Green Elephant Plant Swap November 2008

The Plant Swap is Saturday November 1, 2008 from10 am to Noon. Rain or shine gardeners from around Puget Sound gather to exchange and share plants, seeds, ideas and enthusiasm with others. There are no sales, just trades or freebies, please.

The Green Elephant is a twice-a-year plant exchange on the first Saturday in March and on the first Saturday in November. It is hosted in North Redmond, Washington, at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross. The site offers parking, covered areas, indoor facilities, kitchen, lots of lawn, and a playground. It’s five minutes from I-405 and I-520.

The street address is:
11526 - 162nd Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052

If you have any questions, contact Jim Eichner at 425-223-7249.

Tailgating Encouraged: The format for the trade is like a tailgate party. You just pull into the parking lot and open up your trunk to display your treasures. Traders exchange expert gardening information as well as plant materials. In two hours all the deals are sealed.

Free Stuff: Many gardeners generously share plants from the abundance of their gardens--An excellent way to begin your garden. There is always a pile of plants free for the taking at the swap.

In Pots or Bare Root: The Green Elephant is convenient for trading bare root plants. Simply dig and divide perennials bare root to trade. They are dormant and can be transplanted with no shock.

Take a walk in our beautiful memorial garden and see the dried flower arrangement in the church.

Even if you have nothing to trade, the swap is a great place to start your garden. Many traders love to help new gardeners get started. Come and ask questions, get advice, schmooze a little and you’ll walk away with some goodies. Bring some homemade cookies; gardeners are a pushover for food.

https://auth.gardenweb.com/members/greenelephant

Jim (Firevicar on gardenweb)'s plant list is here. He has a huge list of things available for trade (according to Jim, "truckloads of plants":

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/expacnw/msg091717438337.html?1

Thanks for starting a thread about the GE Kathy. Looking forward to it!

Thanks too for posting Katie, as I have been wondering. The Spring GE was so fine that I am ready for the fall GE.

We need to get Firevicar a subscription so we hear more from him. He says he has tons of perennials to share . . .

By the way, I stop at the Holy Cross church (where the GE was held) every now and then on my way home to check out the memorial garden. It is beautiful in every season.

If anybody coming over to Gordon's on Saturday is traveling on Avondale Road through Redmond, it's only a couple of miles from there, and I would recommend spending15 minutes to check it out. It's behind the church above the parking lot.

Kathy

I am also bringing pots - some 1-gallon; lots of all of the smaller sizes. Let me know if there's anything you want.

I also have buckets (with lids and handles). My kitty litter comes in them. They are "standard" bucket size - hold 33 lbs of kitty litter. They are great for - emergency kits, fence repair kits, gardening tools kits, storage containers. I have at least 10 to give away . . .

I wonder what the weather will be like on November 1?
I would not have expected September 27th to be like a summer day! Novemebr seems so far away - let's see: about 6 weeks or so to get the bulk of the garden clean-up work done. Plus planting/weeding/harvesting/dividing & let's not forget moving things to new spots...oy....

Hi Kathy, I could use some of those buckets with lids. I'm going to try to make it to this get-together, though I don't yet know what the family schedule looks like that weekend. I',m not sure what I have that you would like.....Mexican feather grass? Strawberry starts? Kennilworth ivy? Lingonberry?

No need to give me anything - I hate to buy plastics, but need to. So I'm happy to find a use for them to keep them out of the land fill.

I will save you 5 - is that a good number? It'd be great if you came to the swap - when did we see eachother last - at Melissa's in the spring?

Kathy, 5 buckets sounds great. I'm going to try doing weed bokashi ( microbe pickled weed compost) in them. Yep, I haven't seen you since the Pixy work party, though I sorta feel like I "see" people on here with all the gardener chat.

FINALLY! Something I can attend. Don't have much to share (tragically sparse to be sure!) but at least I can be there! Can't wait to see everyone again! I have some native snowberry and 1-gallon empty pots up the wazoo. I suppose I can find some other native stuff to bring as well ~

I did read that one doesn't have to have a true bog to grow skunk cabbage, lysichton. So, Sherri, if you're up for it (maybe next spring?) I'd love some more. The one you gave me has been limping along - I want to put it up at the top of my property where it's always wet, but I'm trying to get the elderbery and salmonberry out of the way, which is taking awhile . . .

Holly: these would be great little bokashi containers . . .

Sheri - glad to know you'll be at the g.e. I'll have some things for you & wondered if you might cotton to a 5' variegated Miscanthus? I am going to divide this one, so I'll have some sizable chunks for anyone that has the space for it. As long as the weather holds for a couple more weeks, I 'll have time to divide several things & bring it all to share.

I have numerous things to bring. There should be no lacking in the plant area. Kayte, I would like some ver. Miscanthus. How big did your's get we bought at WM? Mine are about 3' tall and 2' wide. Going to dig one up and overwinter it inside and leave the other out to fair the weather. See just how hardy they are, or not!

I am going to have to miss out on this. Bummer. I just started class at Edmonds CC and I have a 9-12 class every Saturday, which only meets once a week. :-(

A serious bummer for me, as I was thinking for some silly reason it was on Sunday. But I bet a church parking lot is busy on Sunday, eh?

Sigh. How come I keep having stupid conflicts. I love a million hobbies, how come they don't love me?

Sorry you won't make it, Rob. But class is good . . .

Well, I would love to give away any of the plants that I have from NWG's little swap and trailer wrestling party, and a few more from my succulent collection, as I have rooted cuttings that need some good homes.

So if I could off load them to somebody to give away for me, I will be quite happy.

Rob

I'm your man buddy! I could swing over and retrive them and throw them on ther pile I'm bringing.

Kathy ~ Happy to provide you with more lysichton. Weather is supposed to be nice this weekend. . .maybe I can get some for you now instead of next spring! Still have some of that native heuchera-type stuff for you as well.

Kate ~ Yes. I'd love some. Not necessarily for my house because I don't know where I'd put it yet, but I'm doing a slope at my mom's for her and she says to me "how 'bout some of that pampas grass?" So I figure the Miscanthus would be great.

Gordon ~ What's a "man buddy?" (or do we want to know?)

Sheri, So nice to hear from you, hows it going?, hows Chile doing?
Got a start off my Fuschia that has finally rooted just for you. Let me know when you come my way, and please bring my book back.

I think Gordon dropped a little punctuation and meant to say "I am your man, buddy!" Meaning that 'He's the guy to help me out.'

Not anything else. But lets end this on that note. And leave the rest behind us in the compost.

:-)

Man Have I been busy! Went to distantkins for her bday in Minnesota, was there a few days. Been working on the gh, about ready to move plants in, and finally got my toilet!!!

What happens when you flush?
Are those the Sarrecenias you bought at Wells? Very nice...

Why yes they are! And a few others I collected thru the year to put in it. Just glad its done! Can finally wrap up that project!

Green Elephant next weekend. It'd be great to head into Redmond for lunch afterward if anyone's interested.

I have a couple Kangaroo Paws that I picked up on a whim, but they won't last through the winter. They are in gallon-ish sized pots. Does anybody with a greenhouse want them?

This message was edited Oct 28, 2008 11:09 PM

I got a great package today from our friend Bea in Oregon and I'll bring some of it to the swap -

She sent me some Buddleia Black Night cuttings and cuttings from her Hardy Hibiscus (white with a red center).

And she sent a ton of seeds

Vegetables - lettuce, squash, beans, spinach, zucchini, carrots, radishes, corn, and cucumber, cat grass, and some gourd seed.

Flowers - forget me not, lupine, various sunflowers, baby's breath, mixed lavender zinnia, hibiscus, mixed cleome, tweedia caerulea, pink and white cosmos.

Let me know what sounds good to you!!

So far I know that I'm bringing some of the pink persicaria, bears breeches, hellebore, comfrey, and lots of noid hydrangea cuttings.

Here's a better link for info:

http://www.holycrossredmond.org/greenelephant.htm

Kathy if you want, come throw them in here. Then get them in spring, it'll cost you one! LOL But its better than trading them. I keep looking at them!

Good job Gordon, now can you do that that to my house, would love more light. LOL

Now look at that!! Gordon, I'm in awe - what a happy looking jungle you have there.

Sounds good - I'll bring them over. And you're welcome to one or both (or maybe we'll have to divide them) - I'm just happy they won't freeze to death.

Just bring them to the swap on Sat and we will switch them over. I want you to keep one! Cool plants, you will appreciate next year when it is big.

Gordon the greenhouse looks great!

Kathy I would love some of the veggie seeds (doesn't matter which ones) and a piece of your bears breeches. I will be bringing foxglove, white anemone and more (I have to go and look around the yard.

Gordon - thanks. I have two - one red and one yellow (they've just stopped blooming). And they look like they'll be dividable.

Rach - got you down for an Acanthus.

Does anybody have Derwentia Perfoliata seeds or cuttings?

Kathy Is this the same as Derwentia parahebe? I believe I have one in a gallon pot I can bring you. I think I can gather seeds too if need be.
Linda

Linda, I don't know. Probably. ^_^ I first saw Digger's Speedwell in a bed at Classic Nursery here. They didn't know what it was, but then I saw it at (where else?) Dragonfly last summer.

Does the derwentia parahebe some from Australia and look sort of like this? How does yours do over winter?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1251/629681082_d03e5c0369.jpg?v=0

I'd love anything you have - plant, cuttings, seeds.

Sheri - I will bring the Phygelius for you.
No Miscanthus - There was no time to dig it up and it's a bear to dig & divide. I guess this can be put on the list for late winter/early spring.
Are we betting on rain tomorrow?

That's it Kathy. I have a pot just sitting here, looks like its yours.
Linda