sedumqueen asked how the swap works, so I've put the answer here so it's easy for newcomers to find.

Please post your trades on the other thread(s) for the sake of clarity.

(If you think of anything I've omitted from the explanation, this is the place to put it!)

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The main theme for the FW Swaps, I guess, is...

enjoy the company of other gardeners, keep things loose, & have fun.

We all bring our extra plants, plus any garden-related stuff like arts/crafts, baskets, buckets, pots, homemade jams/jellies/breads/etc.

Pre-trades are good, since you know you'll be getting something you want, & you know your stuff is getting a new home.

You can swap anything for anything, no "rules" about seed-for-seed, plant-for-plant, etc;

as long as the gardeners agree, there you go.

You can swap a Ferrari for a package of tomato seeds if you want (or a cow for a package of magic beans)!

Just post what you have & what you want, & people can reply with offers;

once both gardeners agree, you in bidness!

Put your pre-trades for each person in a box with that person's name on it & jot down on the label or box what you are to get from that person.

If you have room in your vehicle, it's good to bring a chair (I have a collapsing camp chair that's just a wonderful life-saving, knee-saving device!), maybe a small folding table, & a cart or little red wagon.

Loose comfy clothing, comfy shoes, a hat, maybe a sweater, water, hand lotion or sun block, newspapers for packing, Sharpies, notebook, camera, labels, etc are all good things to have on hand "just in case".

Even if you don't have much extra garden material yet, cookies & brownies go over very well, & don't worry about even-steven trades:

many of us have been doing this for several years, & we *always* have tons of plants that we'll trade for a token or even "free to good home".

(Even if you've only decided to start a garden on Friday night, by Saturday afternoon, you can start working on your garden!)

Some years we share a potluck lunch, where everyone brings a dish, but for the past couple of swaps Brenda has "catered" lunch (grilled hotdogs, soft drinks, water, etc) in exchange for plants & stuff, but she hasn't posted here yet, so lunch remains "to-be-determined".

We also bring fun stuff for a prize drawing;

some of the prizes that I remember from last time are hand tools, ceramic garden figures, a pool float, a collapsing nylon leaf container, cute pots, a gardener's emergency kit, etc.

Someone at the autumn swap gave me some hand tools to keep for the spring swap, so those will start the prize pool.

& this year the swap is the same day as the Ft Worth Iris Society show;

it's right up the road at the Botanic Gardens (where they have heating & air conditioning as well as indoor plumbing!), so that's a *bonus* "garden-fix" for after the swap.