Pitiminai, I will take some of the spearmint! It does not like anywhere I've tried it and keeps dying out!! :O
If you have cuke sprouts I think you don't need mine, right? Mine are parisian pickling (if the trade label is correct)

I went to the botanic garden on Friday. It was really chilly, but so empty because of that! I had my stick-on foot warmers and some hand-warmers going so I was OK. The daffodils are still going well and the tulips are glorious. I finally noticed some cool details of the espaliered fruit trees--like how the overlapping branches have grown into one another. Also, they just had a corpse flower bloom on Tues/Wed so the flower structure is still there. I didn't know about the bloom, I may have been able to get over there for it!

Seedrat,
OK re spearmint. Nope, I won't need anymore cukes. Thanks.

Would anybody like Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant'? The clumps desperately need to be thinned out. They were planted long ago so the bulbs are very deep. I will dig them up only if someone wants them.

Love, love this cool weather. Mertensia will hang around longer. The heat we had two weeks ago was not good for my daffodils.

Pitimpinai,

I will take some of the Leucojum Aestivum. Are these snowdrops? or are these larger? From what i'm Googling they look like snowdrops but it says they grow up to three feet, which is much larger than snowdrops.

I can also drive over and load up my car with some of your plants to take to the swap, if you'd like. I will, of course, stop by early for my goodies from you.

Hi RolRod,
Of course, you can have Leucojum. It does look like snowdrop but much larger. It is blooming now. The clumps look almost identical to daffodils, but taller and multiply even more readily than daffodils. I like to thin them out evety 8 or 9 years.

You can come by anytime except tomorrow or May 6, 12 & 13 (doctors appointments).

Thank you for offering to load up your car with my plants, but I usually go to the plant swap in the morning to help setting up. You wouldn't want to go in the morning, would you? I'll probably start loading my car around 9 or 9:30. I can always come back for more in the afternoon.

I'd love a couple of them too, please!

I agree on the cool weather, I hate when it gets hot and all the bulbs are done in a short time. As it is I feel my Thalia daffodils finished fast, and they only had one hot day. Maybe they're just quicker to finish.

I am SO excited to be back for the swap this year. I had to miss it the last 2 years because we were selling our house and then living with family while we looked for a new house. Now I have a new home and a very uninspired garden that I'm trying to get to know and nurture into something new. One of the most challenging parts of the move was leaving my garden plants behind. Since we sold our house long before we had a new one, I couldn't bring any divisions of my plants with me. I suspect that the new owner doesn't feel the attachment to Mona's prairie smoke, Eileen's bleeding heart, Rolando's hosta, or the countless other beautiful plants from the swap that I did, but I guess the bright side is now I can fill a new garden with plant swap love.

I'm not sure what I'll have to bring to the swap this year (I don't really know what is in my garden/yard here yet with the exception of a lot of white trout lily). I can say that if anyone plans a visit to the Chicago Botanic Gardens before the swap, I now live within walking distance of the gardens. Anyone who is not a member is welcome to park in my driveway/on my street and walk to the gardens to avoid the $25 parking fee at CBG.

Pitimpinai, if you have any of the viola left, I would love some.

I am also on the prowl for medicinal flowers/herbs. I have to observe our sun/shade situation as the trees leaf out between now and the swap to see when kinds of plants I'll be able to add. I look forward to seeing everyone!

Hi, Happy!

Your username is so familiar but I can't remember who you "really" are. I'm glad you will be able to join us again! Congratulations on the new house, and in such a fabulous location!!!!!!! (within biking distance of Ravinia, too--although if you're like me you may need a trailer for the picnic). I'm a member of the Garfield Park conservatory so it gets me into CGB's lot for free, otherwise you'd already have an email from me requesting your address. However I really should get that info in case we ever let that membership lapse.

I'd love some trout lily, please!

Regarding medicinal plants, do you mean anything with a history of use for medicine, or plants used today for stuff? I have more of the former, I think.

Wow, it's time again for swap. I love this swap. Can't wait to come and see you all.

Pitimpinai, may I have Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant' if you still have extras to spare. I would definitely love them. may i have Lamium too please?

Seedrat, may I have Snowdrops please?

Happygardener, nice to see you again. every time I look those big 10-15 gallon nursery pots I remember you. I am so glad that I got those pots from you. We really missed you. Looking forward to meeting you.

I would be bringing spear mint, apple mint, creeping jenny, christmas cactus (red and white) cuttings, potho cuttings. I will list later what else i could bring.

Anybody needs Moringa seedling? I have two plants may be for two people.


Jasmine

Hello everyone! I am joining the thread late, but I am looking forward with excitement to the swap! My husband will say, “That spot is bare dirt, and I’m tired of trying to grow grass, what do you have for it?” I say, “I’ll look for something at the swap!” He will say, “We need more ferns under the trees and those things with the lacy leaves that smell good,” (he means geraniums) and I say, “I’ll look for something at the swap!” He will say, “You must have a hundred pots hidden under the pine tree, can I throw...." and I say, “LEAVE THEM ALONE! I NEED THEM FOR THE SWAP!!!”

I am walking through the garden seeing what is growing well. Here’s a start of what I can bring. I had knee surgery recently so may have to divide less than I normally do, and just pot up small plants.

Dwarf alpine columbine (deep purple-blue)

Mystery phlox seedlings. I am growing more colors now, so they could be anything. I can usually tell if they are white, though.

Ligularia Desdemona. Dark purple leaves.

1 small Persicaria Polymorpha if I can successfully chop it off the parent.

Persicaria virginiana 'Painter's Palette,' This needs to be en masse to show up well, and not with tall stuff around it, especially the flowers, which are tiny delicate wands.
"The wildly mottled, multi-colored foliage of Persicaria 'Painter's Palette' truly resembles that of a painter's palette. The green leaves are splashed with large patches of cream and yellow and pink and brushed with mahogany bands on the center of the leaves. In late summer, a haze of coral-red, baby's breath-like flowers is displayed above the dramatic foliage. Shear plant to promote reblooming."

Autumn Joy sedum

Have a lot of the following 3 if anyone wants more:

Variegated lunaria (money plant). Biennial. Fabulous bright white edged leaves and hot rich magenta flowers. I can bring hunks of seedlings that will bloom next year AND/OR ones that bloomed in early May, so you will have “money” seedpods and your own seedlings next year. It’s a knockout! The only thing I have blooming now except bulbs.

Silene Dioica: small pink flowers in tall stems from basal rosette. Airy. Long blooming. Seeds heavily, so put where you don’t mind a colony. I decided not to keep it in my main garden, but in an area where it can do what it likes.

Lily of the Valley

Here's my wish list:

Anemone, white

Any geranium (except sanguinea and Johnson’s Blue). Especially like big root geraniums.

Aconitum (monkshood)

Pulmonaria. Lack of snow cover did half of my older ones in! Luckily, last year’s are fine!

Lack of snow cover also did in all my purple heucheras. Now looking for a mound shaped purple leaved perennial to take their place in the hosta bed.

Strange request: a good friend (who is impaired and cannot drive far enough to come) would like some variegated snow-on-the-mountain (aegopodium). Has shade under trees and can’t get grass or anything else to grow as a low-maintenance groundcover. I had this at a previous house and feel it would work, but don’t grow it myself now. I know it’s invasive, but he needs the coverage.

Aquilegia (columbine), any except for Alpina (dwarf alpine blue)

Short asters

Cimicifuga or actaea, going for purple leaves

Heuchera

Ferns, still need them

Iris esp deep colors like purple, burgundy, or brown

Plumbago (ceratostigma)

Verbena Bonarensis

Woodland plants (not violets or lily of the valley)

Anything that is short with gold leaves

Hydrangea, any

Rhubarb

Hi Linnea! I hope your knee is doing ok, even without trying to garden I'm sure the recovery can't be easy!

I was hoping you'd pop in here, as I was researching Crocosmia and came across an old thread of yours on GW! Did yours ever come up?
I first tried crocosmia from a box at Menard's with no sprouts, then last year I ordered two kinds from Brent and Becky's. By July I'd given up on them and bought some potted ones, plus some babies from Ebay. The potted ones bloomed and were gorgeous and the ebay ones seemed to do well. But I haven't seen anything from any of those plants... but one of the patches from Brent and Becky's has sprouts!!! I'm still hoping that the other plants will pop up at some point, it seems ridiculous for them all to die, but there isn't enough info out there on when I should give up hope.

Do you have any catmint? That's blooming really nicely for me right now, so with lunaria they're a nice contrast with all the yellow.

I have some purple bearded iris for you, and do you want some purple siberian iris?

Woodland-wise I have Starry False Solomon's Seal, which in heavy shade looks almost the same as true SS. In sunnier spots it's shorter and looks a tiny bit like toad-lily

I have geranium Bill Wallis but I've brought that for a few year,s you may already have it.


I'd love some of your columbines and maybe some lunaria seedlings again. I haven't gotten any to survive the transplanting yet

Hi Happygardener23,
So good to see your post. Viola has been potted up for you. So have many other plants. Please let me know what else you are looking for.

Seedrat,
Ok to spearmint, Leucojum, monk's hood (I assume it's monshood 😆 )

Jasmine,
Yeah, you are coming to the swap!
Ok to Leucojum & lamium.

Linnea,
I got Hydrangea Annabelle, Fern, Aconitum potted up.
Would you like wild ginger, variegated solomon's seal, lady's mantle? I will pot up rhubarb for you.
May I have variegated lunaria, please?
Thank you.

Serena, if you see this, please let me know if you still would like yellow epimedium.

I can't wait to see all of you again.

Pitimpinai, do you have any more of the variegated solomon's seal?
Thanks for all the other plants!

The swap is going to be soon, and I really want to change the way I label plants. I've been using paper, printed with lots of useful info, but it won't survive rain and I have to label everything right before the swap. I'm trying to figure out a way to still use a printer but have it be more weatherproof, and maybe I'll tape it onto a popsicle stick or something. Does anyone have any ideas?

◆ To do tomorrow: dig up rhubarb & variegated solomon's seal
◆ Seedrat, I use miniblind slats and permanent markers for labels. Got them from Freecycles. I will bring extra to the swap. Having too much fun puttering in the garden I have not had time to label any of my plants yet.

I use the mini-blinds for simple labeling, but after some others at the swap brought plants with detailed labels (maybe Linnea?), I realized how nice it is to know at a glance how tall a plant will get, what bloom color, if it needs a lot of water, etc. so I like to give all that info on my labels. But I spent wayyyy too much time putting them on at the last minute so I'd love to find a better way.

Last year whatever pencil I used on my mini-blind labels in my own garden faded away to nothing! I can't remember what I put in a spot last year and the label is totally blank It was pencil, not sharpie, since I know sharpie fades in a few months.

Seedrat: Thanks for the good wishes re: surgery. The hardest part is I can’t kneel yet. And when I do get down on one knee, I can’t get up! I have to use a shovel to pull myself up. Hopefully that will be temporary.

I have given up on croscosmia. I did have some of them sprout a second year, but they didn’t bloom.

Thanks for both kinds of irises. I must not have geranium Bill Wallis. I have not had anything bloom blue yet. I did get some NOID geraniums from the general table, but the leaf is different, according to google. If you have enough, I would like some.

Sorry to hear the lunaria seedlings did not survive! I’ll bring you both the seedlings and some second year plants. Between those, you should get some to make it. You have me thinking….maybe I can line a bowl with newspaper and plant into that. Then you could just slide them out and into a hole of the same shape without disturbing the roots.

I will also bring the alpine columbines.

I have been typing up labels, then printing them out, covering them on both sides with clear contact paper. It’s not entirely waterproof, and I don’t know how long it really holds up outside. Then stapling onto a popsicle stick. Not stapling THROUGH the stick (it would split), but a staple will close AROUND a stick. It is probably overkill, but I wanted to make sure all my offerings got homes!

A plant I got last year had the label placed inside a small plastic bag, and that taped to the outside of the pot or tucked in (I don’t recall that part). Some moisture did get inside, but it was enough to read for long enough. That would be easier, and I might try that, except not as easy to read inside the bag.

I have not used miniblinds because I don’t have a source, and my hand would cramp up writing details. I wonder if greasepencil or china marker would work on mini-blinds?

Pitimpinai, thank you for the Hydrangea Annabelle, Fern, Aconitum and the rhubarb. I would like the variegated solomon’s seal, and lady's mantle. Thanks! I will pot up the variegated lunaria for you. I will give you both seedlings and second year plants.

Thank you all for the warm reception. Really happy to be returning. Pitimpinai, thank you for the violas. I am trying to figure out a way to get a mayapple for you. There are some that grow at the very back of our property line, but they are behind our fence and wedged between another fence. If I can figure out how to extricate one through the fence slats I'll pot it up.

Seedrat, my IRL name is Corrie, and I'll dig up some trout lily for you.

I'm adding a picture of the front of our new house. It is a total blank slate with the all-white house. I'm envisioning a colorful 3-season cottage garden and will probably pull out much of what is currently there over time. I am very open to the suggestions of you gardening geniuses. I'm thinking that monarda, foxglove, lupines, delphinium, false indigo, roses, salvia, etc. would all work well. Anything that people might have that would fit a cottage garden style would be very welcome.

In the back we have a more woodland type environment with a lot of water and more shade than sun. As mentioned, I am trying to focus on beauty as well as utility (food or medicine uses) for plants; I'm putting in an herb garden and would love any rosemary, lemongrass, lavender, or other herbs that people have to share (I am already starting basil, oregano, thyme, culinary sage, and silver sage and will bring any extra seedlings of those that I have to the swap). Around the borders in the back I hope to focus on plants that can be used medicinally for salves, tinctures, syrups, etc. such as marshmallow, elecampane, yarrow, arnica, pulsatilla, calendula, etc. (really so many plants have medicinal uses). I would also love any elderberry cuttings if possible. I know that I brought some to the swap 3 years ago. Maybe those plants have matured enough to share a bit back with me or others have some.

LinneaL, I would love some Ligularia Desdemona. I hope you're recovering well.

I have various carnation seedlings...they're kind of small...i'm hoping they take off once in the ground.

Corrie - nice house!

Will be good to see everyone!

I was thinking this year Memorial Day weekend is too late but it seems we will be just in time for major plantings. I have not started going through my garden to see what is growing extras. I should have Jack in the pulpit, they already showed. have to investigate others.
Just wanted to say thank you for whoever brought me buttercups- I know lots of people say they are rambunctious but I love them and they are such a joy this time of the year. I just wish I got them more to spread.
I will have some oenothera speciousa- pink evening primrose which likes dry and more sunny areas, grown from seed. Also some Veronica Longifolia from seed. Heuchera will be tiny but I have done it before and it does grow beautifully with silvery stricken foliage.
Am looking for achillea of any kind and tansy if anyone can share.
Am very happy with my euphoribia- not for the classic gardens but I find it so easy to work with- just pull what you do not need after it stops blooming and have same next year..

Happy: I think I'm picturing you now, I'll have to wait and see though! (I'm terrible with faces so I'm probably wrong)

I can bring you a few yellow, perennial foxglove plants, and red monarda if you would like.

Would you like any nepitella calamint, lemon balm, tarragon, or some mint? (chocolate, lavender, or mojito which looks suspiciously like apple mint)

---
Linnea: ooh, I didn't know you'd started "laminating" your tags! My hand also cramps when writing on the mini-blinds. Like you I want to make sure my plants find homes and giving more information helps a lot with that. From your comment, I'm now thinking I could format my info to fold over and fit into one of the tiny seed bags I have a ton of, then I could duct tape that to a mini-blind.

I'll bring one or more Bill Wallis geraniums for you, Linnea. They're not blooming yet, and are really a lavender. Do you want some calamint?

What I have blooming right now is: (bulbs: late daffodils, scilla) Hellebores, calamint in lav/purple, lunaria, white perennial candytuft, forget-me-nots, rock cress just finishing up, brunnera, your silene, wild mustard in yellow, and non-native greater celandine in yellow.

The greater celandine is invasive in some states but illinoiswildflower.info seems unconcerned. I do rip out most of the plants as the blooms get fewer, but they bloom during "the gap" so I love them. I'm not sure about sharing it, though
http://www.illinoiswildflowers...

Pollinators really love the wild mustard, it may be this one:
http://www.illinoiswildflowers... If it is that one, it's a weed we can eat!

I collected the mustard seed last fall, if anyone wants some.

I hope Mickey comes by, last year I absentmindedly put irises meant for her on the regular swap table. I can't recall what colors she'd prefer.