March 2009 Green Elephant Plant Swap

You are invited to the Green Elephant Plant Swap in Redmond, Washington

Saturday, March 7, 10 AM to Noon

Rain or shine gardeners from around Puget Sound gather to exchange and share plants, seeds, ideas and enthusiasm with others. No Sales. Just trades or freebies, please.

The Green Elephant is a thrice-a-year plant exchange; first Saturday in March, first Saturday in November. And a winter seed sowing event in January. 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 playground. It’s five minutes from I-405 and I-520.

[HYPERLINK@www.holycrossredmond.org]

Contact: Jim Eichner, Cell Phone 425-223-7249

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

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 Visit the grass labyrinth.

What if I have nothing to bring to the 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.

Thanks for starting a thread Kathy :0)

Any food will do.
Pix - please start the necessary proceedings for the anti-rain dance.
Are we going to be trading seedlings? I'll probably bring baby Tomatoes.
I remember last year - don't want to jinx this one...
Depending on the weather & its co-operation, this may be a great time to bring those plant divisions. Of course, the assumption being made is that there will be no further temperature dips, and that you all have plenty of time to get out there to dig/divide.
I am reminded of the dahlias that have been sleeping in the soil: hopefully not mush.
Also - is anyone propagating shrub cuttings?
Yes it is the BEGINNING of February; hope springs eternal!

Kate - we should really try to meet with Lynn and get her some shrub cuttings to put in the ezclone!!

Hey - If you put me in the ezclone, I could stay home to garden & my clone could go to work-work! And I would not have to minimize my screen every 10 minutes.
(sneaking onto DG - such a crime.)
Also - I just got back from lunch - spent it at Wells Medina. sigh - sunshine & warm...
They have lots of Helles - the most pricey was $28, most were $18 - 22.
I picked up a gorgeous Edgeworthia grown as a standard. Wish Gordon was here to share the joy...
I hear they grow readily from cuttings.

Yes, I'd love some of that . . .

Did you see the peach/orange Hellebore? What's it called? $18-22 for a recent cultivar that will bloom this year. Seems to be the going nursery rate - I would suspect that NWFGS will bump that up by 5 or 10%.

I was just out pulling weeds and grubbing around and found these little creatures in my dirt. They are in the new bed that we created at the work party. I just looked through my "beneficial insects" guide and they are not in there so I'm guessing that they are not "beneficial!" Do I squish them and put them in the trash or leave them? Thanks, Rachel

Lots of kinds of moths lay their eggs in the ground - this might be one of those. In that case, they would be okay. Maybe in the bug forum?

Katye, if you plan to bring tomato babies to swap; when do you start them? I would love to go and might be able to share veggies but wasn't planning on starting until Mid February. Maybe I should rethink?

I am going to try something new this year - repeatedly potting up to within 2 leaf sets from the top, until mid - April or so. I usually bury the plant as described once when I plant out. However, I read an article recently that recommended doing this while the plants are indoors - supposed to produce an extremely sturdy stalk & a robust plant. Also indicated that the germination to fruiting time remains the same. So for a short season area, this is supposed to be helpful. Sigh - another one of my experiments...

In the past, they tend to get on the leggy side - hence the burial method.
I hope this keeps the babies easier to manage. We shall see.
I don't have a gh, or any extra room inside. So I am counting on my lighted growing unit to accommodate all these wee ones. Counting on warmer weather has proven to be a total bust in the past - not going there again!

ooh, I'll be interested to hear how your experiment works out. Might rethink some of my plans and give it a try. Still trying to find a space where I don't have to share with cats inside.

Rachel, I always throw those close to the bird feeder or in the middle of the yard for the flickers. I think they are moths but there are plenty of them.

I'll have to see about the 7th. I don't know if I'll have anything to share yet. I'm not pulling out plants to divide up this year so alot depends on whether I have seedlings, and I am determined not to start my annuals too early this year. I accidently started one kind before I thought, now I have to baby them for longer than I should. I'm starting perennials, but who knows what I'll have? I'll have to decide closer to the event, but we need to begin looking for a virgin to sacrifice to the rain gods so that everyone will have a sunny day regardless of who is there.

Thanks for the ID Pix :0)

Well, don't quote me. I'm not positive.

Nice hellebore shot in the opening message.

That's from the Memorial Garden behind the church where the swap is held. It's small, but very nicely landscaped. This photo is from March last year. I think these are Ivory Prince. I stopped by the other day as I was driving by and was surprised to see that there was not a Hellebore in sight. There were signs of things starting to emerge from the ground, but no leaves at all.

And the flowering plum that was in bloom last year in January when we were winter sowing wasn't even close to blossoming yet. Clearly it's feeling a difference between this year and last.

Here are more photos from our visit last year: http://picasaweb.google.com/katiegirl2u/HolyCrossEpiscopalChurchMemorialGarden?feat=directlink



This message was edited Feb 12, 2009 2:38 PM

Very nice pictures.

Bumping this up. Who all thinks they might make it?

I will have layered branches of hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' - very reliable for me.

Pending anymore unexpected "family emergencies" dad and I will be there.

me too

bumping this one again to ensure viewing.

If you are not able to make it & are looking for something in particular, please post.
Some of us may have what you're looking for, or have access to it.

Consider seeds, too: requests are often met with success, and please don't feel sheepish about asking! If someone has extra, they're probably more than happy to help you out.

Is there anything planned for April? (Yes, I remember April 20, 2008: snow, hail & dead seedlings.) But April might be worthy of another swap attempt - March is a wee bit early some years. Hope this one's different...

Bump.

My daughter will be here this weekend so I'm not going to be there. But I can send stuff up for people if there is something particular people want that I have. I'm not seeing the trade lists on Gardenweb like I usually do. I just started annuals 2 days ago and they are already up! But they are certainly not ready for potting yet.

Is anyone heading out this way Saturday?

Dad and I are. I'm hoping it won't be to wet and sloppy!

Good grief - I think it's going to get eventful later in the day, so we should be safe.
LOL - that's what we thought last April...lessons learned!

Rachel,
Did you figure out what that bug is yet? It looks just like a cutworm to me. Any time I see something that looks like that, I toss it towards the stellar jay that sits waiting for his treats. He (I assume it's a he) always seems to be right there as soon as I start digging in the garden.
Your swap sounds like a great time! I wish it would be worth my while to go; but unfortunately, customs seems to frown very heavily on people trying to take live plants across the border! I don't get it really, it's not like different bugs live in BC as do in Washington.
In any event, I hope the sun shines beautifully for your day!

Greenmum - welcome to the forum. If you can't come to a swap, maybe you can come to the roundup in August? There should be some fun garden talk.

I won't get to go, again !!!!!

But I am looking for,

Spring bulbs of any kind
Fall bulbs (If any are to been had)
Daylilies

And anything cool that would work in my new space to be. gets hot afternoon sun in summer.

I hope my Vac. will start Mar 16th. Katye maybe we can hook up and meet somewhere, And I can bring your plants. Whats the 20th ????
Also have plans with Willow. Will know for sure in AM.

Greenmum thanks for the info on the critter. I have been feeding them to the birds when I do find them. I agree with you, I can't imagine the bugs on your side of the Peace Arch are any different from ours!

Tills, I will be dividing some of my daylilies over the next few weeks and I will put your name on them.

Thanks Rach, Would so love some. All the ones from Annie and Carla are coming up.
Maybe I can take a trip to your place on my Vac. got to do some visits or you could come up and we could see Heidi. And give my yard a visit. Just a thought.
Off to bed, should of been there by now.
Hugs

Sleep will Tills :0)

What's this roundup I've seen you mention a couple of times now? If I can swing it, I would certainly be interested in popping in.

The PNW Roundup will be at our house the weekend of Aug 29. Julie (RareJem) and her mom, Sharon, will be hosting a breakfast and garden tour at their homes one of the mornings. (They live 5 minutes away from me). I have room for those who want to sleep in the house, motorhome, camper trailer, or barn loft (not an animal barn, very comfy), as well as room for those who want to pitch a tent.
Julie, Sharon, and Rachel (Rachierabbit) and me will be planning the event. We welcome any ideas and help from anyone else!
Basically, there will be plant/seed trades/swaps, lists of gardens/nurseries to tour that are close by, potluck dinner, campfire, lots of food to eat, and most important, lots of good company. It will be a lot of fun. Spend a day, a night, or stay Thursday thru Tuesday.
We live in Buckley, WA, which is 1 mile from South Prairie. That tells you a lot, huh?
We are approx 1 hour southeast of Seattle, 1 hour northeast of Olympia.
Hope you can all make it.

I'm planing on coming, may need a bunk, don't have the canopy for the truck as yet and have no clue what happen to the tent. Borrowed and never returned ?
Anything we need to bring?????

Tills, I am glad you are going to come. I am going to start a new PNW Roundup thread where everyone can toss around ideas and make a claim for a bed, couch, whatever.