Just a quick note to welcome all of the newbies!

I also wanted to say that I have absolutely NO problem about 'oldies' starting over for whatever the reasons may be. If I ever had to move, I'd be just sick about leaving so much behind! I also feel so badly for those battling drought, to have to watch their flowers/gardens slowly die. So no worrying!! I have a lot of seeds to share!

Have a great day!
Karen

Diene, are you getting enough promises of seeds to have this work OK?
It is still early here in the mountains for seeds to be ripened. I can send some to be shared but not much variety yet. I keep watching for places where I can harvest seeds from public places and will try to find some more to send by the end of the month.
Thanks again for hostessing and for including me.
Beth B

Diene, I forgot to send my seeds in you mnf box! Oops! When would you like them by?
Vic

Hello Vic;
I was so excited with your box I forgot you were supposed to put seeds in also. I am shooting for the beginning of August so if you have some to share, send them on.
Beth, do not worry, I have a bunch myself. I have harvested several of my spring flowers and have plenty of seeds from last years fall harvest.
I think they are all still viable so even if I did not get any volunteers I think I can handle it.
I also was at my favorite discount store today and they had a full rack of 2008 seeds for a dime. I am going back tomorrow to get some of them for this.
Last year I picked up two boxes of 500 little envelopes so packaging them will be a snap. I think I have some old mailing labels that I can use to label the seeds. I will be okay.
Tomorrow is supposed to be lousy weather so I will not mind working on this in the morning.
Hope everyone has a great night, if there are more veterans with extra seeds, I will not say no to more donations.
Thanks.
diene

Diene,
I put a package of seeds in the mail for you to distribute this morning. I just realized I left out the seed list I printed out, so I will send it to you via email when I get another break.
Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.
Alana

Good Afternoon Everyone;
I received my first SASBE today and I need to clarify something. If the envelope you send is a bubble envelope, it can be reused. Just send a label with postage inside. I do not need two bubble envelopes. This person while a newbie also sent some seeds she had no use for which was great.
Alana sent me her list and this is turning out to be a great swap already. I did go to my favorite discount store today and they had lots of seeds but most of them were veggies and herbs. I did buy a bunch but not as exciting as it could have been.
I also spent about an hour cleaning seeds today, what a pain that is. I am not very good at it so you will have to put up with some chaff in some of the more difficult seeds.
We are getting some really bad storms here, the remnants of some hurricane (Betty, I think). It has caused several deaths, two from lightning and one poor guy was squashed by a tree while riding down the road on his motorcycle. You just never know, huh.
diene

I'm not a newbie gardener but I'm new to seed starting and also this will be my first winter that I will try winter sowing.. so can I participate? I think I also have some extra seeds I can send too.

Well, I wanted to tell a little bit about myself but as I put this in writing, Im just not that exciting! I am formerly a teacher currently a stay at home mom to two boys both under age 4. I enjoy being at home which is in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, and I recently decided I had had enough of looking at landscaping rocks. I do have daylilies but really had a lot of very uninteresting bushes & evergreens that the first owner of this house had put in. They were workaholics so they were looking for very minimal landscaping. I also have never-ending spearmint & grapevines left from them. My husband has been trying to remove the mint for the past 6 years! I just laughÂ.especially since I want the mint to stay.

I prefer perennials since I donÂt get a lot of time to garden because of my little ones. My older son has recently started to help me outside. Are there many 3 year olds who know how to remove a spent daylily bloom??? HeÂs seen some wonderful insects this summer including dragonflies, a female swallowtail, a frog, 3 katydids, too many Japanese beetles, & IÂm sure others IÂm forgetting. This alone has made it worthwhile. I just bought him a pair of garden gloves today & he was digging with a trowel & moving rocks around.

I figure once IÂm happy with my flowers then I will move on to vegetables. My parents were very big gardeners, grew vegetables to make the best salads and omelettes, and grew fruit too so we had the best homemade jellies around. I donÂt think IÂll ever have a garden the size that theirs was, but at least I can appreciate what they did & all the effort it took!
So that's a mini biography on me!

Hullo all,

Thanks again to diene for hosting this exchange, I am soooo excited to find out what I will get. Christmas in august for sure! I love growing veggies and herbs, so that's good news for me, especially with groceries as expensive as they are. I might see if I can scuttle my plants, especially my tomatoes and peppers indoors this fall and get a little bit extra out of them -- two of my roommates just became vegans, so its rather like having a six foot tall, bald rabbit in your lettuce bed.

Figure it might be worth a try since my dorky little garden is all in pots on our roof. (:

Hi --

I would love to participate as a newbie if it is still possible. This is the first summer that I am trying to collect seeds. I have gardened some in the past, but this year I am really enjoying it and trying to expand my garden through the lasagna method for next spring. If it's not too late, I'll check the earlier post about what to do.

Thanks,
Burry

Welcome to Burry and Gnomey I have sent you private messages. I have already received three newbie envelopes, what a way to start.
I do want to remind the newbies that they do not need to send two bubble envelopes, I will be happy to put the label on the front of the original one and send it back to you.
So far I have received envelopes from frenchfrylegs1, lovegrnapples and bonechickchris. That is a great start, keep them coming.
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.
diene

Sweet Diene,

Is it too late for me to participate as hmmm ummm uhhhh well I guess a "Seed Matron" and send ya some seeds for a newbie???? I know how hard it is to get started and I have tons of seeds that I can send. I have a Post Office run come Monday so I will get them to ya then.

Your awesome Diene (pronounced DIENEE or if your a hick like me DEENEE ;) )

Smiles,
Pixie (Trina)

I am a newbie to gardening in general. I have done a few swaps on here and have participated in 1 other round robin newbie/sponsor program. I am 35 years old and have 1 daughter who loves gardening as much as I do. We have flower beds here and at our lake house, so I am going to be really busy next spring. I have only planted in 3 flower beds this year, the other ones I am just getting ready for next spring. I am also planning to do alot of pots and wheelbarrow planting. I like medium - small sized flowers, colors (not a fan of white flowers), and it doesn't matter to me if they are annual or perinnial. I do love attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. I LOVE LANTANA and PETUNIAS. I am not looking for any vegetable seeds. I do not really plant any vines other that clematis and cardinal vines. So either one of those would be great. Thanks for allowing me to participate in this. And thanks for doing this.
Amy

Good Afternoon All;
I just returned home and need to be at my brother's place by six for dinner so I have very little time. I have received several envies today, I will post who later but I also received a blocked e-mail and I cannot figure out who it was to.
If you did not receive a reply from me, then it is you and I need to know who you are. Thanks.
diene

Good Morning All;
I am very short on time, what happens these days. I know part of it is DH is on vacation and so my schedule is ruined.
Not only did I receive some newbie envelopes yesterday but Poison (Alana) sent a huge envelope of seeds. You really outdid yourself and I am sure all of the newbies will appreciate it.
I did keep one of her contributions for myself, I hope I have some success with these.
I was shooting for the first of August and that seems to be working well.
Anyone who has not mailed their envie, please do so quickly. I plan on getting them back in the mail a week from today.
Once I send them out, I will not have anything to share so do not miss out.
diene

Diene, I mailed mine with a pack of seed in it. It is coming from SC... hope you get it in time if it's not there already!

Gerri

Diene, I tried to get it in the mail today, but the postman beat me to the box! It's in there, but it won't go out until tomorrow. If I remember right, there is 89 packs of seed. It feels so good to share!!

Karen

My SASBE is on the way. It is coming from North Carolina.

Last call for any newbies. Send me an e-mail.
diene

Good Morning All;
Just organized the bubble envies I received and I love newbies!! Everyone was very good about sending postage, most remembered to include a return label addressed to themselves and some even sent a big enough bubble envelope. Then there were those that sent a little envie with lots of postage. Or postage and envie with no label,...and my favorite was the person who could not find a bubble envie so sent a regular one with kleenex in lieu of bubble wrap. Gardeners are such an inventive group.

I think I was able to handle all of that and everyone should have a substantial envelope coming back their way with thanks to all the veterans. Kalena, Poison and Vic are the three that come to mind immediately. Several of the newbies sent the extras that they had so I have quite a collection to return. I need to finish packaging my seeds, I was able to harvest a bit more today and I believe I am waiting for another envie from a veteran.
Here are the people I am planning on sending an envie to, if for some reason your name is not on this list, please e-mail me directly and I will figure it out.
Thanks to everyone, I hope to get these out by Thursday at the latest.
Gerri
Elyce
Deepti
Betsy
Christy
Beth
Dee
Polly
Nicole
Nancy
Regina
Jayme
Have a wonderful week.
diene

Gerri
Elyce
Deepti
Betsy
Christy
Beth
Dee
Polly
Nicole
Nancy
Regina
Jayme
Judith
Amy

I think this is everyone but we still have a few days.
diene

I'm still not listed... :(.

Sad Fran

Hello Sad Fran;
Hopefully your envie will arrive tomorrow or Wednesday and you will be added to the list.
diene

Hello
Is it to late to join the swap to get newbie seeds?
Thanks Lisa

Gerri
Elyce
Deepti
Betsy
Christy
Beth
Dee
Polly
Nicole
Nancy
Regina
Jayme
Judith
Amy
Fran
It arrived!! diene

About time...lol.
Thanks diene

:) Fran

Diene, thanks for all your hard work and for putting this together for all of us!

Yes ..
Thank you Diene for doing this for all us newbies. We appreciate your work and help.
I for one am just at awe at the way all the members here are so helpful and generous to newbies and everyone else. I think this is wonderful to see others doing something for nothing (well besides the fact it makes you feel good, thats something!), you don't see that much anymore.

Hello All;
Just returned from the PO and all of the envelopes are in the mail, even Peggy's. That threw me for a loop as somehow she was not on my list but sent her postage and a return label so...
I hope those newbies that sent seeds do not get their own seeds back but I could not be that diligent, sorry. Every envelope has a small unmarked manila envelope that contains tiger lily bulbets. I had way too many this year so I shared them with you. They are great flowers but propagate freely.
Please post when you receive your envelopes as the veterans(and newbies) that contributed would love to here your comments.
Any complaints, please contact me directly and keep it off this thread.
Welcome to all, hope this is the beginning of a long friendship.
diene

Wow, thanks diene for those tiger lily bulbets..that was so sweet of you!!!

I will be waiting staring at the mailbox until the envy arrives..I LOVE getting packages in the mail, wow what could be better!!! LOL.
Thanks again for you time, effort, and hard work, it is much appreciated by me an I am sure everyone else who is receiveing this wonderful gift.

All to all those of you who sent in seeds, I thank you as well too, for without your contribution there wouldn't have been many seeds to receive...thanks to all of you.

:) Fran

Yes, I want to thank you too. Diene- to be so generous with your time as well as your seeds and bulbils (yea!!). How kind and really, really fun. Also thanks to everyone who sent in seeds as well. Very nice and generous and much appreciated. I had no idea that gardeners were so wonderful till I joined gardenweb. The nicest people are on here:0

I too will be standing by my mailbox eagerly awaiting my presents/

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Betsy

Hi Diene! Just wanted to thank you and all the veterans for their generousity! I cannot wait to recieve my seeds! Thank you again Diene for taking so much time to help us newbies out! Christy

Diene,
Thanks again for doing this. I will be awaiting my package. I am recovering from a hysterectomy last Friday so I am down for a long while. NO GARDENING - that is awful. It will cheer me up so much to get the seeds and see what I got and sit down with pen and paper and plan more flower gardens. This swap could not have come at a better time for me.

Hi Diene -- I'd like to add to the list of thanks and say that I'm really grateful to you (for your time and bulbs) and to all the people who donated seeds. I can't wait to get my package; I'm hoping it arrives today or tomorrow! This is like Christmas in August.

Received Seeds Today...Yeah...THANKS!!! off to go plant some!!!

Thanks again everyone!!!

:) Fran

My seeds just came adn what a wonderful variety it is! Im so excited to look them all up and see when to plant them etc. Yay!! Thanks again Diene and the experienced gardners for such a nice package.

Now to see how to get started exchanging in this forum. Idk where to start but it will be fun finding out:)
Betsy

Got my seeds today too and holy cow....I had to Google quite a few of them!
So many new plants that I would never have known about or even thought of. Thank you so much Diene and everyone who helped with this.
Diene, I know I screwed up a little, sending you cash and everything, so thank you especially for not making me feel like an idiot. :p

-Lysie

My seeds arrived yesterday! I'm thrilled, and have already planted new peppers. Thanks to everyone who made this possible -- you made my day.

Hello Lysie and All;
I am pleased you are enjoying your seeds. There were not as many as last year but everyone contributed last year. Unfortunately, there was not much left for this year and people had already given to other swaps.
As far as the cash verses the postage, either way is usually acceptable but we do not mention cash on GW as it could be misconstrude to mean you are paying for the seeds. Just say you sent postage and if the amount is $2, you can send the $2.
I did not use any of the postage sent unless it was already on the envelope because the envies were a bit lighter and so it was to my benefit to keep the postage and just pay for the envies. Some people sent some pretty stamps that I am keeping just cause they were so neat.
Hope everyone enjoys.
Betsy, if you want to swap some of those seeds, you should go to the seed exchange and ask for what you want or browse for something that interests you. You are all under no obligation to keep these seeds but use them to start growing what you want.
Also, I would encourage you to visit the MNF forum to get a sense of how a round robin works for the future.
diene

I would also like to say a big THANK YOU!! and WOW!!! I am so happy I have been showing the seeds off to my older daughters and friends they are amazed at the nice variety I got and that they are so many!! ...I am just so thankful!! thank you all and god bless!!
Polly

Hi everyone,
I received my envie back today & couldn't wait to check it out. WONDERFUL! I've already started to plan what I can wintersow later. Just wanted to say thanks because "I'm just too busy" is an expression I hear an awful lot. It's nice to know people will still help each other! Thanks to Diene & all involved!

Diene,
I got my seeds yesterday. Thanks you so, so much. What a variety!!! I will be busy looking them all up for the next few days.
Amy

Hello Diene and all!
Well, I came home from my foot surgery yesterday,after a really long day, got wheeled into my house,and what do I see on my table waiting for me? I nice envelope full of seeds! It could not of been better timing! It gave me something to be excited about even though I just got home from the hospital. So thank you so much! So now I will have some seeds to look up here while I am on my butt!Thank you again Diene! And everyone who donated! Still looking forward to reading everyone elses responses! Christy

Hi Diene and everyone, Thanks so much for all the love and effort that has gone into the harvesting, packaging and shipping of the seeds. You are a super bunch of gals.
My daughter called last night and said that they had arrived. She was reading the names to me but I can hardly wait to get them into my own hands. I'll be back east to celebrate the Labor day weekend and to look at some possible homes.( Might even manage to squeeze in a day or two at the beach.) Having space for a garden and a few fruit trees in essential. I love traveling but seem to really "NEED" a garden.
Thanks again
hugs, BB

I got mine! Thanks so much for everyone who made this possible. I got a great variety of seeds.

As a "newbie" I would love to participate and will probably send in some seeds too. My garden is small so I don't have a lot of seeds, but I can send some of what I have.

Best to you,
quiltingfox

Hello All;
If you are looking for the experience of posting on the rate and review exchange, then go for it otherwise, do not bother. I believe I do not need this so please do not feel that you need to. If you want me to post about your participation in this exchange, send me a note privately.
Thanks.
diene

It has been over a week now since I mailed out the envelopes and some people have not acknowledged receipt of their seeds. If you have not received your seeds let me know, if you have, please acknowledge receipt here so the veterans receive some credit for their generousity.
That is all part of this site and the GW experience.
Thanks.
diene

I must be getting old. I thought I posted and I did not. I received my seeds and I could not believe the variety. Thanks everyone for being so generous. And Diene for doing the exchange.

Nancy

hey diene, I'm a newbie at this (literally I just joined today!) and I think it's great you are helping newbies, I could send you the bubble envelope for unique seeds like any of these:
dandelion
safflower
purple crocus
hibiscus
gardenia
salad grass
any mint varieties (except for spearmint and peppermint, I am growing those already)
lemon basil
honeysuckle
cotton
peanut
redwood sorrel
garden sorrel
fava bean
soy bean
wheat
rosemary
loofah
big peas
and edible flowers!