. This is not an event, it is an extravansana ( opps probably missed spelled) but you get the idea LOL. Thanks again all and I enjoyed meeting everyone that I got the chance to meet. I am already thinking about what I can grow for next year.

Love you all JoAnn

Whew!
I'm still pooped, what a great time!
Beverly and Mimi, can't thank you enough for starting this a few years ago... I can't believe how it's grown....
The day isn't long enough, next year I will make sure I don't have a wedding cake before this event! That way maybe I will get to talk to more people!!!
There are so many I wanted to talk to! Granny 57, thinkdirt, and many more....
Betty and I were going to sit down and talk hosta and we didn't even get to do that!
Only got to talk to fourpaws for a minute, and alas I didn't get a glass item this year from Shadowgarden...
I'm still looking for the wine bottle that I lost, you know it was the one that got lost from the wine holder that I won as a door prize! Ok,Ok who drank it????
I hope all the newbies enjoyed their self! Who wouldn't??
And Beverly, that was funny when you told me Tomato Dave was looking for me and you told him I had to deliver a wedding cake first, your right it's like we know each other and we live right across the fence like you and Mimi!!
I'm so glad my daughter Cathy and friend Diane came with me. it was Diane's first time and she had a ball, I don't think she could believe how friendly everyone was and ALL the plants!!! the food and the good company....
I know I have more to say! but will talk with you all later!! Hostalavista Babeeeeeeeeeeeee !!

Hi folks...I feel rested this morning after our "big day"! What fun it was yesterday - spending time with such great people. Thanks to you all for your kind words and thoughts.

Hostalavista is right - seems like we are all backyard neighbors after chatting away here at the Get-togethers forum. I don't see why we can't keep chatting here - as long as we mention a plant now and then.

Just like Bakemom said...one person's extras are another person's special plant. I got a huge semperviem (I think that's what it is - might be an echivaria), daylilies from Trish, white scabiosa, creeping thyme, var. liriope, annuals from Alison & Gina,a bat face plant from Granny, daylilies from Diane, scads of things from Michigan Betty and Ron, hypertufa from Karen, glass pretties from Shadowgarden and -of course- my sweet Murray picked out his tomatoes and peppers. I know I am leaving out a few - but, you all get the picture. Then as soon as we get home...Mimi the iris junkie... says she got a big yellow iris rebloomer and offers me a chunk!

Mimi and I want to thank everyone for all of your contributions helping to make it a fun and special day. You are all so helpful - helping at the sign in table, tending and helping at the food table, showing the newbies "the ropes", bringing those WONDERUL door prizes, and more. THANK YOU!!!

Mimi and I were a bit nervous thinking about over 100 people swapping plants. But, you all showed incredible patience, kindess of spirit and generosity. It worked out just fine. Mimi's idea of the groupings really worked well.

Granny 57 - thanks for your kind offer of blood grass! That's so nice of you to think of splitting yours with me! I'll get some along the way. You enjoy yours.

Happy Deb - my goodness!! Those plants already in the ground. You're amazing.

I brought over 100 plants...but, don't know where ANY of them went. If any of you got some of my hellebore babies or penstemon red husker let me know. There are so many others...but, it's nice to know where a few have gone.

So today Murray and I will be planting away. Thanks to you all for sharing your plants with me and making my garden so pretty with new flowers.

Happy planting to all...Beverly

Hostalavista!

i donated the wine bottle holder and there WAS a bottle of wine in the wine bottle holder!! but somehow granny57 and i got thirsty on the way up from cincinnati and so we decided to see if the wine was any good or not... as i didnt want to bring any bad tasting wine of course...
and before we knew it the bottle was empty (hic) and yessss it was delicious i must say! ( hic )that MUST be why i decided to take the huge cactus home!

i was questioning the merit of such a rash decision as granny57 and i were trying to figure out how to get it into her van!! honestly though i really do love it! my DH started laughing when he saw me taking it out of the back of my jimmy!

anyways ... to be serious for a minute... i had a blast!
everyone was very kind to me and i loved meeting everyone i had been talking to and making new friends etc. there was such a variety of plants there!! i was pleased to get a stinking hellebore (from storygardener?)and some bamboo from Dan the moss man and all kinds of great stuff. i am going to have to enlarge my borders or create more to handle everything i brought back!!

bakemom's breakfast casserole was just delicious and i'd love to have the recipe

many thanks to beverly and mimi for everything they have done to pull this off! (((hugs))))
i am already looking forward to both the fall swap and next years spring swap !!

Sue
"The one thing all gardeners share in common is a belief in tomorrow"

Hi everyone...more in the Lost & Found department. I have a large oval plastic turkey platter and 2 stainless steel serving spoons. Let us know about these along with the ones Mimi listed.

Hey Gilleisgardens...I wonder why they call it a stinking hellebore. I doesn't stink!! Glad to know you have one.

Glad you had a good time, too.

good planting...Beverly

Beverly and Mimi,thanks again for all your hard work in organizing the swap.I had a great time and met a lot of nice people...and brought home a bunch of cool plants! A couple of them were not marked,but I'm pretty sure one is a Hackberry tree,and the other looks like fennel.Wow,2833 plants! That's incredible!

Sue,glad you liked the bamboo.Let me know how it does.Btw,it's "moth" not "moss." lol! Yes,I raise moths and butterflies,especially our native giant silkmoths,like cecropia.

Oops! I wondered what happened to my door prize! Guess I was so busy loading up the plants that I left it sitting on the table :( Oh well,maybe you guys can save it for the next swap.That would be next weekend,right? lol...just kidding!
Dan

Oodles of kudos and thanks to Beverly and Mimi for organizing such a wonderful swap! I've spent two days planting my new goodies and have one left to get in the ground - pink phlox. I set a new record for myself and only picked up 8 plants at the swap: 2 Aconitum, strawberry begonia, bluebells, celandine poppy, a huge geranium, a lily and the previously mentioned phlox, but with the addition of a side swap I had my hands full planting! I brought mom along, she's not a GWer but a beginning gardener, she picked up a few things for herself as well and had a great time.

I think next time I'm going to add my name to the plant tags, that way I might hear how they are doing or answer questions the recipients might have. I'd love to find out where my babies went. :)

I've got pictures that I'll get uploaded sometime tomorrow, I'll post a link when I get that finished.

Gardeners are absolutely, positively the best cooks around! I think I might use some of my rounds to pack up some of the leftovers next time, lol! Who brought the salad with spinach, red lettuce, green beans and feta cheese? It was incredible, I'd love to get the recipe!

Jeanne

Great time, great swap, and a big thanks to everyone for such specially fabulous day. I got the plants home and unloaded before the cold I'd been fighting off hit me with a bang. I slept the sleep of the gluttonous Saturday, then loafed around in the yard Sunday and got much of my things planted, just in time to be sprinkled in by Mother Nature. This has got to be some speed planting record for me, to have half planted in the same weekend.

We have to do this again some time! (But not too soon!)

Hi all,
I just wanted to thank Bev for organizing such a great day.
I had fun, fun, fun. Got lots of goodies and some new plants for my garden too.

Who ever brought the reserection (sp) lilies, are they lycoris? or something else. I'm hoping lycoris- they might survive in my area.

cecropia, perhaps will will meet in exciting cuyahoga falls
It was nice to meet someone in town that has a passion for gardening. email me.

Again, Thanks a lot Bev for all your hard work, fn was had by all.

diggerb

I picked-up some 'buttered popcorn" hoping it was a yellow flowering plant, but its obviously not popcorn. So what type of plant is it?

Who ever picked up my white violets withj the note about identification please take the time to respond i9f you can provide more info. They will bloom several times over the summer. you can post on the great lakes forum for diggerb
or email me at dinerwillyb@yahoo.

Thanks Beverly and Mimi for another great plant swap! So glad we didn't have any mud to deal with this year, the weather couldn't have been better.

Thanks to everyone that brought so many plants. I got a lot of new ones.

I saw the Columbines I brought went fast. I will bring more next year. I've started some new varieties this year that I will also bring next time.

Take care,
George

so many plants, so little time...

Had a wonderful time, and so did the newbies I brought with me - they were absolutely amazed at the enthusiasm of the gardners and variety of plants.

Next time I'll bring more tomatos. I didn't bring very many, but all of them were gone by the end. If anyone has any questions about the tomatoes or peppers in the blue and/or white dixie cups just let me know! I didn't have much time to label them with historical details...

diggerb2,Cuyahoga Falls is exciting? I must live on the boring side of town,but that's just fine by me.It totally surprised me to find another gardener from my fair city at the swap.I'll email you about trading plants sometime,especially your European ginger.And ohgeo,I see you live relatively close also.Wish I had more time to talk to everyone on saturday,but with so many people it would have taken all day!
Lori,if you see this,send me an email.I think I know the name of that plant your mom got.

Hiya,

This was my first-time ever going to a swap, and it was a great experience. Definitely worth the 2+hr drive from Toledo!! I took home some hostas and some ferns, though not quite as many as I was hoping for... but isn't that the case =) I also have the start of my mint garden. Not too mention that Jett had one heck of a good training session!

I'm feeling like a slacker since many of my plants are still sitting in their pots. I've got the perfect spot for them all, but of course, it needs just a bit more work before they can go in. It was so nice when I got home... but DH convinced me that we had to go see Star Wars =) The rain on Sunday was NOT helpful to getting plants in the ground!

Storygardener: I was one of the recepients of your Hellebore babies. All I know about them is that they should do well in part shade and are early bloomers. Would you mind providing more info, esp. height survival in Z5, and other things to keep them happy?

See you all next year and I'll probably be hearing from you on GW during the year!
-Stephanie

Thank you Beverly and Mimi for all your hard work in organizing the swap. We really had a good time.
Thanks Mimi for your guided tour of your gardens. They are beautiful. I did wittness you planting in the water tank. It really is a neat garden.
Thanks Beverly for the guided tour of your gardens and I do love your rock gardens. Also for dinner on Sat evening and housing our plants in your garage.
We did not plant any of our plants yet as we have had rain. Maybe Tuesday and Wednesday before the rain sets in on Thursday.
A note to all people who picked up Virginia Bluebells. The original two plants were bought from a Wildflower and Hosta Grower in central Illinois. NOT dug from a woods. They will die back now as they are through blooming until next spring. Please mark them so you know where not to dig. They do put on a good show in the spring.
Hostalavista, we will have that talk next year I hope for sure. The plants we traded personally are great and will be planted Tuesday.
To the people that I have your plants I will give them a good home. Thanks. Betty

I've got a few pictures up...

Here is a link that might be useful: webshots album

I LOVE THEM. In the first one, you see me and my daughter arriving and we're plodding away delivering plants - ours are in the foreground. My butt looks skinny! WOW THANKS FOR YOUR MAGICAL PICTURES.

It's a miracle.

Jeanne...those pictures look GREAT!!! Thanks for the fantastic slide show. I think you captured the spirit of the day.

Of course, I had to go back and look at Bakemom's hiney to see how little it looks in the photo. You're crackin me up!! *giggle*

Dan..yes, I have your doorprize and I've marked the pretty gift bag with a post-it that says "Dan - next swap." I'll put it with some my plant swap stuff. Glad that mystery is solved!

Jeanne..I like your idea of the option of putting our names of plants. It's fun to know from which garden and gardener they come.

Alison..what did your neighbors say when you showed up with more plants the next day? Did you have to bring out the ale, sausages and corn again? LOL

Evan..glad you're friends had enjoyed the day! Murray selected some of your tomatoes! Yum.

Stephanie...I am glad you're pleased after your long drive. If you want different ferns...email me before the next swap and maybe we can work it out! Jett is a wonderful pooch. I love animals and wanted to greet him - but, of course, folks respect that we can't & the job he'll be doing. It's a wonderful thing you do with him! I'll link you up to the info on the Hellebore. It's so nice to see it blooming in late winter. It should do fine in Toledo..I brought this plant with me from Michigan with comparable weather.

Hi Betty!!! I planted many of your plants already!

I am long winded today. The plants are going in bit by bit.

Enjoy your gardens...Beverly

Here is a link that might be useful: info on hellebore for Stephanie

My DH and I had the greatest time! Thanks to Mimi and Beverly for orginizing this swap.

Moth Man! mea culpa! please forgive me! I'd love to see a photo of your namesake! maybe if you get time send me one or post a pic/link here for all of us.
i THOUGHT you sure had a WIDE diversity of plant interests from 26 ft tall bamboo to miniscule moss

i forgot to ask you how deep a barrier i should use when planting the Bamboo Bisetti?

Diggerb2:
the botanical name for the buttered popcorn is Ranuculus repens 'Buttered Popcorn" and it is a yellow variegated groundcover that brightens up any area even shady ones... but can definitely become invasive so keep an eye on it. it is shallow rooted though so its not hard to pull it up.

Storygardener:

Hellebores foetidius is called stinking hellebores because many find that it leaves a nasty smell on their fingers/hands when they rub the foliage. i find it foul smelling too but i do know a few who dont find it bad at all. since i only rub the foliage when demonstrating to someone why its called stinking hellebores or when transplanting its not a big deal at all. and i just love the finely cut foliage on yours too.

Jeanne: your photos look great and bring back good memories already! thanks for posting them!

btw.... it was murder trying to get onto the gardenweb site itself yesterday and today! from both my home computer/aol and from my work computer/not aol. i also had that problem one day last week. i know granny57 said she had problems too yesterday. anyone else have technical difficulties???? im just glad it seems ok right now.

Sue
"The one thing all gardeners share in common is a belief in tomorrow"

Thank you Beverly and Mimi! What a great time! I got some real treasures at the swap. Thank you to whoever brings the fabulous daylilies. I took home 3 great selections, plus some corydalis, hardy geraniums, eupatorium 'Chocolate', agastache and hosta.

Beverly - I brought the blood grass to the swap. I live here in town and I'm more than happy to give you a chunk. You can e-mail me if you're interested and we'll arrange a meeting.

Thanks again!
Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Kim and Chris's Garden Page

I have had trouble getting on line to the together site and finally made it back on today!! Man that was killing me, Not to be able to get in and chat a few and read alot.LOL
Hostalavesta, I looked for you and wanted to talk to you about the Hosta's I have and lost almost all the name tags to,And I just wanted to meet you!Hopefully we can all set up a get together some time later in the year and have tea,
Ok maybe a glass of that missing wine from the wine holder.
LOL!! it sounds like everyone, even the children had a fun time. And I personally want to say THANK'S for the plants I brought home. I was able to find 17 plants to put in my beds this year. What a grab bag full of surprises.
I'm hoping the pain I feel in the Calves are from building musles and not just pain.(Grins) (I couldn't wait to get in comfortable clothes,(sweats and shoeless and giant baggie tee shirt)!! I sure am glad we will be able to stay in this forum and keep in touch this way.What a great way to build new relationships And lasting friendships!! Gardeners are the Best!! I'm looking forward to keeping the lines of communication open, At all costs.(SMILES AND GRINS)!!
Well maybe not at all costs!!!

Well it took me 2 days to finally get in here. Jeanne the pic's were wonderful glad someone took the time to take some for us all to see. Again what a great time we all had. I also do not have all my plants planted working on it slowly.

Beverly and Mimi are the greatest what a great job putting this together and have it go off without a hitch and make so many people happy.

Hostalavista, I am also sorry I didn't get to meet you, we did meet last year I am always with Fourpaws, I must have wondered off for a minute to find that perfect plant Lol. Feel free to e-mail me anytime I love to chat.

JoAnn

Hi...yes, the Gardenweb has been having server problems. I guess it happens now and then. Just like a computer, a car, the electricity (now & then)...things don't always work & have to be fixed. But, it proves to me how often I check in at the different forums here. It's part of my day. And, It's a bit frustrating when we can't access the forums.

Sue...thanks for the info on "Stinking" hellebore. Honestly..I never noticed the 'stink'!!

Kim..thanks for the offer of the bloodgrass. I'll send an email and we can meet sometime for the switcheroo.

Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts.

More swap plants in the ground today...Beverly

GEEEEEZE, It's about time we got this up and running again!!! Felt like I lost my best friend there for awhile.LOL.
Happy Deb, you said you got all of your plants planted?
That's wonderful!!! Oh Wait!! What's that? You only had to plant 2!!(((KIDDING))) I haven't even started, But I have inspiration now!!! Mimi, Didn't get to ask, How is your wrist and your son doing? Well it's good to see this thread is going again. I think I will sit back and enjoy reading for awhile. I will pop in and out as I can.
(((Hopefully that will be alot)))) LOL
I know we've all said this so many times already,
But you can never say enough about Good People!!
Beverly and Mimi;You can organize my get togethers any time!!
As far as I'm concerned ;Your the Best!!

I'm doing pretty good getting things in the ground. (I'm taking off tomorrow for the long weekend, so everything's got to be somewhere by tonight!)

I only brought home 24 things, and 8 of those are for other people. Got the akebia vine safely ensconced out front, and Mimi's iris outside the back fence along the parking strip. Her daylilies went in at work, underneath our receptionists lilac bushes. Bev's geranium is tucked away in with the peonies and the Husker red penstemon I got at the swap last year. The red canna bulbs and the creeping jenny are planted in 18-gallon plastic tote "planters" on my upstairs neighbors porch, and we are prepared to be amazed.

And my VINCA -- the one thing that was on my list this spring -- is all potted up in hanging baskets on my front porch. It's so cool to look at all these things and imagine what they'll be like at the end of the summer. And to reflect that so many of the things that are looking glorious in the garden right now; my fuschia geranium, my hot pink tradescantia, and my riotous mock orange -- all came from previous year's swaps!

This is such a nice tradition, and the memories last for years! I had told the friends I invited that this was a great way to leverage the few plants you already have into a full garden -- I don't think they were prepared for how warm and friendly and gracious everyone was, and what a good time we all had.

And I got a big laugh out of how dramatically the mood changed when Bev announced the first round, with people suddenly streaking to their first-round draft pick.

(Bev -- my neighbors were not in the least surprised to find more plants Sunday. I think they were pleased to find so few. And one of them did the cooking Sunday night -- grilled salmon, veggies, and oystrs en brochette. Kinda puts my brats to shame!)

Couldn't come to your swap as we had one here in SW Michigan the same day. I enjoyed seeing the photos that someone posted - all ten of 'em - it gave me an overview of how you set it all up. We don't advertise our swap very much as we have always had them at someones home gardens which is always nice. I finally found a park that doesn't charge to use the pavilions and picnic tables so that is where we will have the fall swap - yipee.

I was impressed with the good size plants you were swapping - verrrrrrry nice - and by reading all the posts I can tell you all had a ball. Congratulations to you all! I bet you are all getting ready for the swap in the fall!

Cheers! Rita in Michigan

Thanks so much for all your hard work and organization, Beverly and Mimi! Great swap, great food, great people, great plants, great weather... the list goes on and on and Karen and I had a blast! See ya at the Ohio Forum and hopefully this fall!

PS I planted early the next day for several hours, then took a three hour nap. Perfect way to spend a Sunday, oh yeah!!!

Once again, I had a FABULOUS time at the swap! So many plants, so little time (and ground to plant them into...).

I did take home a few much-desireds, though--including one of Evan's tomatoes (can't for the life of me think which one now though), one of the double pink columbines, a wild geranium, a great fern from Mimi (so fun!), and a couple of hostas and forget-me-nots for my SIL who's about to create a shade garden.

FUNFUNFUNFUNFUNFUNFUNFUNFUNFUN!
Thanks SO much, Beverly and Mimi, and all of you who brought food, plants, and friendship. What a great day!
Gina

Well, I just want to let everyone know that Lee, my DH, is working on posting the pics that he took at the swap. They will appear once we get an account with Photobucket or the like. There are about 50 pics so get your cuppa in hand before you sit down to look at them.

Karen/Bakemom-I should have had Jeanne take my photo. Lee doesn't make me look skinny!

Margie/Granny 57- Isaac is all healed up. My wrist is better but I have tennis elbow that was masked by the wrist pain. The only cure is complete rest for the joint. My right elbow! Like that's going to happen with a mother of five who gardens!!!!! Who will carry those eternal baskets of laundry?

Have a great weekend everyone! Plant up those last few that are still in pots. I can't plant my trumpet vines until I get my gazebo made from my 8 foot satellite dish. I have one metal/wrought iron porch support lined up from freecycle. I just can't fit buying new ones into the budget. If you all know of any stray porch supports hanging around let me know. I'll be glad to give them a new home!

~~Mimi

GREAT NEWS!!! I just spoke to Diane...she's reserved a shelter for the fall swap! Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 17. Same time as the other swaps. It may not be at the same shelter house - but, definately at the Hilliard Municipal Park. She will be doing a seperate post for the fall swap soon.

Yipppeeee!!!!

yaaayyy!!! september 17 is the day!!
i cant wait! i just made a firm resolve to finish planting the stuff i got from the spring swap before i begin digging up new ones for the fall swap!

sue
"The one thing all gardeners share in common is a belief in tomorrow"

I'm all in favor of any plant swaps going on any time of the year. Will the same people be there,That was at the spring swap? I sure hope so, Maybe I will get to meet everyone then.
I would like to mention that while I was trying to get unloaded, A very kind lady came over to me and started picking up the plants and placing them in the spots where they belonged.You'll never know how much that meant to me!
I never got her name, and I wanted to say a special Thank You!! You were very kind to help me and I just wanted to let you know I didn't forget all the muscle power it took to get everything placed. That was great!! And to let you know how much you were appreciated! I didn't expect the help, And it sure was a nice surprise.Please let me know who you are and what your name is.I would like to Thank you personally. Well as personally as you can get on one of these things.(Big Grins)!!!
Hope everyone has a nice Holiday Weekend.
I'll be looking forward to the Fall Swap,Along with everyone else!!!

Well I've been in here a few days looking for anyone to post. Guess you all are having tooooo much fun with the holidays and such. I have gotten a few of my plants in the ground and while I was going through the plants to see what I picked up, I came across this plant called snooty something.Some of the writing is missing.It looks like a Sweet William but I'm not for sure.It is very, Very pretty and one of the darkest reds I have seen. Can the person who brought this plant tell me more about it? When I first got it I didn't think it had a name tag in it, But found one way down in the pot. Who ever brought it Thank You very much. It is going to make a great addition to my garden!
Well, Hope everyone is enjoying the rest of their Holidays! Hope to hear from some one SOON!
Missing the chatter already.

Granny, many of us are back on Ohio Valley Gardening and a bunch of us are back on Winter Sowing. I see Ohio Valley people on Perennials and the Soil Mulch Compost Forums too.

Personally, I'm at winter sowing first, ohio valley seond.

Finally! More pics!

Enjoy!

~~Mimi

Here is a link that might be useful: Slide show