YAY!!! I am soooo glad to see these up. I have been checking everyday. I even thought of posting them myself. :-)

I promise to do more talking and less gawking this time.

Until then,

Jen

Oh, no!
I can't make it to Vlad's swap. I'll be on vacation. But I'll think of you all while I'm on the beach!

Have a great swap!
Susan

Is Vlad's place near Poplar Hill? on Aquasco rd. (381)
i tried to email Christine but i keep getting a server error.
rats!
~Brian C. in DC

Christine has posted some directions on the 'Wanted: Directions to Vlad's' thread. Hopefully, you can figure out if it is where you think it is on the basis of that. Or maybe she'll see this and respond.

Me, I've got no idea where I'll be going, so I'll stick with Mapquest and hope for the best.

Suja

For someone brand new to this group and the swap:
1. Do we need to register to be able to come?
2. What are the typical size of plants you should bring to swap?
3. Would a dog, on a leash, be allowed or people only?
Thanks!

Reedparker:
No registration needed
Any plant that you can move/get into your vehicle
Leashed dogs OK; I believe Suja will be bringing her Great Dane.

ReedParker, just to clarify a little. Of course, no registration is necessary. Just show up and have a good time. I try to bring plants that are large enough that I know they'll survive, and this will be especially important for fall - itty bitty seedlings are probably not a great idea.

As for the dog, I have checked with the host (Vlad) and others on the forum, and made sure it is okay. I suspect that this is dog dependent - as long as your dog is well behaved, friendly towards people, including kids, and dog friendly, it should be fine. I could be wrong about this, but I believe that Vlad has cats, and unless you know that your dog is cat friendly (Pan has lived with cats and ferrets and doesn't have much of a prey drive), it doesn't hurt to check and make sure that they aren't likely to venture outdoors. Vlad also has a horse, in case that figures into the equation.

Suja

... and what a WONDERFUL DAY it was! Thanks so much Vlad ~ your place is just beautiful and your hospitality much appreciated. Thanks also to everyone who shared their goodies with me despite my lack of anything worth while to contribute. My hubby was right in pushing me out the door; he knew I'd have fun just getting out with ONLY one kid and being able to talk plants with like minded FRIENDS. I took Croom Road back and enjoyed that drive ~ thanks for the push Christine. ;) Jack and I (and maybe even Sarah if I'm feeling braver) look forward to the spring swap, where we promise to bring more plants. Now I'm going to curl up and dream of gardens to come with one of the fun magazines some kind soul left out... Hope everyone has a great fall and winter!
Leslie

I second the "wonderful day" sentiments.
The rain just teased us, and we had a fair turnout.
I enjoyed being able to just give things away instead of hunting down my usual trades. I really tried to put the names with the faces this time and I had some enjoyable conversations .
The food was excellent as usual....the hosts were very gracious and the farm is such a great respite for gardening.
It was a nice drive in the country , and feeding Cinnabar was such fun. A great day for meeting new faces and seeing the familiar ones.
I'll also look forward to our spring plant swap.
Enjoy your winter planting and , see you next year.
Bonnie

I had a really nice time, too. Thanks everyone for perfect plants, Steven for the tow-behind! I'm already using it, much to my husband's dismay. (He is loading and unloading it with yard crap.)

Vlad, as always, lovely to see you and Eric and the things you're doing with your home. Did you know Eric even shared a jar of his hoarded rasperry preserves? He must have been feeling particularly magnani-mouse. And he did beautifully with all us folks in his space!

It's always nice to see old-ish faces. I hope the old-timers don't stop coming because it's our time to be as generous with this generation of newbies, as the previous old-timers have been with us. This is my 3rd year of swapping and I wouldn't miss it. Sure, I might not need anything, but I sure have stuff to share!

Great 'burgs & dogs, tortes & tarts, brownies and flourless cake, riata, pita chips, salads (stop me) and enough great stuff that I took a food nap after a major sugar crash. Always have dessert first so you always have room! :)

So...
Have we set a date for Spring? And has anyone heard from Henrietta?!?

Christine

Thanks to everyone who so generously shared their plants, and those who happily took stuff off my hands. And a special thanks to all the people who offered Pan scritches and did not complain about her wandering around and general nosiness. Even the horsie was so nice to her, and let her go nose to nose; if we do this again, Cinnabar is getting some extra special treats from us. Vlad and Eric were awesome hosts, and I just *loved* the warm bread and Raspberry-Rhubarb preserves.

I promise to not recycle the same old same old come Spring. I hope to have cool new stuff for y'all.

Chistine, we don't normally set a date for the Spring swap until February or so, I think.

Suja

Loved it! I actually got everything in the ground or in a container today!
A potluck get-together sometime during the winter sounds nice as well. There was a time when we'd do that--the last one was back in 2000 at Benni-hana's in Bethesda (IIRC)

What a great event! I had such a wonderful time meeting everyone, swapping and learning more about plants. Vlad, Eric and everyone at the Swap, Thank you so much for welcoming this newbie. And thank you for allowing my dog Grace to come along. I look forward to talking with you on these forums and seeing you all at the Spring Swap!

I've often thought of bringing one of my dogs, but I'm afraid that I'd bring home so many plants, I wouldn't have room for the dog and I'd have to strap her to the roof of the car!
My late lab mix would've loved to have come along.
Both Pan and Grace were sweethearts and yes my dogs had a lovely smell-fest when I got home! Dogs, cats, a horse, etc. Whatta bouquet!

I know my garden wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for the generosity of everyone who goes to these swaps and the people who hosts them. I had a great time even though I had to miss out on the tasty food. I'm almost finished putting plants in the ground-- can't wait to see them flourish next year.
Tabby

Here's the recipe for the flourless chocolate torte:

Ingredients:
1) 10 Eggs (cold)
2) 20 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate (coarsely chopped)
3) 10 oz. Unsalted Butter cut into 1/2" cubes
4) 2 1/2 oz. Coffee Liqueur (strong)
5) Confectioner's Sugar or Cocoa Powder or Chocolate
Shavings for decoration.

Preparation:
1) Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven
to 325 degrees. Line bottom of 10" cake pan with
parchment and grease pan sides. Set cake pan in large
roasting pan. Bring kettle of water to boil.
2) Beat eggs with whip attachment at medium speed until
volume doubles to approximately 1 quart, about 5
minutes.
3) Melt chocolate and butter (adding coffee or liqueur) in a
large heat-proof bowl set in an oven pan of almost
simmering water...until smooth and very warm (about
115 degrees), stirring once or twice. Remove from heat
and allow to cool slightly. Fold 1/3 of egg foam into
chocolate mixture using a large rubber spatula until only
a few streaks of egg are visible. Then fold in half of
remaining form, then the last of the remaining foam,
until mixture is totally homogenous.
4) Scrape batter into prepared cake pan and smooth surface
with rubber spatula. Set roasting pan on oven rack and
pour enought boiling water to come about halfway up
side of pan. Bake until cake has risen slightly...about 20
to 25 minutes. At that time...the edges are beginning to
set, a thin glazed crust (like a brownie) has formed on the
surface, and an instant read thermometer inserted halfway
through the cake center registers 140 degrees.
5) About 30 minutes before serving, invert cake on a sheet
of waxed paper...then peel off parchment paper and turn
cake right side up on a serving platter. Dust with sifted
confectioner's sugar or cocoa powder to decorate.

Hi Fall Swappers, et al.!

First of all, I want to thank our gracious and organized hosts - Vlad & Eric. Everything was set up so nicely and they even arranged for the weather to "almost" cooperate. Gardeners love rain anyway - and what we had was just a spit! Your home is so attractive. I already told you how I love the "preserve" shelves. Eric, I have placed your "shihsu" (sp?) in a place where I hope it will seed and Vlad, I have potted your "pink/purple lady" vine or whatever it was you called it. I put it around the edges of a large pot of bird of paradise that I tote in and out every year -- looks great! Maybe they will inspire the "birds" to bloom for me finally.

Thanks to all for the great variety of plant/garden goods that were available. I planted everything right away and made room in my home for the houseplants that I took. The food variety was also dynamite, considering it was a smaller swap than the Spring one.

It took me a while to post this as I was trying to find out the name of the daisy-like flower plants that I shared. The lady with the baby in the truck parked next to me was correct. The plants I had in the blue bags were Helianthus "Lemon Queen" variety. So, the mystery is solved for those of you who took some. I had just returned from vacation and was very disorganized this time around. I'll do better in the Spring -- happy Fall planting to all ... Mary Anne