I haven't been to plant swaps for many years, but would love to attend one this spring if there is one! Looks like there was a fall swap and wondering how that was attended and if a Spring 2023 swap is planned for our region.

Hi Rita and welcome! The Mid Atlantic group does get together every February for a seed swap and every spring and fall for plant swaps. We had a hiatus during the worst of covid restrictions but have picked back up.

We just had the seed swap get together last Saturday in Frederick, MD. I am planning to host the spring swap this year at my home in Lucketts, VA (just north of Leesburg). I hosted in 2011 and in 2017 so I figure it is time to do it again! The spring swap is held on a Saturday in May. @RickM will likely create a planning thread to start discussing which Saturday works for most of the group.

The Mid-Atlantic Garden Forum on FaceBook just started to plan and has posted that it will have its Spring Plant, Seed, Pot, Whatever Garden Related Swap in Burtonsville, MD, for May 13. Like everything else, the Swap has been on hiatus because of the pandemic.

Rita & Kim!

How exciting that the FB group is emerging from hiatus! Kim, we'll try to plan around that date if we can, so people can attend both swaps if they'd like. Hopefully you'll be able to check out our swap as well.

How does the FB swap work? I know some swaps give "tickets" for what you bring, which you then spend on what you want. We're more of a plant sharing party without that kind of organization.

We do try to organize a lot of the swapped plants ahead of time, using the seed swap tool here. It's just easier to drop off a pre-organized group of plants for person A, person B, etc and then enjoy the camraderie of the swap. Before we started doing this, I think I spent most of my time "pimping" the plants I brought!

The MAG FB Swap has always been pretty informal. There are HAVES, WANTS, FOOD for the potluck threads already posted for those who want to make pre-arranged trades. Those threads will continue to evolve right up until swap day and the rules for them are at the front of each thread. But there will be plenty of plants offered just for the taking. Our motto is either if you don't bring plants, bring chocolate or if you don't have plants now, you will someday and you can pass them on then.

Every few years, we get a few strangers who join us who go a little crazy and take everything they can including plants clearly marked for someone in particular to pick up. Then we talk about more rules for the following year. But we never do it and it never seems to happen twice in a row. We welcome new people because so many of them bring the most interesting plants.

We are a fun bunch and every time the police have shown up at one of our swaps, we've given them plants to take home too. And yes we have had the police show up, mostly because our spring swaps sometimes have gotten kind of big (like the year we had 77 cars and a neighbor paniced at the way a couple of the plants looked.

"If you don't have plants, bring chocolate." I love it!

So, do I look for a Mid-Atlantic Gardening group on FB?

Let me see if I can find you... I use a different browser for FB, in an attempt to protect my privacy.

Found it! Searched groups and came up with MidAtlantic Garden Forum, https://www.facebook.com/group...