Mini Plant Swap in Gainesville area, Wednesday, Nov. 8?

Only one more Master Gardener training class left for me to complete on November 1 and I will have that behind me!

The "graduation" for the Master Gardener training is Wednesday, November 8, in Gainesville. Apparently, we will be touring some of the Univ. of Florida greenhouses and gardens and other scheduled activities as the only graduation ceremony. The graduation is not a public event due to space limitations -- in fact, the Extension Office is limiting the number of visitors to only about 5 people that had spouses or significant others that want to attend.

I am currently planning to attend the graduation. If there is interest, I could load up the "Mexican Flower Cart" (my old '79 Chevy van with a 12 ft cargo space) and bring down dozens of flats of potted plants from the Lowe's bargain rack "motherlode" for anyone that would want to meet at some designated spot and pick them up. No exchange trades needed [unless someone just happens to have Blue Shimp Plant (Cerinthe major) or White Fruited Beauty Berry -- the two plants that remain at the top of my "wish list"].

I currently have a HUGE glut of about 1,000 or more potted plants in need of a good home. The side yard is so stuffed with plants that I only have a few inches of foot fall space between the flats. The plants have spilled over into the driveway to the point where we barely have room to park the van and the Mustang, and the plants are now coming in loads about twice per week now that the sales at the garden center have slowed down! There are tons of coleus, Mexican Heather, some pentas, Madagascar periwinkles (Catharanthus roseus), tropicals (Diffenbachia, Arbicola, Ficus benjamina, pothos, etc.), and others. I could make a more complete inventory and get some pix, depending on interest, a few days prior to Nov. 8 so that you could D-mail me your requests. I am beginning to get lots of the Fall, cool weather plants: petunias, low-growing dianthus carnations, and both standard and miniature garden mums. Also, some of the plants that hung on through the summer (such as the Diascea) are now returning to full glory with the cooler weather. The only limitation on how many flats or plants you want is how many I can possibly stack into the shelves I've built in the old van.

I could also get some cuttings rooted if there are any particular plants from my garden (I have just about one of everything that will grow in 8b/9a and am "pushing the zone" for some of the more tropical plants that I've been able to get established here), if there are any special requests.

For those that want to meet up for another all-you-can-haul-free-for-all festival, you could also arrange your own trades with others that may be able to attend.

Maybe some of us can meet, swap plants, and have dinner to celebrate my completion of the Master Gardener training?

Let me know your thoughts on whether you would want to meet and what might be a good location (somewhere in Gainesville near the University would probably work best for me).

I look forward to hopefully seeing some old friends and meeting new DGers!

Jeremy

PS - If you can't come to Gainesville on Nov. 8, but are willing to make the trip to Jacksonville to haul away plants, please send me a D-mail and let me know when you can come. I can generally arrange my schedule to be home and help you load your vehicle to overflowing with free greenery!

Jeremy

Jeremy!!!!

I think I might be able to swing a trip to Gainesville on the 8th November. I might suggest however, that meeting up might be at a different place than the University. Parking over there is horrendous and you need a permit to do it, even on a city street.

Maybe somone can suggest a city or county park that is close by and won't put you too far off track from your road home.

Michele? I know you are out there, can you help? Pam? You should make this trip.

And Jeremy, I do so wish I had some blue shrimp of white beautyberry for you. I have been keeping an eye out and never see either. I believe Cyberageous has some blue shrimp plants. Jnana is coming up here soon maybe she can bring some.

I'll check and get back to ya.

Molly
:^))))

Thanks, Molly, it would be great to see you and any others that can meet up on 11/8. You are definitely correct about parking near the University. There should be some place nearby where we can meet and unload the van into cars and trucks and U-Hauls if you have them! -- even a Wal-Mart parking lot or some other such mega-store or mall would work for me.

I know I must be getting down to the final available plants that will grow in my area when my "wish list" is so hard to fulfill! LOL I've been constantly searching for the Blue Shrimp Plant and White Fruited Beauty Berry and they both seem very elusive! I was so happy to get the seeds in an SASE offer that were supposed to be White Fruited Beauty Berry only to find that they grew into the Malabar Spinach which we both now have (and I'm happy to have it as yet another species!)

Hope to see you soon!

Jeremy

Jeremy, congratulations on your almost-completion of the MG program! I'll make it a point to get to wherever you/re at - in fact, you're welcome to come to my office and set up in the parking lot if you like (seriously)! What time do you anticipate being finished with your graduation stuff?

Bummer. I'll be flying back from Boston that morning, then working in Jacksonville. I won't be back in G-ville until about 8 p.m. at the earliest.

But -- Congratulations, Jeremy!

But -- I hate to even tell you this: I saw some of that white beauty berry at the Native Plant sale here last weekend. Worse, I didn't know it was on your lust -- er, I mean wish list. Even worse, I can't remember the name of the vendor.

I feel so useless. Wait. A park. Molly, there is a city park on the corner of NW 34th St. (RTE 121) and NW 16th Ave. If Jeremy is going back to Jax, he can drive up 34th from UF and then hit 53rd Ave to Waldo Rd. to 301. That's the way I drive to work in Jax from G-ville. There's also usually plenty of parking at the UF art museum/ natural history museum parking lot.

M.

Michele

Hi, all. Thanks for your congrats on my impending MG graduation.

Norma, is your office in the Gainesville area near UF? If so, that would be fine for me for a Mexican Flower Cart stop and unloading point, if that works well for Molly and any others that may want to come and pack their vehicles with Fall color plants and whatever else the motherlode may provide. The park Michele mentioned would also be O.K. as I also use the 301 route when going to and from Gainesville.

I've not finished unloading the van from the last haul because there is just no more room in the front yard and side yard for plants! I'm going to have to take time to move a large portion of the plant rescue & rehab operation to the SW corner of the back yard so that we can get the vehicles in the driveway. I soon will meet my goal of having my entire 1/2 acre covered with plants & flowers, and I won't even need to take them out of the pots to satisfy that ambition! LOL

Michele, no problemo on not making the connection with the white fruited Beautyberry. At least we now know they are around and I'm sure one will come my way at some point. One of the great lessons I learn from gardening is patience and "everything has its season," and that "lust" lists (that word is more applicable to the passion I feel for the plants I want. LOL) will be met in the readiness of time.

Jeremy

Jeremy, my office is at 908 NW 57th Street near the Oaks Mall. Map it out and see where it is in relation to your location on campus.

I like Michele's idea, too. The one thing I'd mention, though, is that the park is next to an elementary school and the traffic could be bad depending on the time of day. Which, by the way, you still haven't addressed (she said, tapping her foot impatiently) LOL

Darn, 11/8 is a Wednesday, otherwise I'd kidnap ShellaBella and drive up for the day.
Jan...

Oh.....I would loooooove to be kidnapped and taken to Jeremy's to swap plants!!!!! What torture!
Tooo bad it 's a workday for my would be kidnapper.

Well, Michelle,
If you twist my arm hard enough, I am over my limit on save vacation days and could use a couple, especially since 11/10 is a federal holiday and I could turn it into a 5day mini vacation. Are you up to it. Of course, we would have to meet Molly for lunch or something. LOL

Lemmie ck my calendar here......... I have nothing for that day...No Gd, nothing else. For a final ok to be kidnapped I would have to check with Dh when he gets home.....although he would probably pay someone to kidnap me for a bit...LOL!
Lunch? I don't get social life much with adults around here.......I think I could behave long enough to have lunch!!!!!

On the way back, I know a great place to stop and dig daylilies and perhaps kidnap a great dane or greyhound while we're there. LOL

So not only will I be kidnapped...taken to get plants and finally meet Jeremy .....I have to work and be an accomplice to a crime?
OK!

Sorry for not being specific about the time for the all-you-can-haul-free-for-all. The Extension Office MG trainers here have been nebulous about the starting and ending time for the graduation exercises. I will pin them down next Wednesday during the final MG class, or we can just choose a time in the mid to late afternoon and I'll skip out of the graduation business and meet you at whatever time we choose. The graduation is "optional" and not part of the regular training so my attendance all day there will not be required and I would much rather meet up with the gang of theives and green-thumbed houligans (my kind of folks!) that are responding here than tour greenhouses, etc. LOL

Jeremy

Jan, you are so funny.....hey! Did I tell you I was planning to upgrade my .22 Ruger pistol to a 12 gauge double barrel blonde handled shotgun?

Aside from that, I'm not far from where Norma works so I can punch off the clock anytime I need to, well for a little while anyway.

Molly
:^))))

Molly...if you decide to use that new shotgun please remember I am just a victim in all this.

Okay, have it your way, my x says a 12 gauge has too much of a kick, so a 20 pump will be better.

Just kidding.......You know Jan, she's got the arid sense of humor thing going. Gotta get her goat.

Molly
:^)))))

I love her sense of humor!

It's just that I had a vision when you mentioned the shot gun.....

The 2 of us digging in your daylilies on a lovely afternoon dressed in our robbery gear..... (oops it will be daytime, Jan scratch the black outfits off the list )
...a voice says "Hands up!"
We spring to our feet throw our hands up in the air clutching daylilies in each fist.
Then "Drop it!"
The daylilies go flying as we flee for the truck being chased by a couple of huge dogs......I barely make it into the truck before one of the dogs nabs my gloves out of my hand.... we peel out and all the plants from the swap go tumbling out....... more for your garden by the way....... then I remember my prints are all over the inside of those gloves!

We just happen to have a bag of beef Jerky in the truck ( Jan add beef Jerky to the list please) we stop and tempt the dogs with the treat...the one with the gloves drops them to get the Jerky..... just as I am grabbing my gloves Jan yells 'make it quick!"
Unfortunately for us you can run really fast with that shotgun...who would figure..that thing looked heavy!

Before we can take off again you are standing in front of the truck yelling " OK you Daylily stealin Varmits, out of the truck and don't you dare pull anything fast!"

"Who us?" (Just then a lone Daylilly bulb falls to the ground from the pocket of my lucky apron that Jan gave me at the RU.)

"Caught ya red handed!"
You march us back down the road shotgun at our backs.... we spend the rest of the day not only replanting the Daylilies, but we have to plant all the haul we got from Jeremy into your gardens.

All I ask as the kidnapped victim in all this is a break every half hour with some Perrier, BBQ ribs for dinner and a game of checkers in your Orchid house ok?

Sorry yall, my cook (ds) got a girlfriend, doesn't live here anymore, and I could do a whole lot more damage cookin' yall ribs than any 20 gauge could do.

:^))))

But we most certainly could play some checkers on that wonderful new checkerboard I brought home last week......while we wait for the tsomaine poisoning to set in.

Jan..(please add barf bags to the list for the trip home.)

Jeremy I'm in great need of plants. I moved to Florida about 2yrs ago, I just bought my house a bout a year ago and my yard is completly bare. I've started planting some things but having to learn as I go. I'm from NY and gardening is very diff there. My yard is facing East so I get burning sun all day. I have not one single tree so I dont get shade. Its been very hard to grow things and keep them alive. lol But I'm trying. = )
Do you have anything that would survive in my yard? That grows fast and easy to grow.
I'd also like to create a privacy screen along a long stretch of yard I have between my neighbor and I.
So far I've purchased a few diff kinds of banana tree's some brugs, EE's some grasses, bromeliads, palms, 2 ficus tree's ( that have to come out) and a couple of other things but dont know the names or how to spell it. LOL

I'm located in Brevard county. I think your about 3hrs away from me and gainsville is even farther I think, but for the right plants( that can take all this sun i mean) I just might make a trip to Jacksonville = )


Thanks

This is a pic of my house just after I bought it. since Ive added a few plants but its pretty much like this all the way around the house. Oh and no those trees are not in my yard thats my neighbors yard. I do get a little shade from it but cant plant anything in my side of the yard because the roots from the tree a everywhere and you can even dig a hole.

Michelle,
I'm dying with laughter. I was planning camlaflough (how do you spell that anyway). And you thought I was bad Molly. Who do you think I learned it from? LOL

This message was edited Oct 26, 2006 9:38 AM

Jax

P.S

Here is some purple fountain grass I was able to grow. Would love to get some more of this. Its pretty much care free and looks beautiful!

WOW - you guys are just too funny!!!! I had a great laugh drinking coffee this morning.

:-)))))))

Jeremy CONGRATULATIONS on becoming a Master Gardener -

I just got back from Jacksonville's MG conference and forgot to take your phone number with me so we couldn't stop by - I also lost the directions, etc. I emailed Betsy as she works in Gainesville and told her about your Mexican Flower Cart visit. I'll let you know if she is going to find you on November 8th.

Molly, the perfect house guard!

(whoops, wrong thread but can't delete):-(


This message was edited Oct 26, 2006 9:51 AM

And if they get past him, they can deal with his brother.

(Whoops wrong thread but can't delete



This message was edited Oct 26, 2006 9:50 AM

Welcome to Florida, GuardanG! Most of what I have in the Lowe's "motherlode" bargain plants are annuals (of just about every variety you would find in a garden center at this time of year) that would add some quick color to your landscape. If your area is free from severe freezes (prolonged temps below 32 F for more than a few nights -- or if you happen to be near water and have a "microclimate" that stays warmer on cold nights than areas more inland), the annuals may continue year round for you.

I do have some Red Fountain Grass (Pennisetum seteceum -- about ten 3 gal pots), but most of it is lingering somewhere between life and death, but probably will recover. There is also some Sand Cord Grass (Spartina bakeri -- about 10 pots, also in critical care mode -- odd that no one has yet posted pix of this plant in the Plant Files, but it forms a dense, rounded mound of light green grass from pix I've seen from a Google search). There is also some Golden Dew Drop (Duranta erecta - one solid green and about 4 variegated) up for grabs.

I'll get some pix this morning of the current glut of plants. No kidding, I probably have enough plants to carpet your entire yard with one plant or another (you could have a lawn of Mexican Heather (Cuphea hyssipifolia), if you don't want to mow -- LOL -- I have about three hundred 4 inch pots of it!). So, if you happen to have a large truck or van or want to come up and rent a U-Haul and take away the entire inventory, you are welcome to do so! I want to clear everything out before the freezes come this way.

Jeremy

This message was edited Oct 26, 2006 10:05 AM

"Gang of thieves and green-thumbed houligans"?? Jeremy, you sure got us pegged!! LOL

Speaking of thievery, I've had my eye on a large sago palm in front of my office. There's lots of "babies" sprouting up around the base....

Agal, according to my most holy writ of gardening morality, taking Sago babies is not thievery, but propagation in the best interest of the plant. And if you need further "situation ethics" to justify your actions, you can adopt the sacred beliefs of the Native Americans and assert that no one owns the land, we all share equally in caretaking and nourishing the Earth and all its denizens, so therefore the Sagos are your property by divine right.

I'm not sure the cops will buy that excuse if they happen to catch you nabbing stray sagos, but it works for me everytime I find plants that I want that are creeping past someone's fence line onto the public easement. LOL It is a slightly different situation when taking plants from along roadsides or ditchlines or bodies of water -- it is my understanding from the Master Gardener classes that removing native plants of any kind from their natural habitat is illegal. Maybe someone more versed in the law can clarify this. I don't think the rule applies to seed collecting, however.

Jeremy

Paraphrasing from something I heard in the past, I believe that such collection methods are considered "liberating" the plant to a higher existence. ; )

Jeremy,

I have found that the red fountain grass, the mexican heather and probably the sand cord grass do very well here. Of course the the durantas do too.

What kinds of things do you plan on bringing over this way in November?

Molly
:^))))

Jeremy, thanks for the offer. The grasses sound tempting, but I'll pass on the mexican heather. I have some already and I'm not too fond of it. It too didnt do to well in the front yard. I think it just got way too much sun. Also we hardly had any rain and things really dried out. Sorry to say the annuals wont survive here now either.

Thats ok I went to walmart and bought some plants on clearance. Some Verigated Jasmine, Bottlebrush bushes, a few banana's and a Hibiscus.

I went crazy today planting, and it got me to thinking......... I dont want to dig any more holes or make any more plant beds. I'm beat. I still have to plant 5 black magic( on the north side of house) 3 other EE's ( unknown )one brug left to plant, 5 huge snake plants, 4 trumpet vine, 2 Bulgainvila ( dont think I spelled that right) 4 false bird of paradise and some others that I dont know the name or how to spell. I think if I see anymore plants I'll scream. LOL I think I'll start working on the hardscape for a while. I still have lots of mulching to do and a walk way to make, a fence to put in and some outdoor lighting. Hoping to get a fire pit in this winter and a waterfeature in by spring. All by myself.......... hey what the hell if I'm gonna dream might as well dream big right? lol

Anyhow Thanks tons Jeremy, will be keeping and eye out for your threads, your and intresting guy with lots of good stuff to say. OHH and congrats on becoming MG.

Talk to ya soon.

GGirl, I certainly understand being overwhelmed by plants!! I'm wading through them ankle deep at every turn. Christina has threatened to bring friends in for an intervention and Meyer's Act me into an asylum if I bring home more plants (so now I'll have to rent a vacant lot where I can still pursue my addiction and hide the plants from her -- LOL).

I have another yard work job to do today -- I'm suddenly in great demand and would rather stay home and organize and tend my own plants, but finances demand I go to work! I'll check in again later and hopefully post a complete inventory of what is available to bring on 11/8.

Jeremy

= )
Ok Jeremy, Thanks much

Does anyone live near enough to Fran (Sendone2me) to pick up some plants she wants from me and deliver them to her? If so, I have a white flowering dwarf Mexican Petunia (Ruellia brittonia 'Dwarf White') and a red flowering Brazilian Petunia/ Wild petunia (Ruellia elegans) that I've rooted for her. I can bring them along to the 11/8 mini-plant swap if someone that is coming can deliver them to her. If not, I'll try to find the time soon to get them into the mail to her. But, she has been waiting all year for me to find the time to box and mail them!

I have extras of the the red one, if anyone else wants one, but only one rooted cutting of the white flowering dwarf.

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,
I don't live anywhere near Fran but would love one of the red ruellia.
Do you need any large aloe plants?
Jan...

Sure, I'll take an aloe plant, Jan! I have a few varieties already, but the one you have may be different from mine (I notice there are 11 pages of "Aloe" genus in the Plant Files!) I've got one MASSIVE aloe of a different species that gets about 2 ft high and 2 ft wide. I think it is the type that you see its arms for sale in some grocery stores. I've not seen it bloom yet. I'm going to post the attached pix in the I.D. Forum to see if someone can give it a name. One of my neighbors that is a real "Bubba" and is never seen without a beer in his hand (including while driving), came by one day with the giant aloe in the back of his truck and offered to sell it to me for $3 so he could get another 6-pack. I guess that is a win-win situation? LOL I had a situation where someone came in the night a couple of times and broke off the ends of some of its arms -- I suppose to cook with -- but they haven't returned for a month or so. The plant has made a few "pups" that I could separate if anyone wants one.

I have one like that too....brought from Texas. We use the pulp for sunburns, burns and skin irritations. I don't know the name tho...sorry.

Jan,

I have one word for your """""WORMS""""""""

I was sposed to remind you for your roundup, but who was supposed to remind me to remind you?

Why did I think of worms this morning? Ah now I remember. Paul James and composting.

You bring me some worms, and I'll see if I can find a whipcoach snake for you. They are very interesting snakes. Or if not that, what would you like?

Molly
:^))))