Fun At The Plant Swap

One thing our Master Gardener group does every Spring and Fall is host a plant swap at our local Farmer's Market. What fun it is to take plants and seeds from your own garden to share and trade with others at this event. I really wish I would have taken my camera with me.. I forgot of course. Bummer.

The trading was scheduled to start at 9am but, I will tell you it had already begun before I had even got there at 10 til 9. With eager anticipation and nearly every booth filled with plants, the trading was in full swing when 9am began. Just how many bags and containers could I carry at a time from one booth to the next? Not as many as I would have liked! After numerous trips to the car, my trunk began to fill quickly. Good times.

Everything pretty much finished up by 10am. Sweeping and cleaning up leaves and dirt were about all that was left to do after the fury of trading. It reminded me a bit of Christmas morning with wrapping paper strewn on the floor after all of the gifts are opened. But with the help of several people we were cleaned up in no time.


This is what I was able to bring home! Unbelievable...

-Bearded Irises (a lot of them..mostly white and yellow)
-Russian Irisis
-Rock Rose
-Frog Fruit
-Artemesia
-Chameleon Ivy
-Umbrella Plant
-Daylilies (yellow)
-Mugwort
-Airplane plant
-Castor Bean
-Rose Campion
-Mullein
-Moon Flower
-Aloe Vera (can be grown outdoors here)
-Liriope
-Ornamental Basil
-Spiderwort
-Vinca majora
-Nicotania
-Mexican Heather
-Mexican Petunia
-Variegated Vine (groundcover)
-Jewel of Opar
-Spearmint
-Chocolate and Apple Mint
-Asparagus

What a wonderful experience. I'll be planting like crazy over the next couple of days that's for sure... and thinking about what I can collect to trade for the Plant Swap in the Fall.

If you don't have this type of event in your area, I would encourage you to start one. With just a little bit of planning and some printed fliers in area businesses you are on your way. These events are a great deal of fun and require hardly any money to put together. It's just another way you can build community in your town.