This is my first time hosting a swap, so please bear with me ! LOL And I'm always open to suggestions! So if any of you who have actually hosted one can give me some pointers or tips on how to make it better, please feel free to email me!

If your like me and would have LOVED to go to the swap in Columbus but missed it or couldn't travel quite that far, then maybe this might be for you. I apologize for not giving much of a notice. I had a hard time finding a place that would host us and just received the okay from them today!

Plant Swap Details

Fee: None (you can offer a donation at the sign in table to help cover the costs of the pavilion if you'd like to)

Location:

Wooster City Park - Christmas Run

700 N Grant St

Wooster, OH 44691

You can map quest it for directions.

Time & Date:

June 10th, 2006 at 10:00am - ?

The details for the swap are as follows:

10:00am - Everyone signs in. You get a name tag and x amount of tickets depending on how many plants you bring (you bring 10, you get 10 tickets). Put your name in the drawing for a door prize. Take your plants to the appropriate swap area.

10:00am-Noon - After you sign in, you'll have this time to socialize and check out all of the plants being offered.

Noon- Door prizes are awarded and then the swap begins. The swap usually lasts between 1-2 hours, depending on how many plants are being offered.

How the swap will be handled:

Everyone goes at the same time...

Round One - Select one plant.

Round Two - Select one plant.

Round Three - Select two plants.

Round Four - Select three plants.

Round Five - Select four plants.

and so on until everyone runs out of tickets

During the swap, we'll have two slips of paper in a bowl, one will be marked "Green" and the other "Red". If two people are wanting the same plant, you simply yell out "Draw!". Then each person will pull a slip from the bowl and the person with the slip marked "Green" will get the plant. We feel this will be the fairest way to handle the situation.

Once everyone has used up their tickets, if there's extra plants left over these will either go to the new gardeners or we will have a "free for all" depending on the amount that is left over.

All plants are considered "equal". If someone brings a named hosta, it's equal to an unnamed one. A vine is equal to a groundcover. A seedling is equal to a year old plant, etc... We know that some do not feel this is fair. But there are alot of others that cannot afford to purchase the more "expensive" plants or who are just starting out. We feel they should be able to swap in the same manner as everyone else. If this is a concern of yours, then we suggest you make "personal" trades after the swap with others who have what you may be looking for.

If you'd like to make "personal" trades, then please post what you have to offer, or what you're looking for at www.ohiogardeners.com. I've created a specific topic just for that purpose under the plant swap section. After the swap you can do your "personal" trades from your vehicles out in the parking lot. Or just feel free to walk around and offer up a trade.

After the swap, the majority of us will be attending the garden fair that's taking place at Quailcrest Farms. They have food vendors and we'll eat there. Here are the details for the fair (more about the swap below):

Quailcrest Farm Spring Garden Fair

Address:

Quailcrest Farm

2810 Armstrong Rd.

Wooster, OH 44691

Phone Numbers: (330) 345-6722

Email: qcrest@bright.net

Website: www.quailcrest.com

Description:

Come join us for two days of artists and craftsmen selling their wares among the gardens of Quailcrest Farm. Each day you can find painters, wood carvers, blacksmith, jewelry, pottery, tole painting, antiques, furniture, dolls, clothing, etc. all with a garden theme. Food, music and of course the fabulous Quailcrest herbs, perennials, trees, shrubs and electic gift shops.

Dates & Times:

June 10th, 10am-5pm

June 11th, 10am-5pm

Over 35 garden related artists and craftsmen will fill our gardens plus food and music.

Admission:

$2.00 per car

Now back to the swap ...

Things you can bring to the swap to trade are:

Perennials, annuals, seedlings, veggies, herbs, houseplants, bulbs, shrubs, trees, vines, ground covers, well rooted cuttings that are potted up, seeds and anything else that's garden related (magazines, pots, tools, trellis', fertilizer, soil, labels, seed baggies, stamps, garden decor, stepping stones, the list goes on and on). You'd be amazed at what people will trade for!

Also please mark your plants with as much information as possible. Especially if it's posionous or invasive. If you're not sure about the plant you have, ask around the boards and others might be able to help you identify it. Also google.com is a great place to do a search for a particular type of plant and get the growing conditions, etc... for it. If you can't find the information, then that's okay, but let us know when you arrive, how many "unknown" plants you have.

If anyone would like to help out with the swap (signing people in, help out with setup, help cleanup afterwards, etc...) then please email me at: tameron@ohiogardeners.com

Also if you'd like to donate a door prize, that would be a big help. Just email me at: tameron@ohiogardeners.com and let me know how many you're donating and bring it/them with you (wrapped if you can) to the swap.

You also might want to bring a lawn chair, something to put your plants in and something to drink. We'll provide water and one other thing (lemonade, punch or tea). But if you'd like something other than that, you'll have to bring it.

If you can attend, please post here or email me: tameron@ohiogardeners.com so that I can get a good idea of how many people will be there.

I think I've covered everything, but if I'm forgetting something or if you have any suggestions then feel free to email me.

Happy Gardening!

Tameron