Hi, sorry I haven't checked in lately! I'm with Connie, working full time makes weekdays pretty much impossible for me too. Unfortunately I also am smack in the middle of my chemotherapy and am too tired for words - lousy cancer, I'm mostly mad at it because I can't garden this spring! Grrr... :) Charlene, horray on your diagnosis! I was so relieved to read that you are cancer-free. Whew!!

I'd love to do a fall one and may even be able to host but it would be great if we could make that a weekend one. I am sorry I'll miss this one. I do have sunset hyssop, a few Walker's low catmint, and Red Rocks penstemon if anyone's interested. Please come by and dig up! If there are extras after the swap maybe someone could post and we can do weekend pickups? Thinking too much today, sorry...

I'm sorry Connie and Amester about the days not working out :( In the beginning of the thread weekdays seemed to be better for most. Hopefully the next swap can be on a weekend.

Yago-I'm not sure if we'll still be going on at that time ?? Does anyone know how long the swaps have gone on in the past? We can always start it at 11am instead of 10am if that works for everyone.

Amester- I am so sorry about your cancer. Chemo is so intense and harsh on the body. When will chemo be complete? You are in my thoughts and prayers; and that you'll be back to gardening very soon.

Charlene

If others concur, Id love to have it start at 11:00, Charlene. Im a night person, so the later it starts, the better as far as Im concernedand its gonna take me a while to drive down there. The only other one Ive been to was the Fall Swap in 05, and that one lasted several hours, but olgraymare had everybody bring some kind of a dish and we had more of a buffet lunch type thing. Dont know how anybody else feels, but drinks and some kind of a snack is plenty for me! Also, I and Cheryl (from Paulinos) did a demonstration on propagating from cuttings, so that took a while. Im glad to do the demonstrations again, but-----sorry Charlene-----Im saving that for the Fall Swap! Itll just be so much easier for me to do here at home where I dont have to drag everything along! And Im hoping Cheryl will be able to come again too. I invited her to this one, but shes working on weekdays.

In case you all cant tell, I AM going to be able to come to this one! Cant wait!

Im losing track of all the names, but I want to let everybody whos interested in the FALL SWAP know that I do plan to do it on a WEEKEND DAY. Which day it is will depend on my schedule at the timewhich I dont get until a couple weeks before the end of the previous month. Ill shoot for near the end of the month so everybody has as much notice as possible. Which month it is will depend a lot on how hot the summer is. If its still really hot in July, Ill try to make it August or September. So, Connie, dont poke yourself in the eyes! You wont be able to see anything at the fall swap! ;-)

Amester, Im sorry to hear about the cancer. I hope youll be feeling good again soon after the chemo is finished. Are you able to go out for drives right now? I bet Charlene wouldnt mind holding a few things for you after the swap for you to come pick up if youd like to. Im going to have over 70 perennials, so contact me if youd like a list to pick from. (GW PMs dont work for me. EM me at SkybirdDEN@gmail.com) Or post a note here and Ill see it. I havent had time lately to reply, but Ive been reading!

Dreaming of new plants,
Skybird

I'm glad you're coming Skybird! You're kind of the mastermind behind this and I'm a rookie at swaps :)

A later time works out fine for me. I just picked a random early time cause I thought gardeners were early birds:) (as a musician I'm so not an early bird either, although I'm forced to be to get my son off to school everyday.)

11am or 12noon?? What time is best for most?

I can do a big salad with some sort of protein since it will be lunch time. I make yummy salads and hopefully I'll have some fresh greens from the garden. I've got spinach, carrots, chives but the spinach may be history by then.

Amester--I'd be happy to hold some plants for you or I could even meet you part way somewhere. Let me know.

Charlene

Here's who I have coming so far Friday, May 18th (11am or 12noon let me know what works for most of you).....

Billie ladybug
Nancy in co
Nrynes
Azura
Debzcatz
Skybird
Pacu
Lindy Loo
Cnetter
Emagineer
Dryad58
Yago
Singcharlene

I have everyone's email address except for Yago and Emagineer (sorry if you gave it to me already Emagineer).

If I've missed anyone or you don't have the location please send me a private message through "my page". I seem to be receiving PM's no problem.

Looking forward to it:)

Charlene

Anytime if fine with me. Although getting back down before rush hour hits will be my thing. It is going to be great to meet everyone and I'm still in awe with the amount and different types of plantings. Have been working in the yard to get tons done which will allow me to think about what plants will work where.

Food is a non issue for me, so anything planned is fine. And I still plan on bringing something snacky. Or it could be real food if wanted.

Amester, do hope all goes well for you. It has to be the a tough haul and then not being able to enjoy the garden. Great you hang on to RMG, so many good people on this forum.

Charlene, I sent another PM for you.

Charlene, Skybird, Emagineer - thank you for the well wishes. I'll be done with chemo June 12 - I don't think I'd be quite as tired if I didn't have a 15-month-old to chase around when I'm not working! But he keeps me going, so it's all good. Charlene, thank you for the prayers, they keep me going, as does this forum. Gardeners are such lovely people! :) You know, if you do it at 11 or 12 I could probably sneak a long lunch (as long as I'm not having one of my Night of the Living Dead days) so I will keep an eye on the time change...I'm in Highlands Ranch so a drive down would not be a big deal but you are so kind to offer to meet me. Driving for plants is NO problem!! Skybird, I will email you separately, thank you for mentioning that.

Hope to make it - cancer be darned!!

This sounds like fun. I'd love to go, and Emagineer, I'd be happy to take some lilacs off your hands!

But without a car, getting to Castle Rock would be problematic. And I work during the day. Can't take off because then I'd have to give up a day's pay.

I wouldn't have anything to share, anyway, because I just got started as a gardener, and the only thing I have an excess of is weeds.

I can bring Deviled Eggs. My hens are laying now.

Lilacs, I wish I could help you on the swap, but the list says your in Aurora somewhere. Totally the opposite direction from where I go, unless you are closer to Parker?

Is anyone interested in coin envelopes for seeds? I still have a bunch I can bring them with me.

B

Anyone interested in Angelica?
I have some that is growing where I don't want it. It's easier to pull it, but I'll dig it if anyone wants it. It's an herb.
Pic taken in June, click for bigger pic:

cnetter - if you bring it, I WILL find it a home. If you don't, no worries. I will take anything that is green and will (hopefully) stay that way.
If anyone has anything that will help with soil erosion that can stay on a hill (will be deep rooted), a friend of mine is having a real erosion problem. I am starting her a slew of perennials, but I know there are things that I don't have.
Thank you sooo much
B

I'd like to have one of the angelica's, Cnetter. I have seed I was going to start, but it says to stratify it first, and I havent gotten around to doing it.

I didnt realize they got quite that big though! Is that 5'? It sure looks like it in the picture! Do you know what species it is? Is it a white flowered one? It looks like it, or are those still just the buds? Do they reseed insanely like chamomile, or is it manageable? One would be way plenty for me, and thanks for the offer.

Charlene, I just want to add to what Emagin saidyou dont need to put a whole lot of time and effort into preparing food unless its something you really want to do. That being said, I bet you DO make really good salads! But Im sure whatever you decide will be fine with everyone! From my point of view, when Im working, half the time I work all day with little more than a few pretzels and some orange juice, so Im quite sure Ill survive even if theres nothing at all! :-)

This is gonna be fun,
Skybird

I'm reasonably certain it's Angelica archangelica - it's the one used to flavor things. 5 feet is about right for my Angelica. I'm pretty sure those are the flower buds and the flowers are greenish.
It blooms the second year and behaves pretty much as a biennial or short lived perennial. It only reseeds about three or four plants. I think I have two to spare.
I have quite a few anise hyssop, which is really nice.

Its the straight herb form then. Since it doesnt reseed all over, Id like to try it. But if theres a total herb nut at the swap who would really like to have it, they can have it too since theres only a couple! Just checked my herb list, and I dont think Id actually ever use it for herb purposesjust as an ornamental. Im going to bring my perennial list along to the swap for if people have questions, and Ill bring the herb list too. Some day want to try an Angelica gigas. Theyre big too, and theyre supposed to have purple leaves and burgundy flowers.

I already have anise hyssop, but if you feel like digging them up, I bet somebody would love to have them. I havent noticed any seedlings coming up around mine. Ill have to look more closely!

Have to get outside and get some stuff done,
Skybird

Well, I just dug up and potted 3 seedlings that MAY be anise hyssop! They still just have seed leaves, and I can't smell anything at all yet, but if I can be sure that's what they are by then, I'll bring them along to the swap.

Hi there,

Thanks to those who PM'd me with their email addresses.

May 18th, @ 11am
or WE CAN DO 12NOON. PLEASE GIVE A LITTLE FEEDBACK AS TO WHAT TIME WORKS BETTER 11AM OR 12 NOON FOR MOST (EITHER TIME IS GOOD FOR ME)--THX...

I've now sent emails to the following people for the swap:
Billie ladybug
Nrynes
Azura
Debzcatz
Skybird
Pacu
Lindy Loo
Cnetter
Emagineer
Dryad58
Yago
Nancy in CO
Bloomingamaryllis
Amester

If you didn't get an email with the location, please send me a PM through "my page".

Looking forward to it!

Charlene

Noon works well for me. I can get my hours in at work before and then go home when we are done.
Looking forward to meeting all of you.

B

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to gardening so I wanted post a list of what I am planning to bring to the swap. Im embarassed to admit that many of the items are fairly common and I wont bother to pot them up if nobody wants them.

Junebearing strawberries (blooming now so may not fruit for you this year)
Bearded Irises (heirloom lighter purple variety)
Lamb's Ear
Hen & Chicks

I hope to have other plants that Ive grown from seed and extra annuals from 6-packs Ive bought, Im just waiting to see what survives the next 3 weeks. :)

One last question, how swappable are seedlings considered? I have some blue eyed grass and bunny tails grass that are about 3 inches tall right now.

Thank you!
Jill

Nothing is too common, Jill! We ALL have very common things in our gardens. I have a whole bunch of different ground cover sedums, and you cant get much more common than that. (And Im bringing some to the swap!) I think I can just about guarantee that anything you bring will find a new home!

Id LOVE to have one of your blue eyed grasses! I have seed I collected years ago that Ive never gotten planted and I dont know if its even viable anymore. And Im into hen & chicks too, so if yours are anything but plain green, Id be interested in them too. And with hen & chicks you dont even need to put them in pots if you dont want to. You can just put them in a small box or pot or something, and whoever gets them can plant them themselves.

And I think at least several people are bringing seedlings! The seedlings Im bringing are hollyhocks that are coming up all over the place, and yellow columbine. Because the hollyhocks are so tiny yet, I put 5 or 6 in each pot so even if a couple die, theyll still be nice plants. Some of the hollyhock seedlings were so small they didnt even have full size seed leaves yet! I didnt have as many of the columbine, so those only have 1 or 2 in each pot, but theyre starting to root out pretty well, so Im sure theyll make it. If youre digging up seedlings that have come up in your garden, I definitely recommend potting them up with a bagged potting mix. Itll make it much easier for them to recover from being dug up. And if, when you dig them up, they wind up with little of no soil on the roots, theyll probably be just fine anyway! All the things I dug up wound up bare root, and theyre coming along very well.

When I get a chance Im going to post what Im bringing so people can kind of think about what they might want, but right now I have to get outside to get weed & feed on my lawn! Im soooo behind in posting around here! But Im tired of dandelions too!

FOR ANYBODY WHO SEES THISFELLOW SWAPPERS AND SWAPPEES!

I think Charlene would still like some more feedback on what time you all would prefer for the swap to start. She hasnt gotten much feedback on this yet!

From my point of view, the later the better, so if I had my druthers, itd be noon, but theres not that much difference between 1100 or1200, so if there are more votes for 11, that works fine for me. But I am glad its not gonna be 1000 anymore! :-)

TELL US WHAT TIME YOUD PREFER!

Skybird

I am great with noon so that is where my vote goes. But if people need 11:00 I am fine with that, too.

Is anybody bringing seeds to swap?
I visited three different stores today and couldnt find any dwarf sunflower seeds, I would love to trade for some. I'll be bringing my seeds to share and most of what I have is fresh for this season.
Charlene, either time works fine for me. :)
Jill

I'm bringing some seeds, Jill, but no sunflowers.

I have
hollyhocks---mixed and black
English lavender
Callirhoe
Aquilegia chrysantha
Hibiscus moscheutos 'Disco Belle' pink
...and I think there might be something else I'm not remembering right now. Still have to get them packaged.

Hi all,

We're getting closer! Thanks Skybird.... It seems that 12noon works better so far.

So let's plan on Friday, May 18th at 12noon. I'll send out another email to everyone prior to the day.

Any time if fine with me. Go for a majority need.

I am still lost as to all the plants...be ready for bunches of questions.

Im sure there'll be plenty of answers! Just bring your Emagination! :-)

Ok! Heres the list of stuff Ill have at the swap!

20 Chrysanthemum Hillside Pink Sheffield
30" X 30" sun salmon pink Sep-Oct z5
(previously Dentranthema grandiflora)
Blooms late, may need protection from early freezes, attracts butterflies, spreads easily but near the surface so can be controlled by removing new shoots

12 Origanum laevigatum Hopleys Purple Ornamental oregano
18" X 12"+ full sun to part shade lavender Jul-Sep z4
Drought tolerant, Lots of very small flowers give a lacy, wispy look, spreads easily but near the surface so can be controlled by removing new shoots

12 Aquilegia chrysantha, Columbine
24" X 15" part sun yellow Jun-Aug z4
VERY fragrant yellow flowersput them somewhere where you can easily bend over and sniff them on the way by, long blooming, comes true from seed, Colorado native.

10 Alcea rosea - mixed colors - single hollyhock
60" X 24" full sun mixed Jun-Sep z4
This is technically a biennial, but mine always develop new plants at the base that bloom the next year. Also reseed very easily.

4 Chrysanthemum maximum Becky
36" X 24"+ sun white Jun-Aug z4
The best tall shasta daisy, very strong upright stems with large, perfect looking flowers. Blooms a long time with deadheading

7 Polygonatum falcatum Variegatum
18" X 24"+ shade to part shade white, very small May-Jun z3
Variegated Solomons Seal (a/k/a P. odoratum)
Spreads slowly at first, but rapidly once its established - can become invasive, though when I dug mine up to limit the spread, it was easier to get it out than I expected.

5 Ajuga reptans Arboretum Giant Bugleweed
12" X 24"+ sun or shade lavender May-Jun z3
Semi-evergreen, will continue to spread if in contact with soil, spreads on surface so controllable. Large leaves with a very narrow purple margin when in enough sun, mostly plain green in shade. Largest variety of Ajuga

1 Campanula punctata - un-named variety
15" X 36" full sun to shade June z4
Large white pendulous flowers with purple spots. The flowers hang completely down so inside with purple spots cannot be seen! INVASIVE!

8 Sedum spurium Dragons Blood
4" X 18"+ full sun pink Jun-Jul z3
Evergreen, xeric, red/burgundy winter foliage green summer foliage

4 Sedum pachyclados
4" X 12"+ full sun white July z4
Evergreen, xeric, if stems get too bare looking, cut all the way down and wait for new growth

8 Sedum spurium Tricolor
4" X12"+ full sun pink Jun-Jul z4
Evergreen, xeric, remove any new growth that has reverted back to plain green. Pink, white and green foliage in summer, mostly pink in winter

7 Sedum reflexum Blue Spruce
5" X 12"+ full sun yellow July z3
Evergreen, xeric

Unrooted cuttings for sedums Tricolor, Dragons Blood, Angelina, and maybe more.

Six to ten packets of seed each for black hollyhocks, mixed hollyhocks, Aquilegia chrysantha, English lavender, Hibiscus moscheutos Disco Belle Pink, Callirhoe involucrata, mixed snapdragons. Plus Im gonna bring the extra seed just in case thats not enough!

I figured if I posted this here now, people could start to think about what they might like.

Can hardly wait to meet you all,
Skybird

how is it that I just now saw this thread! Oh my goodness, I'd really like to come. The later the better as I am making the drive from Fort Collins and traffic through Denver can be gridlocked at seemingly any time for no reason whatsoever. I don't have that much as I've just moved out to CO this year, and am renting my space, so most of my gardening will be of the container variety, but I do have some very happy, healthy Black Beauty Eggplant transplants and a bunch of different tomato varieties (Old German Heirloom and "Red Robin" - a cherry/container variety)

Plus it would just be fun to meet everyone! My dad is visiting from Connecticut right now, so I'll probably drag him along with me, haha. I can't wait to see all the beautiful things you will all have :)

Daimonic,
That really is a long trip. A suggestion that you take 470 rather than mess with middle of Denver. It may seem longer, but is much faster and can save on gas rather than get grid locked with traffic. You can take Parker Rd. off of 470 and go the back way to CastleRock (which I personally think is faster also) and will keep you out of the I-25 traffic.

Or not do it this way, as I wouldn't want you to get lost. Perhaps there is someone here that you could meet up with and go from Denver together. Would help ease a long drive.

Wow Skybird!!

Daimonic, we'd love to have you! The time is now 12noon. Please private message me through "my page" for location and directions.

So far we have:

Billie ladybug
Nrynes
Azura
Debzcatz
Skybird
Pacu
Lindy Loo
Cnetter
Emagineer
Dryad58
Yago
Nancy in CO
Bloomingamaryllis
Amserelda
Amester

If I've missed anyone or you don't have directions please private message me.

Enjoy the gorgeous weather!

Charlene

I am so jealous about the plants at this plant swap. Unfortunately, I can't make it but don't forget me on the next one. Sniff, Sniff.

I'm bringing my daughter. She jumped at going...will be nice to have her with me on the drive. Hard to believe this is next week already.

Anyone on the west side or Boulder area want to carpool? I don't mind driving since I have a high milage car (Prius), but it's really nice to have someone along to navigate and keep company.

singcharlene I sent you a PM, but it looked more like an e-mail, (I'm a newbie, sorry!) so hopefully you got a message from me either on here or via e-mail.

I am looking forward to meeting you all. To make up for my lack of plants, I'll be bringing something I baked. I might try and do my Betit Noir (The Black Beast) which is a flourless chocolate cake, almost fudgelike. That is if I can get my recipe to work at 5000 feet! SO MANY adjustments moving to Colorado, LOL!

I would love to come! I live in Elizabeth, almost in Kiowa. Castle Rock isn't too far. Is the swap still on Friday the 18th? I don't have anything to swap though (we just bought our house last July, and I'm just getting my irises to come up - will be 1-2 years before they are ready to divide). Only thing I have is wild yucca plants, bluebells, and wild roses (and who wants those LOL!) I do have some heirlooms veggie seeds - gotta find those (still in a box). But I would love to come and meet everyone, hear ideas, and maybe purchase some plants??? I need lots of stuff for my gardens.

Oh, I could bring purple and white lilac starts for anyone who would like those. And, I have some raspberry starts.

Please keep me in the loop - lbialy@myedl.com. Thanks!

Lisa :)

I knew I had these pictures somewhere and FINALLY found them! Theyre on the first little card that came with my camerathe first thing I took pictures of when I got it!

Heres pictures of the Hillside Pink Sheffield Im going to have at the swap. These pictures are 2 years after planting a very small, half dead division I brought from my last house!

{{gwi:1192532}}

{{gwi:1192534}}

With butterflies!
{{gwi:1192536}}

{{gwi:1192537}}

Three more days,
Skybird

P.S. twhgardener/Lisa, did you ever get in touch with Charlene?

Anybody interested in some daylilies?
I have these in one gallon pots so don't want to bring them if no one wants them.
I have Lollipop Apricot Ice:

Hi there,

Three more days! I just emailed you Lisa/Twhgardener--I apologize for not catching your post earlier.

Cnetter-I would love some daylilies! Those are gorgeous. I've got so much bare space and I love daylilies, if it's not too much trouble.

I just got a bunch of bags of pine needles dropped off by my neighbor if anyone's interested.

A few more days! I'm making a great big spinach salad and iced green tea. I also have lots of soda left over from a party if someone wants that. I wasn't sure if my bed of spinach would make it until Friday but it looks great and is ripe for pickin'! Just FYI, we are in the midst of remodeling our original 1970 kitchen and so my house may be a little torn up with workers here but that's been my life for the past month. I figure we'll be outside and so won't matter much.

Here's the list of people so far. I'll send an email to everyone with directions again in the next day:

Billie ladybug
Nrynes
Azura
Debzcatz
Skybird
Pacu
Lindy Loo
Cnetter
Emagineer
Dryad58
Yago
Bloomingamaryllis
Amserelda
Amester
Digital diamonic
Twhgardener

See you soon!
Charlene

I need a favor from someone in the Springs. Is anyone open to my meeting up with you and going together? Will share the cost of gas. My daughter has changed plans and "tis only me". You can PM me or post here.

Thanks ahead of time.

ARGH! It looks like I might not be able to come -- I just found out that I have to work at 4pm back in Ft. Collins this Friday night. And I'm having transportation issues -- my husband's car is in the garage, and he probably needs my car for the day.

I'll come if I can! (I'm so disappointed :( )

cnetter - yes on the daylilies!

emagineer - where are you in the Springs?? I may be able to come down and get you if you're not too far on the south end. I'll have to pop down to Manitou Springs before the swap, so might be able to pick you up :)

Nancy

nancy_rynes@yahoo.com

I am coming after some back and forth. I don't have anything for the swap except the broccoli/cabbage? (the seedlings got mixed up). I will bring some of them if anyone wants them. I am also bringing develed eggs that are fresh from my chickens. I have a co-worker that will be with me, I think you all will like her. She's good people. Anyway mostly wanted to meet everyone and say hello face to face.
If there are any leftover daylilies, I would love them. I lost my perennial bed when we put in the new house. The backhoe was not kind. : (
I wish I could help you out emagineer, but I start work at 6:30 in the morning and I don't think you want to hang around a lumber yard all day. I hope you and Nancy can work something out. I was looking forward to meeting you.

B

Hooray! Nancy came to the rescue. Get to see you guys and join in the fun. Thanks Nancy.

I can pick some Orach for people to try. It makes a good salad green ... or purple. It's at the right stage right now.

I have four potlucks this weekend - think I'll just make either a load of cookies or hummus.

Just want to wish all of a great day. Hope you have a blast. Sorry, I can't make it, but the annual "Run For the Wall" motorcycle run comes through town tomorrow and I am manning a refreshment booth.

I hope you all have a grand time and tell us all about it!

Hey, I just wanted to thank you all again. Sorry I had to leave, but I have to help with inventory tommorrow and I still have things to do before I leave tonight.
Charlene you were a wonderful hostess. The salad was excellent! Everyone that did not make it missed all the treats. I also wanted to thank you all for making my guest feel so welcome. She is all excited to go home and plant her new plants. We should be seeing her log in here soon. I really could not believe how much there was and the variety of items. Cnetter and Skybird, how do you keep all of the plants names and varieties straight? Plus so much information on all the plants? Thank you! I expected that everyone would bring maybe five or ten items.
The company was wonderful. It was great to talk to all of you in person and I am really looking forward to doing it all again. I promise to bring something much more interesting next time. I think that we will have to do a weekend next time, or I will have to take the afternoon off.
Thank you so much. I just hope I can find everyone I got a good home in my garden.

B

Thanks to everyone that came to the swap. It was a fun day! It was so nice to meet you all! That was my first swap and now that I know how it works I'll be more prepared to start some things for the fall swap. I'm excited to put the plants in that I got from everyone and how much more special they will be knowing they came from a RMG'er.

I wish we could have met all of the regulars on this forum. Maybe someday.

Here's my salad recipe some of you asked for:

Spinach (preferably picked fresh from the garden!)
Dried cranberries (I've used raspberries instead of cranberries before too)
Mandarin Oranges (I used one can packed in juice and drained)
Goat Cheese crumbles
Almonds Sliced
Poppy Seed Salad Dressing (I used Brianna's brand)

Thanks again,
Charlene

.....and a fun time was had by all!

The Spring Swap was a really fun time! For those who couldnt make it to this one, please consider coming to the Fall one. I can guarantee you a good time!

The weather was absolutely beautiful, and before swapping any plants, we wanted to be sure everyone who was coming was there, so we started out with the food. There was WAY more than I was expectingALL of it GOOD, and Charlene made a WONDERFUL spinach salad for which shes posted the recipe above. Try it, youll like it!

By the time we finished the good food and fun conversation, we figured everybody was there, so everybody who brought something to give away explained what they had brought, and then we came up with a difficult problem! Everybody was afraid to say what they wanted or to take anything because they seemed to think somebody else might want itso picking the plants started out pretty slowly! Everybody needs to learn to speak up and be a loud mouth like me! :-)

We did go down the line one time to have everybody pick the first thing they wanted (tho people were almost to shy to even do that!), but then there was so much stuff that we would have been there for a couple days if we had continued like that, so little by little people just started walking around andkind of verballypicking things out: Id like this if nobody else wants it! I thought, for a while, that I was going to have to bring half of mine back homewhich I really didnt want to dobut after a bit everyone got bolder and things started to get moved to individual piles! I had considerably more fun than I did at the Fall 05 Swap. Cant tell you exactly what the difference was, but there was a difference.

And Im sure Charlenes mother was happy to find out that we didnt turn out to be a bunch of axe murderers! Though I have to admitbeing oldethat I tend to think that way too! The only other two people Ive ever met in person that I met online were two friends from Books For Soldiersanother place where you dont tend to find too many axe murderers! This timeI swearwe all felt like we already knew each other before we ever got there. It was more like a reunion than like a first-time meeting! And Charlenes mother had nothing to worry about, because if an axe murderer had shown up, we would have all jumped on him and that would have been the end of him/her! RMGers take care of each other!

Charlenes house and property are wonderful, and I hope we all get a chance to see how its changed and been developed in a few years. I envision great things! Thank you for hosting it, Charlene. Your gracious manner helped make it the success it was.

For those of you who missed this one and hope to come to the fall one, I want to assure you that it will be on a weekendwhich day will depend in large part on my schedule. Ill have more of some of the same things I had at this one, and some different things too. Assuming they root and grow well, Ill have at least three Crocosmia Lucifer at the Fall Swap. Theyre already in pots, but were nowhere near far enough along to bring to this one. And I was kind of quickly showing people how to root the sedum cuttings I brought along to this one, but for the fall swap Ill plan to do a more formal demonstration on how to root cuttings of different things. Ill actually go around the yard and take the cuttings when everybodys here so you can see it from scratch!

Hummingbird, Conace55, and Nancy in co, well be looking for you at the Fall Swap, and Amester, well expect to meet you in person at that one too. If you have any questions about the plants when you get them, let me know.

I hope everyone will consider coming to the Fall Swap. I drove 42 miles to get to this one, and wound up driving home in rush hour trafficand it was WELL worth it!

Thank you everyone who was there for the fun time,
Skybird

And Jali, I know it'll be a drive for you, but we'd love to meet you too!

I had a great time too! I loved meeting everyone and getting to know what people were *really* like outside of the forum.

I'm looking forward to the fall swap! I'll have all summer to get a lot of great cuttings started. I'm planning on penstemons, a few roses, some artemisias, and some surprises :)

Nancy

I have been so busy working in my own garden lately that I haven't been around here in ages. I am sorry to hear I missed the spring plant swap, but excited to hear there may be another one in the fall. I was at the oldgreymare swap in the fall of '05 and got some great plants that are now in my gardens out back. I am still new to this gardening thing with only a little over 2 years to my credit, but enjoying every minute. I will have to check back more frequently now to see what's going on!

Paula
aka transplant_taz