Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful things! I will thank individually once I've made my list and it's too dark to plant!

I missed the first 45 minutes and arrived in the rain. So I don't know how attendance compared to the former date. I'd be interested in your observations. At least the rain stopped after a while.

Mone you are welcome. I would love to visit your garden this summer for sure. You won't have to wait 4-5 years to share. They should take off in a couple years with your TLC

It was very nice to see all the wonderful gardeners at the swap.
Thank you for all the wonderful plants.
I was able to plant up most of the plants.

Mone

We loved your wrap. It was the most delicious thing in the pouring rain.

Sen

Thank you everyone for all the lovely plants!!! Always love seeing old friends n making new ones!!! Can't wait to get these goodie in the ground!❤❤❤

Thank you so much everyone for nice plants.

Planted most of the bulb plants. Still have to plant potted ones. Nice meeting you all. Can't wait to see them grow and bloom.

matriarka said:

Does anyone know what this plant is? It had no label. It was on the "exuberant plants" table.

I got one too. Seedrat ID'd it. I don't know whether she brought it or just knew what it was.

Creeping Daisy

I found 2 plants called that on Google. The one with leaves most similar to what we gotwill have white flowers.

Thanks, Ellen, for once more hosting the wonderful swap. I know it's a "labor of love", but it's just plain hard labor, too. When I look at my garden the things that stand out the most are what generous gardeners have shared with me.

Thanks also to Mone, Annette, Doug, and all who shared their bounty, their expertise, and their enthusiasm with me.

I've been taking my year-old granddaughter to Lurie Garden downtown every week. (they live a few blocks away). Have to start them young!

I've actually made serious inroads on getting everything planted. Leaving the seedlings to grow on a bit first, though. I'm afraid of "losing" them if they go right in.

I appreciate the contributions all of you have made over the years!

Hi everyone,

This was my first year attending and I am a true grewbie! I so appreciate all of you arranging this. I was able to pick up lots of tomato plants and a bit of phlox. I was wondering how to stay in touch with this group going forward? Also, does anyone have any hostas and/or part-shade ground cover they wouldn't mind sharing?

Thanks again!
Kathy

Kathy I have hosta and sedum ground cover to share.

Hi Kathy,
So glad you came to the swap. It was a lot of fun, wasn't it? I have a lot of hosta and phlox to share. However, it is a bit late since they have leaved out and more difficult to dig up. Take up Mike's offer. His will be easier to dig up.

Send us your email address through the tree-mail. See the envelope in the upper right corner? I will send your email address to the swap organizer. Next year, you will receive information on the next swap.

Welcome to the joy of gardening.

I'm just finally getting time to review all of the beautiful plants that I brought home last week. THANK YOU so much to everyone. I am very excited to have veggies and herbs to grow this summer and so many things to add to the garden to enjoy for years to come. I always love watching my garden swap goodies thrive year over year and think of the generous gardeners who gifted them to me through the swap. It makes my garden feel like more than just plants, but a growing expression of the beauty of kindness and generosity.

Mone-those wraps were DELICIOUS. I loved all of the fresh herbs. If you are one to share recipes, I'd love to know what you did/the ingredients that you included so that I can attempt to replicate at home.

Ellen-you saved me for tomatoes this summer (and now I can grow/save seeds for the tomato seed swap!) Did you happen to post the list of tomatoes that you brought anywhere? I know that it was too wet at the swap to display the list. I have a few plants whose names I can't seem to decipher, but I imagine I could match them up to the names on the list if you have it somewhere.

Annette-thank you for the lovely plants. I am especially excited to finally be able to add rhubarb to my perennial garden edibles.

Thank you to all who brought raspberries for me (or to the swap that I grabbed). I am always excited to add edibles to my garden and these will complement the fruit trees that I added last year.

This swap is the very best!

Happygardener23

It was so good to see you too. The swap and its preparation made this period the happiest time of year for me. Seeing you and all the familiar faces and reconnecting makes it special. Hearing from you and everyone after the swap makes it even more worthwhile.

Happy & Everyone,

I am glad you like the wraps. They are actually Vietnamese in origin. I jus make them my way using my own fillers. It is really a salad presented differently.

Main ingredients:
1. Rice paper
2. Fillers
3. Sauce/dip of your choice, e.g. salad dressing, sweet and sour sauce, dumpling sauce, etc.

1. Rice paper, dry or soft, found in Asian stores. The soft kind is found in the frozen section. I like the dry kind that comes in all brands, sizes, round or square. These are my favorites:


Dry rice paper is brittle. So be careful when handling it.

2. Fillers: your favorite salad ingredients

The following are my favorite fillers:
All kinds of greens I can get my hands on: lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, romaine, radish greens, young dandelion leaves, young plantain leaves, young amaranth leaves, spinach, etc. (That's why my spring rolls never taste the same twice).
Bean sprouts, sprouts of all kinds
Herbs** make the rolls distinct in flavor (s)
My most favorite herbs are mint & cilantro, especially chocolate mint. But when I run out of chocolate mint, other mint will do. (I discovered that I do not like the taste of lavender mint, tho, sorry seedrat).
Optional herbs: basil (any flavor), and these Asian herbs usually found in Vietnamese stores:

Hot mint (Rau Ram?):



Houttuynia cordata:


Stripped or thinly sliced: carrots, beet, cucumber, fried tofu, pickled radish







I only use Korean pickled radish/daikon, found at SuperH Mart.

Optional:
- cooked shrimps, strips of chicken or any meat of your choice

Making spring rolls
1. Wet a sheet of rice paper with warm water. Drain off excess water.
*Since I tend to break the rice paper, I like to wet both sides of a smaller sheet of rice paper, place it on a large plate* or cutting board and a larger sheet of rice paper on another board. (*A large glass plate as the one found in microwave ovens is my favorite).
2. Place green salad on the smaller sheet of paper first then add the remaining ingredients. Roll everything into a log tightly
3. Place the roll on the larger rice paper, then roll it again tightly.
4. Chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. ( I do not like to keep it in the fridge too long because the rice paper's consistency will change).
5. Serve with sauce of your choice.

Bon appétit!

Yum indeed !!! I had one yesterday and absolutely loved it. Mone your generosity and kindness comes naturally. "One of a kind", clearly describes you my dear.

So many of you have said this better, but I too am so appreciative of the generosity of my fellow gardeners, and I enjoy seeing you at least once a year for the swap. I would be happy with more often, too!

I love watching the plants I got from my garden buds as they get big (or bigger). It does make losing a plant tougher, though!

I got such great plants and seeds and I had such a good time even with the rain. Thank you all!

Mone, lavender mint can be used to make lavender-scented things, or have the scent as they wander through the garden, for those who can't grow lavender :D

Does anyone recognize this hosta? Last year I thought I'd labeled everything but I didn't :(

For the tomato documents, click the link below to access them. They're Word docs and I don't know if that will be a problem, let me know if it is and I'll do something.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xcc...

Hazelcrestmikeb said:Yum indeed !!! I had one yesterday and absolutely loved it. Mone your generosity and kindness comes naturally. "One of a kind", clearly describes you my dear.

Thanks, Mike.

Seedrat,
The feelings are mutual.

I think that might be Hosta Kossa Regal. I have two clumps like that one. It will be very tall and wide.

I propagated some African violets (purple flowers) to give away this year but they've grown too big for my window sill. I live in a small one-bedroom condo and can only have plants on my window stool (sunlight limitation). I have 6 of them and their spans range from 7 to 10 inches each. I've already had broken stems/leaves because they're so cramped together with my other plants..

Is someone willing to take them off my hands and take care of them (water them) until the plant swap this May 2020? I also don't have a car so bringing full grown African violets by hand is risky as their stems tend to be very crispy unlike the other plants (cuttings) I bring which can be safely stacked on top of each other.

I live near the Margate Park Fieldhouse (4921 N Marine Dr - that's between Lawrence and Foster). Let me know if you're interested. We can schedule the pick up when you happen to be passing anywhere near my area.

Thank you all.

Hi Lizette. I hope someone close by will be able to help. Mike

Hi Lisette,
I am sorry I just rechecked this thread.
If you still need to farm out your African violets, I can pick them up and keep them in my attic and post an offer on the new thread right here:
The thread "2020 Chicagoland Annual Plant Swap" in Plant and Seed Trading forum

Pls. post your response to this message on the new thread. I will close this 2019 thread.
Hope to hear from you.