How wonderful that you are spreading out your time to share with us Qwilter!!!
Jill, I have invited 2 neighbors and am waiting on them to confirm if you don't mind. They are not DG members, but are avid gardeners?
"THINK SPRING!" Seed Swap Feb 11 in Frederick MD
Guests are welcome! (and "avid gardeners" will feel right at home!)
Speaking of guests... My parents are coming down for a visit next week so they can come to the "seed party" and meet some of the fun folks I keep talking about. Some of you met Jim's parents at a fall plant swap at our place, but mine haven't been to a MAG event yet, so I'm psyched (does anybody still say "psyched?" LOL, as Douglas Adams would say, I'm so un-hip it's a wonder my buns don't fall off).
Also, I talked to my friend Theresa earlier today, and she'll be there. Her parents Al & Irene and brother Tom are "definite maybes" at this point. People who have been to previous plant/seed swaps in Frederick have met them. I can't seem to get them gardening online, but they're some of the best and most enthusiastic gardeners I know!
Great, I am "psyched" and yes I still say that! This is going to be a big family reunion. Can't wait to meet your family, I feel like I have know them for years Jill! And looking forward to seeing those familiar faces and new ones as well!
Jill--
Please add my daughter, Aina, to your list. I am sure you will need a count before all this gets going.
She will be there--just as my guest.. A birthday treat to pig out on Chinese food--- which she loves. .
She has become a "budding gardener" in the last couple of years.
Her tomatoes in June last year.! Monsters! And she grew them from seed!
I don't know how I missed adding her when I was editing the list last night, Gita! I'm also psyched about meeting her. :-)
Count me in too - always love seeing everyone!
ya yay yay
Yippie - Aspenhill will be there. Great!!! Look forward to seeing you Terri.
Ruby
So glad you'll be there! Is Cheryl going to be around then, or is she still keeping clear of any potential snow?
Pat
Can't wait to see everyone. It is always too long between visits. Pat, Cheryl is down in Florida and won't be back in VA until Easter - she and her husband are part of the FL snowbird bunch. Her B-day is this week, so I'll be giving her a call - I'll tell her you said hello.
Yes, and tell Cheryl to put May 19 on her calendar, because she is going to Holly & Ric's with us! By golly.
Gita, I admit my second thought when I clicked on that photo (first thought was how pretty your daughter was, with that proud smile)... anyway, my second thought was "those tomatoes aren't such monsters." And then I looked again and realized you'd said they were that big in June. Yikes! :-)
Jill---They rent the first floor of a single home in Dundalk.
No one has gardened there in years. The front bed was infested with Mint--which Aina hand-dug out.
The soil there is quite a lot of clay with rocks in it. Really fine--almost like silt....
However---everything she planted, front or back yard--grew like it was on steroids! What gives????
Put my garden to shame!!!
I gave her some Datura seedlings--and they just about filled the front bed.
I gave her seed for some Hollyhocks--and it took her, and her sister, major effort to DIG the root ball out of the bed.
Like a foot-deep hole to get it all!
I gave her a pot with 3 Montauk daisies in it--and they grew to fill an area about 4'x4'.
The Tomatoes--in the picture--were so huge they collapsed all over themselves....unbelievable!!!
Quite an encouragement for a new gardener--don't you think?
And--a testimonial that never-gardened, un-ammended clay soil is FULL of nutrients by itself.
I remember that from my first couple of years of gardening at my house--in very clay--ee soil.
Everything grew so great!!
She even planter Asparagus starts last year. we will see.....We will see......
Need to get her a bag of Manure to dump over them. Sally talked about that with her Horse manure....
I need to find a place around here for some manure...
Gita
Hi Coleup! Thanks for asking--no, I haven't heard from anyone in my area who is going yet. So at this moment, I am not sure I will make it. I guess I live in the wrong State. I still want to come, though. So, if anyone from Northern VA is going, and has room in their car, please D-Mail me. I'll chip in for gas for the ride. I'll keep watching this thread to see what happens. I realize there is only one week left.......
Foxy, can you get to the Metro? Maybe somebody could pick you up from a different Metro stop? Geez, I wish the red line went all the way to Frederick! The train and bus runs seem to mostly be good during the week rather than on weekends.
I know the seed swap is as much about seeing the people as about the seeds, but for anybody who can't make it -- remember, somebody can be your "Seed Fairy." Seeds you want from people can go into your "goodie bag" with your name on it, and seeds you want to give people can be mailed to your Seed Fairy this week (with return postage).
Foxy, I'll be happy to send you a bubble envelope with anything I might have that you're looking for, and I think Ruby said the same... we'll be your "Seed Fairies," so please go ahead and post on the seed swapping discussion with trades or requests!
OK, so I was jotting down a list of things I wanted to remember to bring to the swap and looking at things I might have for the gift table..
WHO took just one cow mug from the gift table last fall? LOL They were meant to go as a pair... let me know, and I'll put your name on the matching mug!
Great news. As of today we here at Dave's Garden can now add up to 5
Yes, 5, five, FIVE photos to a single post!
Makes me want to get my camera phone fixed!
Thumbnail by coleup Thumbnail by coleup Thumbnail by coleup Thumbnail by coleup Thumbnail by coleup
SO????? What are the steps???
or--do you just keep adding them as before?
G.
Well, the good news is that my schedule has changed and I can stay the whole time.
But I've injured myself and may not be well enough to drive by Saturday :'-(
I should know for sure by Thursday, but it's not looking good...
ssg! This is not good! What happened?? (if you care to explain but if not thats OK)
Where's that magic wand that gets everybody to Swap who wants to be there.?
We will equip with a padded envelope to collect seed requests and mail to those who don't make it- as Jill has said. I should have extras here.
Oh, it was just me being clumsy :P
I'm REALLY hoping I'll be able to drive by Saturday. Thank you for the offer to send the seeds!
I've got plenty of bubble envelopes! I'll bring a few along in case they're needed.
SSG, do you live close enough to I-70 for the Sally/Gita caravan to swing by for you maybe?
(Gita, if you look at the bottom of "post a reply" box you'll see it now says "you may upload up to 5 images" and the "Browse" box says "First Image" above it... I haven't done it yet, but I imagine you upload one image and then you get a box that says "Second Image" and you upload another, etc.)
Jill, I'm actually closer to 495 and pretty far from 70.
Realistically, I'm thinking there's only 50% chance of me driving by Saturday.
If anyone's taking 270 up to Frederick, I could have my DH drop me off at a convenient spot off 270. He's working in the afternoon and can't take me all the way to Frederick.
Btw Jill, do you have any seeds saved from your purple perilla? I remember how pretty they looked in your garden!
Hmm, I might still have some perilla seed... I can check, but have to say that if you let them go to seed, even 1 plant just once! they then turn into a weed. They're all through that side garden, and sometimes I even find them in front!
If anybody's coming up 270, they might be able to meet up with Foxy, too. I just don't know if anybody is coming from around the DC area... start sending out Dmails to anybody nearby! ("please come to the seed swap, because I need a ride!" LOL)/
My folks arrived today, and Mom found some really cool things for our gift table, including a pottery mug my grandmother (an artist who mostly did watercolors) made and a dish she picked up at the Smithsonian 50 years ago...
If anybody has a little starter plant in a 4 inch pot, I have a couple of cache pots for the gift table that could use an inhabitant to go with them. One is white & footed and just really needs something trailing, maybe even variegated...
Well, my DH has changed his Saturday schedule and he can drive me to Frederick! But I still need a ride back...
Is anyone taking 270 or 495 back? If you drop me off at a starbucks near the highway exit, he could pick me up later.
Jill--
I could bring a small pot of the Curly Spider plant for the white pot. It "trails".....and it is variegated.
It is growing in a 4" pot--the kind AV's come in. I have several.....
I also have a small Swedish Ivy in a 4 1/2" pot--which is a bit taller than the AV kind of a pot---
but I could re-pot it for you in a reg. 4" pot.
Of course--I have plenty of Holiday cactus in small pots. One has a beautiful, pink bloom on it.
I hand-made something--beyond cute--for the gift table. It will get snatched up whoever goes first....
Will bring another gift--so Aina can also be part of this.
Let me know......Gita
Gita, that curly spider would be perfect for the white pot! I've also got a 4 inch self-watering AV type pot, and I've used those successfully for CC's.
Can't wait to see what you made!
I too have had some fun getting things for the gift table. I was in Michael's yesterday and saw all kinds of cool ideas. This whole swap thing is such fun before, during and after. Sure makes for lots of conversation if nothing else. Can't wait to see everyone.
Ruby
ssgardener check your Dmail.
Marlene4 has offered you a ride to the swap. She is in Silver Spring, too.
Please get in contact with her asap if you want to take her up on a ride!
Judy
Thank you so much for arranging this for me, Judy!
Hooray!
Thanks, Marlene! Looking forward to seeing you Saturday!!
Now if we could get Foxnfirefly there!
Jill, I wish the Red Line went all the way to Frederick, too. I know that a Marc train did, probably still does. I may look into that another time, though. I was just pushing my luck for a local to come out of the woodwork to join me. I know I need to host a swap and I will plan for one later this year or early next. The Red Line is undergoing track work and has horrible delays on weekends so I prefer to have a ride from here on up. Saves a headache. I'll take you up on the bubble deal. I know you have some "goodies" posted on the next thread. I'll check out ASAP. Have a good evening and a great time on Saturday!! I hope to see you guys later on. For now, I'll be a "Seed Fairy" by mail. :-)
Well, I just sent out a better-late-than-never "blast" invite to a bunch of additional subscribers, including some folks in Falls Church, so you never know! I didn't realize the Red Line was being worked on... urk.
Coleup, thanks for the "blast" you sent out earlier... it's a great way to keep folks in the loop. I get so used to just clicking on threads I'm already "watching" that it's easy to miss new threads/events in the forum.
I'm getting pretty darn excited about seeing everybody on Saturday!
Oh... and I finally realized I hadn't copy/pasted the directions onto this thread yet... directions to Chef Lin are now in the second post on this thread! I also need to check back with Dutch Plant Farm to see if we'll be getting a discount this year. When I stopped by a couple weeks ago, I saw they have a new project underway in the central indoor area -- a big pond! I'm looking forward to seeing it this weekend. :-)
Just checked the MARC train schedule and they apparently do not run on the weekends. Also, trains outbound from DC run in the afternoon/early evening. Too bad, as we pass through Point Of Rocks on our way to Frederick, and could do a pick-up from there.
Unfortunately my 2 garden friends have other plans and will not be able to attend, but Steve and I will be there (weather cooperating) as they are just calling for a few snow showers on Sat. morn.
I can't wait to see everyone.
Bob & I will be there. Thanks, Buttoneer (Judy & Bob)
Yippee, glad Bob is feeling up to it!
Candee, sorry your friends won't be joining us, but we'll look forward to seeing you & Steve. The weather had better cooperate, or Punxy Phil is gonna havta answer to ME!
Jill--I am sure you have heard that the weather will by yukkie....
Snow/sleet/rain. Highs in the low 30's for the day....Sonds absolutely frigid...
The people bringing live plants in their cars--better think again...
I will bring my 2 promised plants potted.in bags and INSIDE.
Be careful driving--you all! It may be slick......