Hi all,

The swap is four weeks from today! Its time to be potting things up so theyll have some time to get rooted before the new adoptee takes them home and plants them.

Heres the current list of names. The ones with an asterisk have been added since the last list.

*aliceg8
almondstriations
amester
azura
*bloomingamaryllis
catladysgarden
comary
highalttransplant
jclepine (jchaber)
lilacs of may
meteor04
olgreymare
*shady places

Jennifer, thank you for the ice. Thatll really help me. And Ill email you directly with the info (again) about the poppy rootsprobably in about 2 weeks when we get closer. (Yes, they definitely need to be dug up at the last minute!) The Blue Carpet and Campanulas are earmarked for youbut the Campanulas are VERY, VERY small! Fair warning!

Alice, hopefully there will be no hell or high water (tho I did get 2 3/10ths inches on Wednesdaywhile I was sitting in LA waiting for DIA to reopen so we could get back! When I got home it looked like a tsunami had hit my backyard! BUTglad for the water!!!) If you have some May Night seed, yeah, I could use some of that! Dont know when Ill actually start itor where Ill put it, but its still on my wishlist, so it would be nice to have some. Thank you.

Amaryllis, what I do to get divisions off of full grown plants is to just carefully stick a spade in around the edge of the plant (or a trowel if its a smaller plant) to dig a little bit off of the outside of the plant. I dont actually dig the whole thing up to divide it unless Im going to dig it up for some other reasonto move it, or divide it for myself, or to get rid of it. So if youre not planning to move them or divide them for yourself, I recommend just leaving them in the ground and removing a small piece or pieces from one side of the plantanywhere thats a little bit uneven looking, or the back where you cant see it. If you are planning to dig up the whole plant, Im not sure what to suggest! Probably the same as for planting when its hotdig, divide, cut down, replant, water in well, and shade for a few days. Since the days are getting shorter (sob!) again, it probably wouldnt be quite as bad as it would have been a month ago. Or, an alternative would be to just dig them the day before the swap, cut most of the foliage off of the top, and wrap the roots with some soil in thick layers of wet newspaper and put them in plastic bags. Done that way, the people who get them will need to replant them soon after they get them home. If you decide to do them now, cut them down quite a ways and pot them in small pots. That way theyll have time to start to root out before theyre adopted. If you have any questions, let me know. But my answer could be delayed! I leave again tomorrow for three days, will be home for only one, and then gone for three moreand that ONE will be for sleeping!

Meteor, I think its GREAT when somebody brings something from the garden! When BillieLadybug comes, she brings home grown deviled eggs! But not everyone who comes to the swap grows veggiesor chickens, so not everyone can do it. And most of the folks who do have veggie gardens dont grow chocolate or sweets, so where would that leave me! ;-) Dessertaholic here! But I, and Im sure many others, will be anxiously awaiting your summer squash dish!

GJmancini, Im sorry you wont be able to make it. Well be looking for you at the Spring Swap next year!

I think we should add one more thing to the list of possible things to bring to swap! Meteor brought it up, and I think its a great idea! If anyone has a surplus of fruit or veggies from their garden, bring whatever it is along! Im absolutely certain someone will be delighted to have it. I got an arm full of fresh rhubarb from Charlenes neighbor at the spring swap, and it was wonderful! Perhaps one of these years we could make up our own little RMG Recipe Book from everyones homemade recipes!

See you all soon,
Skybird

Skybird,

You sure missed a doozy on Wednesday. Here in FTC, lightning struck a neighbors tree two houses down. Everyone around lost their wireless routers!

I'd like to try some of the Shasta daisies for my new garden - what the heck. And I would take a couple of blue mist spirea sprouts too.

See you guys in a couple of weeks!

Alice

I would like to come again this year, but I don't know what I will bring, or if I would want anything. I just kind of want to come to be around such great company!

Sounds like a good reason for coming to me, Lindy! :-) And maybe you'll find something you'd like to have when you get here. How about some sedum or hen & chicks for one of your pots?

I'll put you down on the list for the mailing,
Skybird

P.S. Alice, the shastas and spirea are from Shady, so watch for an acknowledgment from her.

I'm definitely planning on being at this one. Missed the Spring because we were up to our elbows in construction. Will be moving most of our stuff this weekend and transplanting next weekend--not sure what I will have to divide yet.

Interested in Shasta Daisies and learning how to root, also.
I've got a huge empty landscape and some soil condition problems at the new house.

I'll bring some type of sweet!

Back to packing...

Ginny Trcka
Colorado Springs

Oh, I'd love to plant some raspberries, too, if there's any 'extra'.

Will be back at the house where the daisys are on Sat the 16th, so I'll be better able to tell how many I can do at that point. I'll do my best to get some good ones.

The spirea are runners from the shrubs in front of my daughters townhouse, so those I can dig right before the swap.

I'll try to bring some extras as well, in case someone else wants them.

Skybird, can you add me to the mailing list. I'm not sure I'll make it since things always seem to come up, but I'll try.

Jen

Ginny and Jen, I have you both down on the list. Good luck with your move, Ginny.

Jen, I got the address from your bio. Is that the one I should use? Ill send you an email so you have the address Ill be sending from. Andthink positive! Nothing is going to come up! Youre going to be able to come!

Getting ready to leave again, but Ill be back next week with an updated listand hopefully find time to post what Ill have to swap.

Skybird

I would like to come to the swap. I have a new yard so I don't have any plant offerings, but I can bring some great food. I might bring a friend too.

I look forward to meeting you gardeners!

I've never been to a swap. DH & I would like to come. I can bring kwanzo day lily fans(double orange). Maybe a few other things, will have to see what's left Sept 6. DH has been replanting a hill out back.

Hi Robbyn and Nicole,

I have you down on the list, but I need addresses for each of you for when I send out the directions to my house. Email me at SkybirdDEN@gmail.com. Ill reply to you from the address Ill be using to send the directions.

Robbyn, you dont need to have any plants to bringand great food and friends are always welcome! :-)

Nicole, there were a lot of daylily fans at last years fall swap, so Im sure there will be lots of interest in your daylilies. And husbands are welcome too! ;-)

Almondstriations and CoMary, I still need email addresses for you guys too, so please email me at the above address.

There are 18 people on the list now. Heres the current listpeople with asterisk were added since the last time I posted it.

aliceg8
almondstriations
amester
azura
bloomingamaryllis
catladysgarden
comary
*dafygardennut
*ginnytrcka
highalttransplant
jclepine (jchaber)
lilacs of may
*lindyloo
meteor04
*nicole
olgreymare
*robbyn
shady places

Just under 3 weeks till the swap!

Skybird

Hi all,

Ive finally gotten my list of "stuff" done, and I guess I better post it while I have a chance! Here are the things Ill have available at the swap. Everybody remember, my plants are small starts!

16........Sedum Angelina the yellow, patented one!
19........Sedum spurium Tricolor green, white, and pink foliage
3..........Sedum Blue Carpet (plus 3 more for Jennifer) tiny blue foliage
3..........Ajuga reptans Chocolate Chip bronzy-green foliage, small leaves, smallest Ajuga
3..........Ajuga reptans Royalty like Bronze Beauty but prettier!
3..........Lamium maculatum Pink Pewter
3..........Acanthus hungaricus (a/k/a A. balkanicus) bears breeches
2..........Campanula glomerata Acaulis dwarf clustered bellflower
1...........Belamcanda chinensis, blackberry lily
2..........Chrysanthemum maximum Becky, shasta daisy these are two Im starting to show for the demo, and I think theyll be pretty well rooted out by then! And Ill have at least one more unrooted one available that Ill be sticking for the demo on the day of the swap that somebody can have too if theyd like.

I may also have 2 tiny Crocosmia Lucifer, but they dont look very good right now, so no promises!

I can post pictures of any of these (or send them directly in an email) if anyone wants to see what they look like. Just let me know.

Ill also have unrooted hen & chicks available for anybody who wants some of mine that have enough chicks to give away. Youll need to let me know the day of the swap which ones youre interested in and Ill collect some for you.

The same with sedum cuttings. If anybody sees one (or more) that theyd like to have some cuttings for on the day of the swap, let me know and Ill get some for you.

And if anyone is interested in any of my "easily rootable" houseplants, Ill be glad to provide you with some starts. If youre interested in any of these, let me know now and Ill have them waiting for you on the day of the swap. Possibilities are:
Christmas cactus mixed colors
Orchid cactus unnamed, mixed varieties
Orchid cactus Red Slooms cuttings for two people
Pregnant onion
Variegated spider plants
Aloe vera
Pregnant onion
Jade

If anyone sees something they'd like to have earmarked, just let me know,
Skybird

Hi Mary/comary,

I don't know what I was thinking, but I just made up my list of addresses for this swap, and I DO already have your address! So when you see the post asking for your address, ignore it!

Skybird

I plan on bringing choc chip cookies and seeds that I just don't have room for. I'll try to make a list later this week or sometime next weekend.

Skybird - I'm allowed to have cactus in the house so I may want one of those (the cats leave those alone).

Dafy

Hi Dafy,

This came up last year, but orchid cactus and Christmas cactus don't have pokers! Well, the orchid cactus have a few very fine ones that can get in you, but nothing that would deter a cat. I don't have time to look up pictures right now, but somewhere near the bottom of the Spring Swap thread I posted links to pictures of Xmas cactus. The orchid cactus are similar--but bigger. You can look at them when you come, and you're welcome to try either or both if you think there's a chance they'll stay away from them. I don't think either are toxic, so if they chow down on them, nothing worse than green cat vomit should happen! (To go with the green helmet!)

;-)
Skybird

I have been putting off posting to this because I did not know what the plans were going to be on that weekend. I will not be able to make it as there are just too many things going on that week: company from out of state, essays, volleyball and football games. I hope I will get to see you all again at the Spring Swap though.
Have fun
Billie

Hi Billie,

It's good to hear from you, but I'm sorry you won't be able to make it this time. It sounds like your life is even more chaotic than it was at the time of the spring swap. The lemon thyme I got from you at the spring swap is still small, but is doing well. I expect great things of it next year!

Hope to see you again at the '09 Spring Swap. We'll miss you at this one!

Skybird

P.S. The manure you gave me is mostly still in the buckets! I decided I'm going to spread it out on the veggie garden before I turn it over this fall/winter. I think that'll be the best use for it. Thanks again for that, too.

Heavens to Murgatroid, I completely forgot that that's our camping weekend...aaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!! Oh well, as always anybody who wants to dig up free xeric goodies can drop me a line and come by the house. Now I REALLY can't wait to see you all again next spring!
:(
So sorry I'll miss it.

Well, it looks like I'll be missing this one too! We have been in the process of planning a pergola for the past several months. Now that we have the HOA and the town's blessing (to the tune of $310!!!), and have finally acquired the necessary materials, it is time to start building, but the only day that DH can work on it is on Saturdays. I can't exactly leave him with three kids, AND expect the pergola to get built. Besides that, we have 2 birthdays in the next three weeks, and neither one of them is mine, LOL, so I can't afford the extra tank of gas right now.

Alice, if you are still interested in the Achillea 'Paprika', I'd be glad to mail you a chunk. Just let me know.

Also, once the swap is over, I thought I would start the 2nd annual RMG Seed Swap, if anyone is interested in that, just keep your eye out for that thread in Sept. I acquired lots of great stuff last year, including lots of heirloom tomato and pepper seeds. It was great to try out lots of new things, for only the cost of a stamp or two.

You guys have fun, and I hope to see you in the spring!

Bonnie

Ah Bonnie, our timing is really bad... we keep missing each other at the swaps. Now, let's cross pinkies and vow to both go to the spring swap.

And if you wouldn't mind sending me some of your Achillea, I'd be thrilled! Thanks in advance!

It's getting time to start collecting seeds, isn't it? This spring I took some of my orange cosmos seed to my mom's... now all here friends want to come and collect from her - they love it too! That's just so cool, isn't it?

Alice

Hi everyone,

Just one more week till the swap! Ive just sent an email to those I have on the list that have said they hope to come. Regretfully Ive taken Amy and Bonnie off of the list.

Amy, have fun camping. Well miss you.

And Bonnie, I understand! Its a loooong drive! Ill be out your way on the 9th, so if there are things left over, Ill check with you to see if youre interested in anything. Ill be emailing you when I get back from my trip, early in the week.

Alice, I expect to be back from my vacation by the 17th, so if you think you could stop by my house sometime between the 18th and the 25th, Id be glad to bring a piece of Paprika back from Bonnie for you. Bonnie, you could wrap the roots in moist newspaper and put them in a plastic bag. That would keep it small and make it easy to take care of while Im on my trip, and Achillea could easily survive a week that way! But since youre all the way up in Ft. Collins, Alice, if you dont make it down here to DEN too often, Ill just let the two of you work out your own deal.

I still dont have an email address for ALMONDSTRIATIONS, and she (?) doesnt have PMing enabled, so if anybody knows how to contact her, please let me know, or, Almondstriations, if you see this, email me at SkybirdDEN@gmail.com.

I have a few more things to post that Ill have available, but I dont have time right nowhave to get to bed so I can get up for my trip in the morning! Ill be back to post more when I get back home again.

If anyone didnt get the email I just sent, or if anyone has any questions, let me know.

Fingers crossed for good weather, and
Ill see you all in a week,
Skybird

I want to come -- couldn't make it last time. Not sure what I can bring, as I am still establishing my gardens.

Strawberries
Lilacs (white and purple)
Red poppies

Lisa (twhgardener)

Hi Lisa,

We're glad to have you! Send me your email address at SkybirdDEN@gmail.com so I can send you my address and the directions. I'm leaving now, but I'll get back to you by Wednesday.

Gotta go,
Skybird

Looks like I'll have a bumper crop of scallop squash just in time for the swap! I'm torn between 3 different recipes, but I'm thinking I'll go with the one I came up with where I cook them on the BBQ. Figure if we're gonna swap recipes, this one is all mine, and it's a great one for summer/fall BBQs.

Now I wont be takeing anything (long story), but I plan on bring some things.

Includeing quite a few of these...

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And just a few of these...

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I wont be in this house next spring, and it would be nice to see them again (if only in pics from someones RMG garden)as they are my favorites.

I'm about 90% confirmed for the swap!

Okie dokie, here is my final list. I have a couple things available and if no one would like them, I'll add them to the pot when we get to pick plants randomly.

Still available:

4 strawberries and 1 raspberry

Requested/Offered:

Lilacs of May: Raspberry

Sally: light green Sedum spurium, low

Lisa-twhgardener: Strawberry

GinnyTrcka: Raspberry

I am looking forward to this!!

Thank you, Skybird, for hosting this again!!

Jennifer

I'd love to have a raspberry and strawberry. I know I'm bringing seeds I just have no room for all that I have. If anybody wants anything specific check out my trade list (it's fairly up to date) then I can make sure to bring them.

Skybird, I didn't get the email with the address and directions, but I'll wait til Wednesday.

Dafy

Dafy,
You are more than welcome to a strawberry!

Remaining:

3 Strawberries

they are yummy!

J

Sky bird, Please put my name down for one of your Acanthus hungaricus.

We'll be there, loaded with daylilies, as usual. We also have some Iris and Crocosmia 'Lucifer'.

Karen

Does anyone want some pink sweet pea seeds? I can bring some.

Other than that, I really don't have any plants to bring. But I have seven zucchini in the refrigerator, so I think whatever food I bring will have zucchini in it.

Anyone carpooling from Aurora? I live near Mississippi and Peoria.

Anyone carpooling from Utah? Haha. Hey, these swaps sure sound fun. I wish I could join you! Over on the Utah forum, we made a half-hearted attempt at a swap last spring, mostly seeds, and they said it wasn't bad.

We're such cautious people over here, so no one wants to host it at their house. I think that would make it really work better. I hope you Colorado folks have a great one!

Lilacs - I just sent you an email.

Steve - you should find a park that has a picnic area, then no one has to worry about strangers coming to their house.

Dafy

Meteor - I'd love some of those blue iris. They're beautiful.

I don't have much to bring, but here it is:

- various veggie and flower seeds

- evergreen candytuft

- snow-in-summer

- lamium (I'll get the variety written down when I dig it up. It's pink flowers with bicolor foliage)

- possibly some columbines? I don't know if these transplant well - but I have so many babies thought I'd try.

I have 4 scented geraniums that I bought this year which I really love - rose, lemon, coconut and apple. I could take some clippings and stick in a starter part a la instructions on recent thread from Skybird. The rose and lemon ones are particularly fragrant.

Also have some pineapple mint that I could snip some starts from.

Sorry I didn't post earlier about the starts so I could actually get them rooted before I came. I just thought of it after reading that other post.

See you all Saturday - and I'm bringing a friend too!

Alice

Hi Everyone,

Well, were almost there! Just two more days!

I want to mention one more time, for those of you who werent here last year, that I dont have any chairs! I have a big pile of blankets for sitting on the ground, but if anyone is going to want or need or be more comfortable on a chair, stick oneor two or threein your car to bring along. I have 4 folding chairs Ill bring out this year, but theyre not gonna go very far!

As of right now I have between 20 and 22 people on the list, depending on how many bring friends or significant others with them. I never did hear back from Almondstriations, so unless I get an address soon, I guess she/he wont make it!

Karen, Ill save the best Acanthus for you, but theyre all small! Theyre all seedlings I found coming up around mine this year! And, unless you have two truckloads of daylilies this year again, you can go ahead and just bring them into the backyard this time! Im not expecting as many people as last year, so there should be room for them. AndIm glad youll have some Crocosmia to bring! My tiny little starts look dead right now! Ill keep them over winter, and they should look better when they get started in time for the Spring Swap!

Jennifer, I have some nice (small) Blue Carpets started for you, but the Campanula garganica just isnt doing well at all! Ive tried starting 4 different onesand only one is alive at all. This must not be the time of the year to start them. If the last one doesnt make it, Ill get you one for the Spring Swap!

Meteor, I wouldnt mind having 2 or 3 of those tulip bulbs! I dont have any tulips yet, and I dont want a whole lot, but those are pretty!

Just in case anybody has any of these, Id also be interested in
starts for any hardy ferns (I already have Japanese Painted and Autumn), and
any yellow and green variegated Hostas.
Just thought Id mention it since you never know what someone might have!

And I also have a few more (small) things available that I just dug and potted about a week ago and didnt post earlier!

4 Geranium cantabrigiense Biokovo
4 Geranium dalmaticum Compact Rose
2 very small starts for Pink Pewter Lamium
And if anybody wants some Anemone sylvestris, Id be glad to dig up a few of the small plants!

I also have cuttings that I just stuck last week for two Angels Trumpet Brugmansias. I dont know what the species or cultivar name is, but they have foot-long soft apricot flowers that are very heavily evening scented. Theyre strictly tropical, so these are definitely houseplants in the winter, and they will need as much sun as you can give them over winter. They will bloom in winter if they have enough sun. They need to be fed almost constantly, and are easy to take care of because they do best when left sitting in a dish of water! They get BIG, but can be cut back SEVERELY whenever necessary! If you dont know what they are, check out the link below. (For anyone with small children or pets, these are in the Jimsonweed/Datura family and are poisonous! Think locoweed!)

I almost forgot! I also have three paper grocery bags full of lavender clippings from when I cut them down a month or so ago. So if theres anybody who makes potpourri or sachets or something, youre welcome to them. If nobody wants them, theyll go on the compost pile!

======================================
Here, one more time, is the basic information:

>>> We'll start with the pot luck. Your dish can be absolutely anything! Hot dishes, cold dishes, appetizers/finger foods, salads, sweetsanything you think others would enjoy! The oven and a microwave will be available for anyone who wants to heat their food after you get here. Please bring a serving spoon if it will be needed for your dish. And this year, since so many uninvited flies showed up for the swap last year, Id like to ask that everyone cover their food somehowa lid or plastic wrap or anything to keep the flies off of the foodand hopefully out of the yard!

>>> Ill be providing water, iced and hot tea, and cups, plates and silverware. Jennifer is bringing a couple bags of ice.

>>> Well then have the demonstration on propagating perennials from cuttings. Its going to be very basic information about rooting things, and I do have enough basal growth on my shasta by now, so Ill be able to show you all how to take and stick shasta daisy cuttings. And Jennifer is bringing some pieces of poppy roots so Ill be able to show you how to start new Oriental poppy plants from root cuttings.

>>> Then well do the actual swapping. Before we actually start picking plants, well have everybody who brought plants briefly tell what they brought so everyone knows whats available to help them decide what theyd like to have. Then well draw numbers and do two rounds of "picking" using the same numbers for both rounds. After we finish the "organized" picking, well open it up and everybody can just grab what they want!

>>> I'd like to, once more, ask everyone to be sure their plants are labeled one way or another. Either stick a tag in the pot, or staple a piece of paper with the name onto the pot, or just write the name of the plant on the pot with a marker or crayon. ALSO, if youre earmarking something for someone whos requested it, please be sure to clearly mark on the pot somehow who its forand anything thats specifically for someone should be put up on the deck, rather than with all the other swap plants.

>>> Ill have a spot available for seeds people are bringing to swap/give away. The seeds will be there to be picked up by whoever sees them first that wants them! And if anyone has any books or gardening magazines they dont want anymore, bring them along too. Books and magazines will also be a matter of simply taking whatever you find that youd like to have.

>>> Ill also have a place (outside of the gate again) to put empty pots and any and all other non-plant gardening items for swapping, so if you have anything you arent using anymore, or just dont want anymore, bring it along and Im sure somebody will be glad to have it. There wont be anything official about swapping this stuffjust a matter of, if you see something you can use, grab it!

Remember, nobody needs to have either any plants or any food to be welcome at the swap. Were getting together as much to swap gardening talk and friendship as to swap plantsso come regardless of how much you do or don't have to bring! (But yummies are always welcome if you dont have any plants :-) )

As Jennifer suggested in a post some time ago, Im going to also suggest that everyone bring some sort of a jacket or sweater along this year. The weather is predicted to be somewhere from the low 70's to the upper 70's, and if it turns out to be in the low 70's, it could get chilly at times, especially if theres any wind. Ill get the hot water out for hot tea againand maybe somebody will actually have some this time.

I still have a kazillion things to do, and time is running out! Among other things, Im trying to get labels done for the plants in my yard so youll know what youre looking at this time. I didnt realize until I started making a list, how many labels Id need! Gotta go!

Looking forward to seeing you all again, and meeting all you newbies, on Saturday,
Skybird

I just discovered in my address book that I DO have Almondstriations addy, so hopefully she'll be able to make it!

Glad it's almost time! I'm starting to get all mixed up!!!
Skybird

Oh, Skybird, I would love that pink anemone sylvestris. You gave me a start of a white one and although it hasn't bloomed yet I think they would look great together.

Soooo excited!

J.

Un-uh, Jennifer! The Lamium is Pink! All Anemone sylvestris are white! (But it WOULD be pretty in pink!)

Hmmmm! Maybe you're as tired and mixed up as I am!

;-)
Skybird

I am definitely interested in some of the lavendar clippings. They make wonderful sachets.

For the seeds, are you going to do the same as you did last year and provide small bags so people can take as many or as few as they want? I didn't bring my sweet pea seeds last year because I didn't have little bags to put them in.

The sweet peas are lovely, not at all fragile, and they attract bees.

Hi Lilacs,

Yes, I'll have some coin envelopes out again this year, so you can either divide yours up when you get here, or let people take as many as they want.

And I'll mark one of the bags of lavender for you.

Skybird

Great! Thanks.

Ooops! I think it would be awesome in pink, Skybird!

Well, I'd like lavender too if you have any extra. Now that I can sew I can make little sachets!! ;)

I wonder, I went out to the poppy to clean it up and remove the spent foliage and found three tiny plantlettes underneath it all. Can I transplant those? I'd love to stick them in boring parts of my yard seeing as how I only have the one and how they seem to take care of themselves...well, I do have to water them.

I wonder if I broke up the roots last year when I dug up the roots? I'm gonna dig up some more so maybe I'll create another batch of new plants!

see y'all tomorrow :)

J
Oh, and, "yes", I am just as tired as you, Dee!!

Hi Jennifer,

The last bag of dried lavender is yours! I didnt realize it would be this popular! Next year Ill save all the clippings againI have several plants by now since they reseed.

Did you get my email about what to do with the poppy roots? If your new poppy plants came from roots, theyll be the same color as the original plant. If theyre seedlings that are coming up, you wont know for sure what color they are till they bloom. But your poppy is orange, isnt it? Thats the most likely color for seedlings to be. If you didnt get the "poppy root" email, let me know.

Skybird

Have a great time everyone! If it weren't for an all-day nonprofit board retreat (woohoo!) I'd be there!

Ian

Just wanted to pop in and say that I am not going to be able to make it to this year's fall swap after all. I have a ton of things to get done this weekend and I forgot the Breast Cancer Race for the Cure was this weekend also. I hope you all have a great time and I am looking forward to next year's spring swap!

Dangit!

Woke up this morning with a screaming headache...I've been in bed all day with a wicked cold. Even now I'm sitting here in my sweats and bathrobe, and I'm freezing! Man my luck has been crap lately.

Hope you all had a good time. I need to figure out what to do with these iris bulbs now (was gonna dig out the others this morning...Well...)

Meteor, I sympathize, really I do. And high stress can really trash the immune system. I hope things get better for you.

I woke up and came downstairs today, and the whole house smelled of lavender and peaches. Heavenly! I thought of another thing to do with the lavender, make lavender wreathes to put up on the wall.

Skybird, thanks once again for hosting the swap. I'd consider sometime hosting it at my place, but first I have to get it looking a little less like a vacant lot.

I am so sorry I could not make it to the swap. I am having some serious health issues right now but I missed you all. Thank you Cyndy for the offering me a ride :) Its amazing how much you miss simple things like driving yourself places when you no longer have the privilege.
My gardens are full of things I need to split up and share but I need to get healthy before I wield a shovel again.
I am aiming for the spring swap. :)

Wow, a lot of people out there sick, sounds like chicken soup time. Home you all feel better soon.
billie

Hi all,

I was hoping to get the swap pictures downloaded so I could post them before I leave on my vacation tomorrow---but it's just not gonna happen! It's bedtime, and I'm still not ready to go! I haven't even had time to look at them myself yet! Jennifer, I know I got your behind in one of them, but don't worry, I'll crop it before I post it!! I'll post them when I get back, probably toward the end of the week by the time I find time to download them, so watch for a separate swap pictures post late next week.

Meteor, I'm sorry you weren't able to make it. Hope you're starting to feel better by now. We'll be looking for you at next year's swaps, even if you wind up temporarily without a garden. Maybe even more so if that happens, so you can at least get a gardening talk fix if you can't be doing the actual gardening!

And Azura, I'm so sorry you couldn't come too. I hope things start looking up for you soon. It's no fun to be out of commission--as I well know. Keep thinking spring swap--we'll all be looking for you there.

Hope to see you there too, Billie! :-)

Gotta go for now! I'm heading back out into the WILD!
Skybird

Just wanted to thank Karen (catladysgarden) for the wonderful daylilies. Skybird stopped by on her way to Utah and delivered 3 of the Wynnson, a Linda Guidry, Daphne Dale, and Nuka. Can't wait to see them all in bloom! Only one of the three from last year bloomed this summer, Pardon Me, so will have to wait another year to see Principal Wife and Merle Kent.

Hope to see everyone at the next swap!

Bonnie