As an annual event we would like to invite people May 26, Friday 4-7 pm , Memorial day weekend, for our annual garden swap. We are into hmm, 12-13? year of it and I love how successful you make it every year.
Can't wait to meet old friends, newbies are welcome.
Unitarian Church of Evanston parking lot. Plants, seedlings, divisions, garden items. Come with something you have, leave with something you want to grow.
Post your wants and haves if you like below.

I always want irises!

Uncluttering the thread.

Yay! I start thinking about this swap the moment I see bulbs poking above ground. (I've gotten quite a few bulbs from this swap, that's one reason!)

I'm still making my offers list but jumped in to respond to Pitimpinai:

I probably can bring you sedum angelina, depending on how well it overwintered. I'm interested in your Itea if no one else wants it, if it's fragrant (some sweetspire really aren't very fragrant)

I'm starting some cherry tomatoes for the swap, and lots of basil.

If anyone is starting hot red peppers, and/or mild red peppers, I'd like some please!

Also, I want to weld garden monsters out of broken garden tools, so if you have large or small broken metal tools, please bring them! (not a plow or wellhead or anything gigantic, though, please )

Hi, Pattig! I think I remember someone from the swap last year named Patti, I don't know if you're the same person though!

Do you like Siberian iris? I'll be digging some up for the swap. The standard purple.

Cleaning up the thread.

I will be bringing water irises, really need to divide them. Majority will be blue, maybe occasional yellow but I can not distinguish till they bloom so you get what you get.
Some wintersown hollyhock Fordhook.
am planning on multitude of ephemeral spring bulbs
more to be identified

I browsed through last year's thread for a couple of reasons, and a cool thing happened that confused me at first:
I came across some pics I posted in the thread, trying to get an ID of a plant I thought came from the swap. But...my posted pics had the plant name right on it. Even as people in the thread responded that we should ask Serena. I guess my photos went into some general site grouping and someone eventually goes through and labels them??? I'm so happy that I know the plant now! (Virginia Waterleaf)

One reason I was browsing was to find out who brought me the Anemone canadensis. It was Pitimpinai who brought some. It's soooo pretty, and if you have more, I'd love some more.

To anyone who has received hellebore seedlings from me, have any of yours finally bloomed? This year I have one blooming! It looks like I got the adult plants in 2008 so the seedlings are from 2008 or 2009. Hellebores are expensive, but worth the price because waiting for them to grow up takes around 8 years!

Last year we had some people miss some of the pre-trade plants we'd brought. How about we actually mark off spots for the different traders, either with paper on the ground or a big cardboard box? Then all the plants for one person go in one spot.

Oh, is anyone bringing cucumbers or should I grow some? They are a pickling type, but grow larger than I thought!

Uncluttering the thread.

Uncluttering the thread.

Aww, that's too bad about your barrels. I did that with mine, although I thought I'd drained it. Nope, I hadn't, I just convinced myself I had :/

I do remember Sonya bringing some anemone as well, I will hope she brings some again and I catch them before they're snatched.

I think you're right about the pre-trade plants. Anyone who goes to the snack table sees them and the plants are bigger than whatever signs we have! There's some kind of dumpster surround near the back door, maybe we could fit the pre-trade plants in there, but we'd have to make sure a custodian didn't need to get in there. We could put up big signs on the dumpster surround saying "PRIVATE" :)

I will think more about this and maybe come up with some other ideas.

Love the swap so can't wait. Can't believe it's just one month away.

Mone, may I have leucojum aestivum 'gravtye giant'and sedum kamchaticum please? I left the leucojum in the pot and could not plant them on the ground at the right time and it looks most of them are gone. I feel pretty bad now. One or two showed up but something ate it. Too bad.

Seedrat, may I have sedum angelina if you have extras please?

I am looking for redbud tree seedlings specially light pink lavender one or any.

I will be bringing mints, creeping jenny, star sedum, Hosta green big leaf etc. I will be posting more later.

seedrat, marking off spots for different traders look good and it would be lot more easier for everyone to pick their stuff up. Last year's plants are doing good. Forsythia you gave has yellow flowers though plant is still small. Thanks for the plants I got last year.

oerickson, thank you for hosting.

My sedum angelina doesn't seem to be doing well! The patch by the street is completely gone, and the pot has just one tiny little stem. Sorry, Pitimpinai and Jasmine! I don't think it's as tough a sedum as many others. It is pretty, though.

Jasmine, the christmas cactus cuttings you gave me are still alive! They even got flower buds once, but the buds fell off. I feel happy about this general success, though. I'm glad your forsythia and other plants are doing well.

seedrat, the bud drop is a common thing it looks. Mine bloomed 3 times since nov. First time during nov they did very well and buds opened up but later two times they did not. It looks it likes cooler temperature. I kept it in a sun room with between 60-68f and it looks first time buds opened up may be because of cool temp. Watering also has it's effect on it i think. Some times i really forget and don't water for days and then those buds don't open up.




pic looks blurred. I think it is thanksgiving cactus not christmas but when I bought, it was labeled as christmas cactus.

Thanks for the extra info on the bud drop. I was wondering if I was fertilizing them wrong or something (I fertilize occasionally, using an all-purpose fertilizer on everything) but the heat makes more sense. I have a greenhouse the size of a doll-house and the cacti live in there. The bottom holds almost 1/2 inch of water and everything in there seems to love that. But the greenhouse perhaps heated up too much. The whole living room is a bit of a greenhouse, it gets very hot in here on warm sunny days! So the greenhouse within a greenhouse was too much!

I have really nice sprouts on the cucumbers I started, and a lot of baby basil!

Here is what's left of my sedum Angelina!

Hello Seedrat,

This is for Seedrat; you asked me at the end of the swap last year to get in touch with you with my "wishes." I met you about 4 years ago, and you have been so helpful to this
newbie" gardener. So here they are!

Black-eyed susans
Bee-Balm (monarda)
Any kind of coneflower (echinacea)
Geraniums
Salvia

Many, many thanks!

"plant fan"

Hi Everyone! It's Sonya. If the Anemone mentione above has pink flowers and was a big plant, yes I bought some. Will try to see if there are more as I recently moved.
PITIMPINAI- will try to get you some Hinkley jugs from work.
SEEDRAT- would you happen to have any more Hellebore seedlings? N would be interested in some basil plants as well.
OERICKSON-I would also be interested in hollyhocks if available!
I currently have ground cover pachysandra, vinca, sedum, have sedum autumn and catmint available so far at the new house as I recently moved and am starting from scratch. Lol I have trinadad scorpion pepper seeds, zinnia plants if anyone is interested

I love this plant swap every year and my garden has grown nicely because of it. Thank you all!
Pitimpinai, I would love some of your lamium maculatum as I have a lot of shade in front and it has done really nicely in there and I would like to fill it in more.
Also, would love some of your sedum kamch. for a more sunnier spot.
Thank you!

I will have monarda in red.

Hi all. I attended the swap for the first time last year and left with tomato seedlings that did very well. They were grown by the dozens in styrofoam cups, but I don't remember the name of the grower. I'd like to get a few indeterminate tomato seedlings again, if possible.

My strawberries need refreshing, so if you have a variety that doesn't spread too aggressively, I'm interested. Many got decimated by flea beetles, so I'd like to start over in large planters with fresh media.

I'd really like to grow raspberries/blueberries/blackberries, if they're a variety that can 1) survive outdoors year-round (so hardy to zone 5b) and 2) can tolerate living in a roughly 10 gallon container (or smaller). I'd be happy to take divisions, cuttings, baby plants, etc.

For houseplants, I'd appreciate Pachira aquatica if you have an extra one or even just a cutting. I also like orchids, but it'd have to be one that can be indoors year-round and can tolerate 50% or lower humidity. I'm also collecting Tillandsia (air plants).

I don't know yet what I'll be able to bring, unfortunately.

Thanks!