Well my mid-week nose is back to the grindstone but I have some nice rosy cheeks as a souvenir of my weekend in the sun. Along with most Canadians, I spent most of the May 24th long weekend planning, cleaning, planting, transplanting the gardens. And this years hot and sunny weather made this year’s Victoria Day long weekend a glorious weekend in which to kickstart the gardening season! I got most of my starter veggies in the ground and finished transplanting my goods from a plant swap.
Even though I have some great gardening bones in my yard, my beds are in need of cleaning and filling. My take from the plant swap I attended included orange poppies, alyssum, coriopsus, bee balm, coralbells, hydrangea, lemon balm, and mint, as well as a number of other plants I forget the names of. A plant swap is a great way to encourage variety without spending any money. It is also a nice way to experiment with plants that you might not have chosen at a nursery.
DIY Plant Swap
1. Make a list of gardening buddies. At our swap we had a great mix of first-timer gardener wanna-bes, gardening enthusiasts, and experienced gardeners.
2. Pick a date, time and place to swap. We picked a swappers house which was very handy because we were able to use her compost, recycle & garbage bins as well as her hose for cleanup. It is also great to have a house for bathroom breaks.
3. Send out an invitation to your gardening buddies. Have everyone bring anything from their garden that they are looking to thin out or no longer have interest in. Each type of plant could be placed in one big bucket or in individual cups for dispersal. Encourage labelling! It is helpful to know the name of the plant and any important information (needs sun; spreads; likes rocky areas).
4. The day of the swap it would be helpful to have: some extra soil and extra plastic pots to pot up cuttings which can in one big bucket, extra labelling supplies, and as mentioned in point #2 – various bins and a water supply. I think a gardening book with great pictures or a WiFi linked laptop can also be helpful. At our swap many of the plants were still small and green and so we had to visually describe what we could remember about its flower, foliage, height or other physical traits. I also believe any get together is complimented by the inclusion of treats. (Our host made lemonade and rice crispie treats. What is more summery than that!!)
5. The swapping can begin by everyone introducing what they brought. And then allow the picking and choosing to begin.
