Photos & recipes from the VA (southern) swap

I missed tasting the dumpling sauce, but ate a couple of dumplings and they were super. I don't believe I tasted anything that day that my mouth didn't like. I am interested in trying this sauce on cucumbers, should be interesting. Thanks Donnerville.

Now I have a plant IDENTIFICATION questions for the group. I believe they were from Gita, but can't be positive. I came home with three tiny white cups with Bristol Company Streptocarpus on the tag. Would the donor please ID these plants for me and possibly add some care tips along with the name. Thanks in advance.

I will be back with more questions as I begin planting. Thanks all.

Ruby

Streptocarpus sounds like it might have come from Donnerville... she has been busy propagating african violets and other gessies! It's an AV cousin, a houseplant, and it likes about the same conditions as African violets -- bright indirect light, good draining potting mix, and let the soil dry out a little between waterings. I think there's a whole series of cultivars with "Bristol" in the name.

Jill's right.

Did not come from me,. Ruby!!!
Did it have a lovely, purple/blue bloom on it???? That was from Sally....

G.

Ruby, sorry about the confusion. I did such a terrible job labeling the plants. The plants you have in those little cups are the Brunneras you requested. The Streptocarpus "Ruby" is in a slightly larger cup. It had a couple of flower buds on it. It is a house plant and please make sure you do not leave it out in the sun.

Sally---

I got a Brunnera from you as well.....

haven't had time to do much with it yet......

Jill, I have just realized that the label on the vinegar bottle only says "fragrant vinegar" in Chinese, not in English. If you ask people for "fragrant vinegar" at a Chinese supermarket, people probably will know which one you are looking for. Anyway, I will take a photo of the bottle when light is better tomorrow. It is probably the most popular vinegar in Chinese cooking, It is not as acidic as other vinegar.

Gita, the brunnera can stay in the little pot for a while. Just keep it out of full sun.

Hope squirrels have left a few oxalis tubers for you.

I'll ask my friend... bet it's the one she recommended I use for most Chinese cooking, a fairly dark colored vinegar. Thanks!

Sally---
The pot is still safely on a rolled down plastic bag.
Are you saying squirrels like these???? I put some in my window box--and they had
dug in there.....Hmmmmmm...Need more moth balls to scatter on pots...
Box at HD---$3.47.....

I have still not had any dry days to do much planting ot gardening...
Today is dry--so far--but the usual T-showers are predicted later....

Gita

Thanks everyone. Thank you Donnerville for setting me straight on this. Oh, I had no questions about the lipstick plant and the streptocarpus because they were so beautiful that I remembered their names as soon as you gave them to me. I did not actually hand exchange the Brunnera and that is why I was confused. You must have given them to John at some point and I was out of the equation until now. Got ya.....and thank you.

Hope everyone will enjoy their day.

Ruby

YUM thanks for the sauce recipe and info donnerville!

I have Brunnera, I am pretty sure it was from donnerville last year, and it is doing GREAT! It bloomed this year and now getting nicely 'macrophylla' if you know what I mean (wink) Yes nice big heart shaped leaves in my shade bed, nice counterpoint to other things I have there.

Yes, Sally. They were from me last year. Glad they are doing well. I love this plant because it never has bugs/diseases and the foliage stays nice throughout the season. Over the years I have grown to appreciate shade gardens more and more. I guess that's a sign of maturity as a gardener.

This message was edited May 26, 2011 2:32 PM

LOL, it's also a sign that your trees have matured enough that you *have* shade.

LOL! I thought there was maturity involve somewhere :-).

Terri, your house is beautiful. I'm am so sorry that we didn't get there. Son was supposed to work but his Saturday client cancelled but he failed to call and tell us. Guess he was on standb-by. I talked to him in early evening and was surprized that he'd been home all day.

Sounds like you all had a wonderful time and Terri and Mike outdid themselves with their warm hospitality. I'm so sorry that I missed the event. I like the idea of having all the plant donations put on tables. I've only been to one plant swap and people parked in what used to be a horse pasture but it was into lawn and the host directed parking and you walked from vehicles to vehicle..What a great day for a get together and that view was spectacular but I can imagine the serenity that the properity provides Terri and her husband.

Still pretty busy around here but had to take a few min. to stop by and check out the photos! Looks like a wonderful time was had by all - so sorry to miss it :(

Terri, house and grounds are beautiful, one of these days I'll make it up your way :))

Love all the photos and wonderful to "see" everyone again. I think the two Chantell took of Holly and Sally are a few of my favorites - hugs are definitely in order, with or without tippy toes! LOL

Here is what the label on the Chinese vinegar bottle looks like.

oh, cool! That's exactly the vinegar my friend told me to get.. does "Chinkiang" mean "fragrant?" I did notice that my bottle is about empty.. time to pick up another one!

Chantelle---

I totally missed all your shots! Don't know how that can be--as this Thread
is on my "watched" list--and I check that 3x a day.....Hmmmmm

Maybe the computer did some kind of update--went off line or whatever....
Maybe I, inadvertently, clicked on this Thread and then went on to something else?

Anyway--your pictures are beautiful--and Chloe---what can I say?
She will be a men-magnet in about 15 years!
Love that smile and love her hair....You can be one proud Grand Mom..

No rain yet--but too hot to go outside and try to do something....
I will be dripping in 5 minutes....Gita

Wanna see how long I have been gardening???? Got you all beat!

This is me--just over 2 years old in Latvia--watering in our garden.
Picture taken June, 1939.......UGH!!!!!

Gita - I love this photo. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to try copying, enlarging and then framing it and hang in my plant room or somewhere else that I can see it and get the warm fuzzies. Such a darling picture. Would that be okay?

Oh yeah, I am in total agreement about how adorable Chloe is. What a beauty. Gosh, I remember her being a few week old infant at Hart's swap, if I am not mistaken.....Wow, lots of years have passed since I first met all you great folks at Hart's. I really miss Hart too so if anyone is in touch with her, please tell her I said howdy and that I think of her often. I guess I could try emailing or snail mailing her too if I put my mind to it. hahaha

I haven't been to any of the swaps that Critter has hosted thinking it was too far to drive in the past. Finding out on Saturday that she is close to Terri puts a new spin on things, and I now believe that a trip to Critter's at the next swap she hosts is in order. Looking forward to whenever that is. Speaking of Critter, for those of you who have commented on how well she looks, I am in total agreement with that too. You look like a new woman Jill and I too adore the short locks.

Oh yeah Jill, you have a beautiful little one too, almost forgot. Lots of pretty little ones in this group. Tomorrow is a party celebrating my grand daughter Emily's fourth birthday. That should be lots of fun and I will try snapping a photo of her and I to post here.

Here is hoping that everyone has fun plans for this long weekend. Take care and enjoy yourselves.

Ruby

Ruby--GO for it!!!! I don't mind at all!
It sure looks like one of those antique photos---does it not?
Maybe you can tweek it a bit in Photo Shop re the side-lighting.....

Did you see that lighter, rectangular "thing" on the right??
That is part of a baby carriage--and, I bet, my youngest sister, Valda, is in it....

We share birthdays....March 5th. SO! This was taken in June---so she must be
about 2 months old.....My Mom and Dad also shared B-Days---April 8th. ODD!!!

The sad part is that our father died at 36 of Lymph Cancer. Which would have been in 1939 as well.
widowing our Mom at 33. Three young children--a Grandmother, the occupation years
coming on--We all just fled our country and became refugees for the next 7 years....
I have NO memory of my Dad at all--as I was just 2 1/2yrs. old....So sad!!!

If you want a companion picture to the one of me--here it is.
This is still me-on the left--and my older sister, Liga, taken the same day. By the same bed.....

Do you just like old photos--or is it just because you know me?????
I have many. many, mny old photos!!!!!

Gita

Here is the link for the Mennonite Nursery trip, so I don't tie up this thread anymore. Thanks all.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1185070/

Great pics Gita...the memories they bring for each of us are special, aren't they?!

Thanks all for the sweet comments about my Chloe!! Yes Ruby she's was only a few months old at Hart's - that first swap...hard to believe isn't it. She's about the same age as your Emily!! If you want Hart's (Diane's) email - just dmail me and I'm happy to give it to you. I'm sure she'd love to hear from folks.

Yum...gonna make up a pint or so of that dumpling sauce...better chicken would be great marinated then brushed over while cooking....dang I'm hungry!! LOL

I'm going to actually be off ALL three days this weekend...spent this a.m. pruning my dwarf magnolia after seeing the damage done by those horrible winds last night to other trees. Tomorrow and Monday...will be planting these great plants from the swap from everyone. You ALL rock...thank you so very much!!

Jill - Lowes (sorry Gita) at least our's is carrying grafted fruit trees....picked me up a Limequat....what fun!!!!

Nisi--this could be a long story--but I will make it as short as possible...

We fled Latvia in 1944--as the last ship was leaving for other places....
Leaving the about-to-be-occupied-again Country once more was imminent...

Because my Mom's father (already long deseased) was a captain and the harbor
Headmaster of Ventspils, my city of birth, someone came and told my Mom that we
better get on this last ship which, was leaving in 2 hours, or we will never get out.
And, so we did...I cannot even imagine how my Mom and GM felt....
just locking the doors, and leaving their whole life behind....

This meant nothing to the Soviets, and after leaving one's home , they just
broke in and pilfered everything..So did some of my Mom's neighbors....
Lets be more positive--better the neighbors have something--than the Soviets....

My Mom was then 38, my Grand mom was 54. We kids were 9--7--and 5.
I was the middle one--7 yrs. old.

Anyway--we took the ship (it was bombed by the Soviets as we were leaving--
(I DO remember that!) and safely arrived in Bremenhaven, Germany.
From this day on--We all became "wards" of sorts....

It was not just us--It was tens of thousands of other refugees from other Countries,
that did the same thing...
Many of them spent days traveling by horse and buggy from inland just to get to
a Port City to leave.....We were lucky--as we lived a few blocks from the Ventspils Harbor....

.Leaving one's homelands--to keep, preserve, and carry on their
cultures, language, history, and raise their yet-to-be-born children in this environment
was a HUGE responsibility from then on. What IF these countries never existed again????
SO! We all grew up with this "burden" ingrained into our souls....It was our "Mantra"....

So, for the next 7 years--we were DP's (Displaced Persons). We had no say about where we lived--
or for how long. It was, to me, the scatterbrain of the family--kind of an "interesting" life...

There were WW II organizations that were responsible for taking care of many of the refugees....
One was UNRA (United nations Relief Association) and also the "Lutheran Relief" org.
The later took care of most of the immigration procedures....looked after us, etc...

Eventually--Germany just could not keep all these tens of thousands of DP's,
so, after 6 or 7 yrs. people had to start thinking of where they were going to go on to.

There were rules and regulations
.
You had to have a sponsor--someone who would be responsible for these families
for one year. Ours was my Aunt's Family--as they had emigrated a year earlier.
The Lutheran Relief also helped a lot. Clothing, food, understanding the NEW ways, etc...

We arrived at the NY Harbor on Labor Day weekend, 1951. I was then 14--hence I still
carry a slight accent when I speak.
Being it was a Holiday--the harbor was "closed" and our ship sat outside the harbor for
2 more days....much to our delight. Looking at the Statue of Liberty the whole time.....

When we finally docked--we were "processed" and then met by the Lutheran Relief workers.
They gave our Mom $10. She bough 5 bananas--one for each of us.

Then we boarded the train to Baltimore--and I have been here ever since.
We lived with my Aunt's family--which included my Aunt's Family of 8, another
single man, they had 'adopted" in the war, and the 5 of us.
ALL in this shabby, ready to fall down house--for one year....

BTW--I was placed in the 9th grade of a Jr. High on the 3rd day in this country.
NO speak-a de English at all........Took about 3 years till I was fluent in the English language.
YES! I speak 2 languages--fluently--and have passable knowledge of 2 others.
German and Estonian. My Ex. is Estonian--and we spent 25 yrs. deeply involved
in the Estonian culture here in Baltimore....Festivals...folk dancing...playing an instrument, etc...
I keep the remnants of the German language in my brain by listening to old German tapes.....
Love them to death.....that kind of music is so gone!!!! NOT to me!

I think, IF you want to know more about all this, there is always the Computer....
Just Google anything....Even just Latvia or Estonia or Lithuania....(The baltic Countries).
It will get you there....with all kinds of more detailed information....

SO! It was 50 years later that the Soviet powers fell. The Berlin Wall was torn down,
and the occupied Countries simply declared that they were FREE! SO--THERE!!!!

The 3 small Baltic Countries were instrumental in this movement.....Peaceful Dissent.
YES! it cost many lives--but the powerful Soviet regime was toppled....
This took place around 1989-1991.
Still--I am just an immigrant--like many others....I have great compassion for others
trying to better their lives likewise.....and will never look negatively on any of them....

I hope someone does not consider this a "political" topic.
I just wanted to capsule the events of my life--since someone asked...

I do not wish to carry on any Q&A on all this. This would be serious "off topic".
Information is out there....Just go get it!

Gita

DP School chums.....I am on the right.....

Gita:

Fascinating. Thank you. And love the picture, too.

Gita, thanks for sharing your interesting and beautiful story. I do genealogy research and have been helping my cousin trace her Father's roots. He left from Bremenhaven, Germany or was born there. Have sent that information all to cousin in Santa Fe..I have Ancestry.com online subscription and it showed copy of their passport records, ship they sailed on, etc.

Are you close to Essex or Middle River? That's where most of our Baltimore cousins live now. We'll be going over for a visit soon.

Pippi---

Essex and Middle River are pretty close to me. Say--15- minutes...just closer to the water.
There are a zillion, branching inlets of the upper Chesapeake Bay----like fingers and toes....
People fish and crab from their docks...Most have run-about boats.....can suffer from floods...

I live in Perry Hall, now refereed to as Nottingham as well. I refuse to use that address.
Been in Perry Hall for 42 years....The Nottingham label showed up when they built
this new, bigger PO here. There is NO actual Nottingham here.....
Perry Hall is VERY old..one of the original German settlements in and around the White Marsh area.
There are still so many Roads named after these original settlers....

Perry Hall---White Marsh--pretty much the same thing......a matter of roads and areas and zip codes....

Love it here...Everything one needs is all withing 5-10 minutes from anywhere....

Ask anyone if they know where the Perry Hall High School is.
I am 4 houses East of it on Ebenezer Rd.

Ebenezer Rd. seems to have gotten cut in half by development. There are two of them.
The one in Perry Hall is ONLY between Belair Rd. and Honeygo Blvd.
The other Ebenezer Rd. is East of Pulaski Hwy. and continues up through Gunpowder Park.

I am sure these were the same road at one time...before I95 was built---before all the
devel;opments here--and before White Marsh Mall was created, etc....

Lots of history around here.....

David Marks (now a County Councilman) was the president of the Perry Hall Improvement
Association for several years.
He wrote a book--"The History of Perry Hall".....Check your library....Worth reading!

Gita

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Boy was it hot. I have most of the plants from the swap planted now. Ruby, the astilbe that you and John gave me is in bloom now, and David the campanula 'Elizabeth' and the digitalis that you gave me are in bloom now too. I was amazed at how many things there were once I started sorting thru them - so many nice plants, ditto what Chantell said - you guys ROCK!

I'll try to finish up the remaining planting this evening after work. I still have a bag of mint to plant - Critter, is that from you? I also have the bearded iris that Sally gave me to get in a new area that I'm putting in around the stone retaining wall in the driveway parking area. With this heat, the biggest challenge is keeping everything watered. That dang sprinkler system is broken again - the pvc pipe from the pump in the pond broke when the water level rose real high after all that rain. Should be fairly easy to fix, but just one more thing on the list... The washing machine spin cycle stopped working over the weekend, so all the clothes are soaking wet at the end - getting a repair man scheduled is on the list too. Hmmmm, what is more important - plants or the laundry - not that hard of a decision LOL...

I was telling a co-worker about the swaps and talking about the different plants I brought home. You are so very right about the nice plants. Really came home with some beautiful plants, my digitalis is blooming also.

I will admit to being in awe of those you have already planted their plant swap plants. I have potted some of the houseplants but most of the ground plants will be started today according to the chief hole digger and planter. When he saw the list of my "wants" he began making a new bed. It is now ready for plants.

Heat in the mid 90's for the past few days has made doing anything much a real chore. The temps are supposed to drop some for the next little bit and I am really glad to hear that.

Gita, you ask why I like the picture so much and it is because of the planting/watering theme. I love little girls that age too and when I first saw it I smiled, so I am hoping that if I hang a copy where I see it from time to time that it will continue to give me reason to smile. Of course it helps that it is someone I know and someone who has really played a large part in both my outside gardening and house plant collection also. I think of you with fondness each time I water any of houseplants you have so graciously shared with me.

The same fondness goes for everyone else who has donated specimans for my gardens over the years. Most I remember who gave them and when working in the gardens am reminded of just how awesome you folks are. Thank each and every one of you.

Ruby

My thanks, also! My labeling system might be going out the window now, thanks to little miss "look at this tag I found!" But I've been keeping track of where plants came from, and a lot of my little tags have DG names at the bottom. Some have become pretty major garden features, too. The sweet woodruff that Happy gave me has become a lovely groundcover through most of my back yard "island bed" (perfect with the daffs & daylilies there!), and Sally's siberian irises were stunning this spring, 3 huge clusters of purple blooms! I could go on and on, but you all know what I mean, and as Ruby said, every time I water one of those plants or repot it or weed around it, I think of the friend who gifted me with it!

At one of our midwinter gatherings, somebody commented, "This isn't a seed swap, it's more of a seed sharing!" Our plant swaps are like that, too... we bring what we have to share, extra seedlings or divisions that need a home, and nobody worries about "even" trades. It makes for a great party and a lot of happy gardeners!

Hey, I still have a few hangers-on of unplanted things. Partly I had to get junk out of the way for these better things, partly the heat slowed it down. I knew I'd doom a few things if I moved them in this heat wave, But I was able to prioritize and the only things left are stable, in pots. Even if I had to up pot, One coleus is aimed at the front garden but the spot needs prep so I quickly potted it larger and have it in the shade.

Well I take care of what needs to be done and the rest can happily sit in the driveway in their pots for awhile. I remember more than one year never planting some of them till fall.

whoops, I had missed Terri's question about the mint.. nope, any mint in a bag isn't from me this year. I was pulling some chocolate peppermint at the last minute to bag up and bring, and then Ric&Holly pulled up, and I forgot all about it! Anybody who wants some can pull all they want this fall. :-)

Oh Terri, I think that is from me you asked for Lemon Balm. Big grocery bag full? I did also take a couple of choclate mints but I don't remember who got those.

LOL... plant that Lemon Balm somewhere where you don't mind having a BIG patch of it. It doesn't range as widely as mint, but it does send out runners to form a pretty good spreading clump! The smell is fabulous. :-)

That is why it came in the grocery bag the clump I dug up was that big and there was no getting it in to a smaller pot. LOL

Looks like you had a good time!

We had a Round Up in southern VA too over memorial day at Fairy Stone State Park. Not sure where you had yours, but I am sorry I missed it.

Live in Greensboro now but grew up in central PA.

A friend from DG and I are going to attend the roundup in Kentucky in September. She just roped me in last night - hard to say "no" to meeting and spending time with other gardeners. :)

Have a great day!

~Amanda

Welcome Amanda - I have been invited to a couple of the Fairy Stone Park round ups, but haven't been able to attend yet. I might be off the invite list by now though because I didn't hear of this one. I do know I love the ones I have attended and my garden is full of wonderful things I have received from other members. I love the swaps.

Ruby