CLOSED: 2nd Annual FALL Houseplants/Tropicals Swap, Reveal #2

Our Guidelines below are the same as they have been in the past...

We're sharing a minimum of 3 healthy houseplants and/or tropicals whose value is $20 excluding Priority Mail with a Delivery Confirmation number. Feel free to divide plants you already have or start propagating new ones from cuttings. If your budget permits, you're also welcome to include other gardening items such as gloves, water globes, plant markers, Fall bulbs for Spring or Summer blooms, etc.

We are striving to have all packages Priority Mailed by September 30th to beat frost for those who live in colder climates.

Please DO NOT post Delivery Confirmation Numbers directly on our threads...doing so is an invasion of privacy. Instead, keep your receipt handy, or D-mail me the number you used so I can let your Secret Buddy know their box of plants is on the way.

We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1219646/

And our Wish Lists are here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1197083/

Reserved for Participants...


candles4u / Crystal -- > Rec'd from goldhillal
careyana / Carey
catzgalore / Stephanie
chellflower / Chell -- > Rec'd from rvnsbrk
dispatcher1 / Lou
FruitOfTheVine / Susan
GAgirl1066 / Paula -- > Rec'd from roxxanne
GardenQuilts / Lori Lynn
goldhillal / Crystal
happgarden / Joyce
ilovejesusus99 / Sandy
joeswife / Debra -- > Rec'd from FruitOfTheVine
jsxtiger / Jax -- > Rec'd from dispatcher1
rouxcrew / Joy -- > Rec'd from joeswife
roxxanne / Rox
rvnsbrk / Neener -- > Rec'd from candles4u
tikipod / Angie
Tina_A / Tina


Staying to chat but aren't exchanging plants this round:
AmandaEsq / Amanda
Carolyn22 / Carolyn
Cville_Gardener / Carole
janaestone/ Di
Mud_Elf / Kris
plantsforpeg / Peggy


This message was edited Oct 2, 2011 5:43 PM

I'm here! With cobbler!

What kind? Peach is my fav followed by Apple. Got ice cream to share too.

I have blackberry made with fresh blackberries.

We have a few wild blackberry vines tangled in an evergreen tree and left the fruits for the birds back in July when they were at their peak. But have fond memories as a kid going pickin' with a neighborhood group and having a fresh home made pie or two and my Mom's jam in the Winter. It was yummy with pound cake!

I leave the wild blackberry for the deer and critters. Not sure how much fruit they got this year. :(

I've been throwing stale starches and rotting veggies into the front for the critters. I could get fined for it, but I don't think anyone cares since we're on the cul-de-sac. I know the deer definitely appreciate it. We barely got sprinkles from the last round of 'rain' in Austin. Also have a 5 gallon bucket of water that I fill every few days. I know it's empty when the tree rats get after the hummer feeder.

Buddy your box is scheduled for delivery on Thursday!!!!

I haven't seen anything on our news lately about the TX wildfires. Hoping that means they're finally under control?

Right now everyone from the fire areas around me are allowed to be at home although there were a couple fires yesterday. Don't have the final figures but I do know we didn't lose any lives with ours. The Bastrop fires I haven't heard about the last couple days, apparently with the rain yesterday out there and the major efforts, it is going well.

Joy

Oh A.........I just hear the word Golden Rod and I start to sneeze. Ahhhh-choo!!!!! But pretty!

tiki, you are after my own heart. My favorites are Blackberry and Peach as does Fruity. Followed by Cherry. Can you e-mail me some?????

Watch out in those wild blackberry patches. The black snakes like them too. Not the berries, but what comes up to eat them.

Do y'all remember Dump Cakes? Just made one this weekend for my son and his girlfriend. One of those,"Hi Mom, meet Audrea. What's for dinner?" kind of things. Went looking for something special and remembered how easy and good it was. Mine was Peach and Pineapple.

Joy

I've never made blackberry cobbler before but my Dad took the boy down to pick some. They came back with a good size amount. After they each had two bowls with sugar I opted to make something rather than have the remaining sit in there until I toss them.

We have a load of bushes here that provides enough for everyone. We mostly stick to the blackberry bushes where the landscapers and any pest control won't bother with. Thank goodness for lazy men who don't want to walk down a hill!

LOL tiki. Boy, are you ever lucky! I love to pick blackberries. I too have to have a bowl with sugar and cream before I do anything else. I love blackberry jam, blackberry syrup, blackberry cobbler. Mmmmmmmmmmm When I didn't have any wild ones, I would buy Marion Blackberries from the Schwann's man. They were HUGE! 1/2 again as big as a cherry tomato. Oh man, I'm getting hungry. May have to go to the store and get some frozen ones!

I remember dump cakes joy. Pineapple and Peach. Wouldn't of thought of that combination but it sounds GOOD!

I have made a dumpcake with cherry and pineapple. Normally not a cherry fan.

Is a dump cake sorta like an upside down Pineapple Cherry cake, Joy?

The adults were constantly reminding us to be careful where we stepped and watch out for snakes when we went blackberry pickin. Way back then I was fearless, not so much anymore...lol

We had a cross post, Ang. Just what I was wondering.

Dump cake is one of those few ingredient/quick make things. Box of cake mix, can of fruit pie filling, can of crushed pineapple, stick of butter, 1/2 cup nuts. Dump the fruits into a 9 X 13" pan and spread out. Dump cake mix on top. Sprinkle chopped nuts over top. Cut butter into pats and put on top. 350 degrees for an hour.

There are quite a few variations that I see online now, a pumpkin one, chocolate one, apple one. The pumpkin one I saved, it sounded really good.

Joy

The recipe I found was labeled as a dump cake and was a big hit at a Mom's group I was going to. I think I've done a blueberry dump cake too but I can't remember.

Joy, I've never heard of pumpkin. That would certainly be worth the try.

I've never been warned about snakes but my Dad did tell me about one of his blackberry picking experiences. Years ago he was picking berries when suddenly he realizes there is a bear eating blackberries on the otherside of the bush.

Rot-roh raggy.......BEAAAAAAR! That would stop you in your tracks!

Although we have a bear who lives near by you're more likely to run into deer, raccoons or the fluffy long hair kitty.

Patti - I am fairly certain that goldenrod is not to blame for your allergies. It's ragweed which blooms at the same time. You can finally have goldenrod in your garden!!! :D


http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/goldenrod-460909
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/goldenrod-000251.htm

Just so you know, I feel it's my responsibility to make sure you learn something new everyday.

Loveya!!!

A.

This message was edited Sep 20, 2011 10:03 PM

we have both here, ( golden rod and ragweed) it is so pretty along the highways , none growing in yards around here, but in Buffalo it sure is pretty.

MMMM I am hungry now! Going to have to try some dump cake this weekend at sisters place.

Oh Amanda I just caught the picture of your Goldenrod and it's very beautiful! How big does it get? We need something like that planted around here for the birds. It would be nice to have something yellow that isn't evil scotchbroom.

Too funny Amanada. I was going to educate the folks the same way about the goldenrod. I was under the same impression until I found out otherwise. Now I have some growing here as well. From a distance ragweed and goldenrod look the same so for years that's what people thought was causing their allergies. Goldenrod is a great flower for cut arrangements.

Dump cake sounds yummy Joy. I gotta cut back on the cheating here though. Been eating out too much for one reason or another and it is all around my waist right now. I will never get rid of it unless I go back to being an exercise junkie. That's getting harder and harder to think about.

Hey Debra!!!! Guess what was waiting at my gate for me after lunch today??? A box of Honda parts! Everything made the trip in excellent shape except for the salvia which is a little battered and bruised but should be fine. There are a couple that I have no clue what they are but I will work on figuring it out.

Debra sent me a box packed full of plants from her garden! Woo Hoo! And they were still damp when they got here. She is a great packer. She tied her labels on so that I wouldn't lose them (smart), and wrapped them so well that only a few lost leaves were seen. I got a lovely note saying she used my don't want list as a basis. Read: I didn't give her too many clues on what I did want. Which is perfect because it was all a fabulous SURPRISE!!!!! She gave me several perennials, two, count 'em two EE's, a cute "nosegay" of annuals, some vines, some things I have never heard of, and even a couple things with easy names for my blondeness like "Spot Plant". I have everything sitting on my island in the kitchen while I go to WalMart for some good dirt. I will get a couple pics and get them posted later tonight.

Wow Debra, you did good girl!!!!!

Joy

Thanks Amanda! I never knew they were different and always turn my nose up whenever goldenrod shows up at any of the nurseries around here. (like that matters with live oak, pine and cedar pollen being so bad in Texas)

It's been a rough day around here. If ya'll can spare some happy thoughts to send our way, we'd greatly appreciate it.

awww Carey, what is going on besides the weather? You can talk, we will listen.

Joy, glad you got the box, there are about four tropicals in there.. ask me if I havn't tagged something. I was hoping it was still warm enough there for you to make a cool outside tub of plants.

Our blackberries are a distant memory here. They get ripe late June/early July. I did not get any this year as it was so dry that what made was too tiny to bother with. Even the muscadines are about passed now. I did pick some muscadine grapes and made juice and today made 4 jars of jelly. I can just eat the stuff with a spoon! Also made some muscadine drink. It should be ready by Thanksgiving.
The rattlesnakes have started crawling here. Have seen 2 dead on the road, one very close to my driveway. I am sure it had been in my yard at some point. Now is not the time to be sticking your hands in places where you can't see. I have a pile of sticks I need to move and I plan to get a hoe and move the sticks so I can see under them first.
I remember dump cakes. yum. Maybe I will make one soon.

Hang in there Carey. Some days are just better forgotten.

Crystal I'll trade you the rattlers for the black widows. At least with the snakes you night get a warning before you get zapped. Close your ears Froot Loop. :0)

Joy got a kick out of going to WalMart for good "dirt". When I first went to work on the greens crew at the golf course I said something to the super one day about dirt in one of the flower beds. He set me straight so fast I will never forget. He said "dirt is what you sweep off the floor, soil is what you plant in. I responded with " Yeah, but when you come from a farm it is all just dirt." Makes me think of him every time someone talks about dirt.

LOL neener

HA! Neener - I first heard that when I joined the Master Gardeners. I thought - what a pompous bunch of dope

Dirt is dirt. But I am sure now to call it soil. :P

A.

Soiled my pants over that one, Neener.

Sorry to be a downer. DH was a victim of corporate binge and purge yesterday. (Dell is notorious for their cycles) So we are now a zero income household. DH is taking it all in stride though. He hasn't been happy since when he found out his company was being purchased a few years ago...

Darn it, Carey! He sounds like a brain, actually you both do. Fingers crossed the right job or career will turn up sooner than later.

Sorry to hear that Carey!! Hope he finds something soon.

Thanks Fruity and Elfie. He's annoyed with his ex-boss for not being more forthcoming regarding the reduction since they had a group meeting less than three weeks ago where it was all sunny skies and rosy outlook. He has a fairly generous severance at least. He's reaching out to friends and family and keeping his chin up. A couple of friends have already sent him leads on other positions so we're keeping an open mind. We're fine for a little while at least.

Fruity - this means I'm out of the other swap for sure. Hopefully things will look up by December and I'll be involved in the Christmas swap again!

That's awesome he already has leads, ya just never know.

Are we having a Christmas swap? lol

aww Carey, I just know you both will be taken care of, Have Faith.
{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}

Fruity uh oh, did I let the cat out of the bag? ;)

Thank you Debra. I'm a firm believer in 'the power of positive thinking'.

There's a crabby 'ol blue jay sitting by the empty pool. Such a bummer my yard is populated by the most territorial of birds - mockingbirds and blue jays. Haven't seen my cardinal friends in months. :(