'Tis the season for the plant swaps to begin across the country! I look forward to them every year. But if you are participating in a swap this year, please remember: swap means "trade", not "show up with nothing and take free plants"!
Getting my babies ready
This is how it works: We dig up our plants, scrounge up containers, pot the plants up in soil (which we may have purchased just for this), grow them on and nurture them for a few weeks, then make up name and care tags for each one (possibly doing some research if we forget the cultivar name!) and transport them to the swap site. Although it's a lot of work, we feel it's worth it to meet like-minded plant lovers and possibly find a treasure or two to take back home with us.
Another plant swap suggestion - try to leave the critters at home! (no, sweetie, you have to stay here...)
But unfortunately, some swap coordinators let people just show up and take plants! I'm not against giving away plants - I have probably given away a few hundred in my life - it is just the principle and a pet peeve of mine, which is, if you come to a SWAP , bring something to SWAP. But, if there are leftover plants at the end of the swap, THEN those can be the giveaways. There! Thanks for letting me vent - see you at the swap!
