Wow! What a great time! I think we had even more fun than the spring swap, and I know we came home with more goodies. It was soooo cold...I came home and curled up under a blanket to thaw out and actually just woke up. I think being out in the cold whips me as much as being in the heat. Yes, I am a big weenie.

Most of my pre-trades were for cuttings. I hope I did those correctly and they work for you all. If not, please hit me up again in the spring. On the other hand, please let me know if you are successful with them!

A LOT of people very kindly brought me monkey grass. I am going to go out and get a picture of the total haul. You won't believe it. LOL I think I am going to have enough to do my little project, which is just awesome! This will keep me busy for a while ;) Thank you to all!

I have a list of some of the other things I brought home, but not everything. I love all of it! Here are a few things I remember without going out in the cold to look:

PAT: Thank you so much for the regular and aggravated (lol) monkey grass. You know, I think I'll call it aggravated from now on. Pat brought me two huge bags full of great divisions! Pat, you once again win my "Astounding Surprise of the Swap" award. In the spring she took the honors with a Thornbird Iris, which I'd been eyeing for a while. This fall, she traded me a Pennisetum Moudry! I am beyond tickled over this. It's even prettier than the pictures I've seen. Pat was also very kind to bring me a "So Lovely" daylily. Thank you Pat!

RHONDA: Also brought me lots of monkey grass! Rhonda, I am sorry your special surprise didn't make it to the swap, but we are leaving it potted and it's yours in the spring. Thank you so much for taking the job of director and for a great swap!

KATHY: I got some Lemon Balm from Kathy - thanks Kathy! I have been wanting to try this. I think I will take your advice on keeping it in a pot.

VELVET: Velvet came through with monkey grass too, and I also got a very beautiful perennial sunflower from her which will be a centerpiece in the new fall garden! Thanks Velvet!

JennF/Cottagegirl: I had us down for a pre-swap for the rose cuttings, and I know I got something from you, but I didn't write it down when I came back to the table, and if I don't write things down they do not stick worth a flip. Do you remember what it was? Did we trade for the tradescantia and the little grass that Mom wanted?

JEFF: Aw, Jeff, thanks for the monkey grass! It was so nice of you to bring it all the way to Chapel Hill for me! LOL

MSBATT: I am now the proud owner of some of Joe's hardy elephant ears! I am so happy to try these. I've never had elephant ears because of having to dig and bring inside, but I've always loved them. These (Illustris) are very cool, too.

EVELYN: Traded me for some grape hyacinths, and was kind enough to do a last-minute dig last night in the freezing wet cold of some Amsonia for me! Thank you Evelyn!

DAVE/dvtown: Got a couple caryopteris and some Powis Castle Artemesia! Very excited about both, especially the caryopteris. They are going to look great in a group. :)

WANDA: Oh Wanda, I am still just sick (literally - you have no idea) about those walnuts. OMG. What happened was, I had pulled some into the garage to save for the swap, and apparently I didn't communicate to Kevin that's what they were for, and like any good husband would he threw them away. ?? In his defense, this is what we did with them last year, so I guess it's understandable. Anyway, Wanda was very kind to me in spite of an unacceptable walnut delivery and I got some Cleome seed and one of her famous Harlequin Glory Bowers! Thank you so much Wanda! I am going to make it up to you.

STEVE: I love the Thyme! I think it's the same Thyme I got at the spring swap last year, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, so now I have a set. :)

APRIL: What can I say about April? Always so much fun, and always so generous with her garden goodies. I came home with an Aster to match the one I got from her at the spring swap, a very beautiful swamp sunflower, and, my pride and joy, a Provence Lavender. :) April, you're too sweet.

REBECCA/newgardener123: Thank you so much for the Purple Queens! I'm uber excited about these. I hope you got a lot of great stuff!

COLUMBIAJEN: I don't have any Asiatic lilies but have been wanting some all summer! Thank you for the orange one!

PEOPLE NEXT DOOR TO ME: I am so sorry, but I am awful with names! We didn't have a pre-trade arranged, but we traded and I got one of your "Jackson" roses. Thank you! This will be gorgeous...the pictures you brought were such a great idea. Is "Jackson" part of the real name of this rose?

MARIANNE: Thank you for the copper wind chime! I will enjoy it a lot.

OK, that's all I had written down, but there is much more. I am going to plant tomorrow and I'm sure as I'm going through it all I'll be like, "OH NO, I didn't mention this! How could I forget!" I love everything I came home with and really appreciate all of you for your generosity.

No sooner had I posted, even after re-reading above, than I realized my mistake: People next door to me = JennF/cottagegirl.

I love the little Jackson rose. I didn't ask you, what kind of height, etc. should I plan for? I have a special spot I will keep this baby in over the winter so I can keep an eye on it. :)

Well let me first start off by apologizing for having to leave early right after lunch. My girls were so cold with wet feet that I thought it wise to get them warmed up! Sorry we did not get the cuttings from you April. Also I want to thank everyone so very much for all the great plants,canned peppers, fresh peppers, egg gourds, seeds and anything else I have left out. As usual we had the best time despite the cold! Heather hope you are having fun with your new kitties! Very much looking forward to spring!

Garden Blessings,
Jennifer

Connie, unfortunately I get most of my old fashioned roses from abandoned/empty homes, cemeteries, roadsides, etc. I just have to give them a name according to their location! I found yours on Jackson rd! If you send me your email I will send you several pics of the original bush. The mother bush was a monster so allow plenty of room. I'd say easily 4' tall by 6' wide! I'm sure you could keep them smaller with pruning...these were very unkempt. It is a once-bloomer but the show they give is worth it. My email is scooterjen@tds.net
Jenn F

Jenn, perfect! That is just the info I needed. This is also just the bush I needed :) I have the perfect place for it!

I am fascinated the idea of "rose rustling." I've been reading about it a little bit, and that sounds like an awesome fun hobby! I thought that was probably where the name came from. I thought maybe you found it in Jackson, TN or something :)

It's OK to plant it out in a temporary spot now, right?

I also just thought of another thank you I need to post: To Sean, thanks for the grape hyacinths and Caryopteris!

I just woke up. Dang that was cold!

It was great to see everyone again. I am looking forward to planting this upcoming week.

To answer the dogwood question, yes, the trees on the way to the outhouse today are dogwoods.

I hope the maker of that awesome cornbread will post the recipe. It was so perfect for a cold day.

Very informative propagation talk. Just goes to show you don't have to have an hour lecture to learn a few things.

See you all in the spring!

Evelyn

Thanks to everyone for all the neat plants I got to bring home. As an observation I noticed that the plants I brought home were better than others I've received in the past at the swap. It's either one of two things:
1) The fall swap has better plants

or

2) The Die hard gardeners who brave the rain and cold weather to swap also have great gardens with lots of neat plants!

Dave

Thanks again to all!

Wow, why am I still awake after 5 Sangria's? lol. Seriously, I agree with Dave. I almost like the smaller Fall swap. I have the best time at the Spring swap & an even better one at the Fall swap. =) Lots of awesome, caring cool people.

April: Thanks for the Aloe. I love it! I'll holler bout the Dwarf Pom seeds. Hope Chip enjoys(ed?) the pickles. ;-)

columbiajen: Rocks are truly a cool addition to my garden. My daughter will love the ladybug one! =)

columbiastock/Wanda: You're the best! lol...y'all helpin ole pegleg Steve. The Japonica will be potted next to my UT Orange Canna's tomorrow morning, 1 PM sharp! ;-)

Pat: Love the cider, biscuits, grape jelly, etc.! =)

Connie: My Zephrine cuttings (thanks for the 3!) are now in their "april_h taught Steve terrarium"...lol, with root hormone. (thanks april) I'm so looking forward to them crawling all over the place. =)

Sean (I think...sorry): Chives soon to be combined with garlic chives for extreme taste. Thanks, man. Come back to the Spring swap. =)

Sweet girl with the cactus': Those little pots were cute...lol...thanks a ton for the plants. Come join in the Spring!

vels: Great to meet again...thanks for the bee balm. I love it already. =)

Wagon Lady (aka Evelyn): The Hyacinth's will be the best addition to my flower garden...thanks! Oh, how many pieces of chicken did you eat? hahahaha.

And last & deffinately least, Jeff: Thanks for nothin! lol...just kiddin man, great to see you again. I'll have you some more Habs next year! I'll visit/call some time. Tell the Misses I said hi. Peace....

Woot! Good to see ya again, tngreen

Pictures:

The Zephrine Terrarium:

Most of the indoor Winter garden. I'm gonna be cookin' some tasy stuff. Thanks, herb lady(sorry, I suck with names)! =):

Absolutely beautiful Violet that will go great with my other one i'm trying to bring back to life!:

The Indian Mint, Probably top 3, if not favorite of all my items from the swap!:

From left to right, the African Violet I gave to my wife w/o the green thumb (understatement...lol), then my new Lemon Lime Basil!, then my 2 Target $1 plant thing tests...lol, then the remains of my Spring Red Dragon flower. It might survive still, Wanda...bout 4 or 5 total branches left & I don't think it has an\y black spots left...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......................................................................................................

What a relief! I was afraid the weather would be worse and our friends much fewer. The swap was so much fun! The Spring and Fall swaps both have their great points. The cool thing (no pun intended) about this past swap was the oppertunity to socialize on a much more personal level. I really have made some great friends through our gatherings. We all are so busy in our day to day lives it is wonderful to get together twice a year and have a day of pure joy together.

I had a great time! I had fun at my first swap in the spring but I think I had mroe fun at this one mainly because I could connect real names and screen names and faces. I think my parents had fun too. We go so many new plants I am so excited about! Everything is in my garage right now waiting for Wed (back up to 75!) and for me to go buy more pots for planting. Thank you so much to everyone for sharing so generously, both plants and knowledge, with a still new gardener!

Finally Thawed! Wonderful swap thanks to so many, and all the food was great. We had a wide range of various plants which made the cold day even better, kept everyone busy for sure.

Connie :), I got 2 plants from your table and your mother(she is a darling).

What a great swap.Rhonda,you did a great job.What I like most about the swaps is the people.You are the greatest bunch of people I have ever met.(Wanda and Bob)thank you so much for supper!!!)I really like the talk about propagation,would like to talk to her more.Also the food was great....velsgarden

:D Wanda, I agree, she is totally darling. She's my favorite person! I'm glad you found a couple of things at our table!

AWWWWW - ya'll are the nicest people I've met in a long time. I can't wait till the spring swap. It will be good knowing we won't get wet even if it pours!

I wish I could remeber who I got what from - talk about bad with names. One of my favorite things was the wonderful ferny plant that was in a hypertufal (probably spelled that wrong) container. I love the container as much as the plant.
I'll post the promised links on my blog this weekend - busy week at work and I work 10 hour days so not much time at night for Internet.

Here is a link that might be useful: garden tips

Yep, it was a great swap. I've not been online because I've been out in the garden, trying to get things in the ground before it starts raining again (probably today).

I won't go into a long list of thank you's - there are too many. I got some great plants and y'all are about the nicest folks in the world. But I've said all that before. :-)

I will mention Evelyn - Mainly because she brought me an Oakleaf Hydrangea, Naked Ladies, AND Euphorbia - so I'm in debt to her of the big IOU variety. :-) Thanks so much!! You just saved me a TON of cash.

(And, see, this is why I didn't want to mention anyone - cause that made me think of other plant swap friends, such as Marianne and that lovely flat of violas she gave me - which is ALSO gonna save me a ton of money. And let me tell you, with me still unemployed, that is just a godsend. :-) Thanks, hon.)

Also, Connie - let me know if you run short on Monkey Grass. Finally got mine moved around and I have a few nice clumps that could use a home. :-) Let me know if you need them and we'll work something out to get them to you.

Steve - Chip hasn't eaten his pickles yet, but I did notice when I brought them in and his friends were visiting and eying them, that he kind of hid them away really fast. LOL The boys were also impressed with the artwork and the lovely plaque I netted for some Japanese Anemones. Lucky me. :-)

Now back to the garden! :-) I will try to post some more thorough thank you's once the rest of my plants are safely in the ground. :-) Heh.

Hi everyone!

I had a wonderful time which wasn't unusual. The plant swaps are like early Christmas for plant fiends! What was unusual was that for the first time ever I actually went home with far less than I brought WOOT! I apologize if I was overly enthusiastic (pushy) foisting my stuff on you folks, esp new-gardener123 who was such a sweetheart. I feel like I made out like a bandit!

I don't know hardly anyone's name so these are general thankyous.

The lady I got several rosemary cuttings from Thank you! I've been trying all year to get mine to root so I'm super impressed with your skills.

April: I love my little sedum/ echevaria baby and the cutting, and the visiting of course :)

Annette: thanks for letting me have another go at the lovely little blue salvia that I got in the spring. Plus all those fab irises you gave me in the spring are just thriving:)

The wonderful lady I was set up next to (possibly Pat?): the well behaved tansy, the Korean chive seeds, among other goodies. I'll be sure to bring you my super ferny tansy (tanacetum crispum) to the spring swap! It does best in poor dry conditions but still looked great during this ultra rainy year. And didn't you also give me the early Iris 'Indian chief'?

Tn veggie gardener: I think I remember you, you're Steve right? I'm delighted I could share so many herbs with everyone, happy cooking! Also, the Indian Mint is Plectranthus amboinicus variegata.

Also the chocolate akebia, golden variegated ivy, the super fuzzy jew, the super-cute iron hanging baskets, all the wonderful violas. The wonderful miniature jew in the GORGEOUS hypertuffa  seriously, I meant to get the recipe before I left because mine don't look near as good!

It' a shame I couldn't stick around this time to eat and chat, but my husband had just arrived home with three new babies from the animal shelter. Jennifer, thank you for the warm wishes! Our new rescue kitties are just delightful, and guess what  they love plants too!! It's gonna be a wild winter :p

Happy Gardening,
~Heather
aka the Herb Lady

PS:
Well this was my third swap, but this is my first day as a gardenweb member, and my first post. I spoke with several of you about my procrastination to sign up, but how much I enjoy reading the posts. That's how I discovered that there's a name for this behavior: LURKING! God forbid I be a 'lurker' so here I am, all official-like ;)

I know I had fun! snicker, snicker, snicker :-)

Heather: Thanks for the Indian Mint botanical name! =) It continues to do well. I visit it often just to smell the leaves...lol.

April, if you have monkey grass that needs a home, I have room :) I got all the variegated (aggravated) monkey grass in under the oak tree, but I still have a very wide area to do up the driveway! Maybe I could come pick it up. Do you still have my email?

Connie, I will bring more monkey grass in the Spring for your driveway project. Just remind me close to the swap. Rhonda

Heather, I love all the things I got from you! The basils don't look like they are surviving too well but I am trying to keep them going! I really love the little purple pepper plants, really really really. You were so generous and I felt bad taking so much from you! I actually have the little piece of paper with your email and stuff sitting on my desk. I'd love to see your gardens sometime!

Rebecca

Yea, my purple pepper basil has like 4-5 cool little flowers on it. Neat plant!