SPRING OF 2008 PLANTSWAP FOR WEST MICH ????

Best wishes Susie with the swap!
You've put a lot of hard work into pulling this off.
Maybe those of us who live in mid west MI who couldn't make it could meet for breakfast or lunch on 28th St. in Grand Rapids.
Anybody interested?

Oh I am soooo busy can't even see straight these days. But in the heat of summer July/August would be good for me. Maybe Aug. as soo many people have showers, graduations, etc. in June-July!!
Julie

GM
Well I think I have recooped :) From yesterday Do To The weather & gas & OR What ever Many Could not Make it & Let me just say TO
Those who did come it was the most wonderfull time Thank you for making it special :)) & for all who could not YOU Trully Missed a fun time
It was Cool & nice The whole time :) think we were all done by 2:30

As for Pictures I had forgot my cam but wigglypaw & Bizzie11 took a few & said they would post them :))

Bizzie11 & Her Hubby Kris Were the 1st to arrive & Helpped Me get the privian cleanned up before others arrived & to them I Give a huge
thank you . she has a true Gem of a fellow Just trully Great folks :)) & Great plants :)) I wished I could have Gotten A picture of the back of your truck :))

SHELBELLE : What a Great gal :)) I Think we might have overwhelmed Her just a bit NEXT TIME BRING A TRUCK :)))
& yes we will plan another .

WIGGLEPAW : What a great lady LITTLE Slow at Picking out plants :) HEHEHE But We got her into Gear & she caught up :)

Then Came (GARDENMAN51) THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR all the great Daylilies you shared with me & I trully will look forward to another great trade in July or Aug When you get down this way . & Just Know my Gardens are open to all to see weeds & all :)
just call let me know your in the area & yes you are welcome to stop by :)

I Trully Don't think anyone had any extra space in their vehicals
thought maybe Bizzie might have to let Hubby take their plants home & come back later to pick her up :)) when I left I was making a stop at my sisters & there they were :)) I should have let them use my trailer maybe :)

I have to Just say It was the best time with about 25-30 that were there we all got a chance to visit & become Better friends .

As I said it was not as Hot & muggie as we thought it might be :) & I'm sorry that many could not make it but we do plan to have another
not sure just when but one of these days :)

We had another hard ^ heavy rain last night along with wind & my deck is covered with tipped over plants :( So I have a mess to clean up .
& then I have to go get all my other new plants in the ground Just right with all this wet ground :))

AGAIN A HUGE THANK YOU For All the DG Members I got to Meet & for Showing My Little sister I'm not Crazy & FOOLISH ABOUT MY
GARDENS :) I Think You Got Her hooked also :)))

I could Go On & ON about the fun we had yesterday but I have Planting to do this morning while it is cool out side :))
you all have a Great day I Know many will be busy planting their plants so give them a few days :))

susie

Susie
So glad you all had great time!

Ok Just to introduce a few DG"S & New friends :
top row
Jody , Diane (master gardener ) , Shel- shelbelle DG, Cecil (Gardenman51 DG, Deejay9 DG, Wigglypaw DG, Michele (New friend ,& Sherry New Friend .

Front Row : carol New friend & The ones & only Leann ( BIZZIE11 & HUBBY Kris a few of the others didn't want in the picture :)
well i have plants to plant & plants to dig . so have a great evening & for any one you want to see more pictures I will post maybe tomorrow :.

good night all

susie

What a great picture!! I am so sad that I could not come!! I have missed the best party of the year I see!!
Thanks for sharing some of the day.. It made me wish i was able to come. But the picture sure is great to see!!! I hope you all got some good trades.
Julie

Oh wow! I am so glad we made it down. It was a terrific experience. It was so nice getting together with fellow gardeners and chatting. We missed all the folks who couldn't come but we made up for them. We got to tour the gardens in front of the library (and dug out a few spares). Deejay's (Susie) peanut butter cake was to die for. Recipe please, please!

This was my first swap ever. It went smoothly. Sue did a wonderful job of explaining how it would work. She put tons of effort in this. She had a drawing for gifts, name tags, she provided plates and silverware for the picnic, bottles of water, table cloths, a beautiful photo album of iris and daylily plants. Just above and beyond. When she does another next year, I will be the first to respond.

And the local residents and garden friends that came were just so gracious. If you missed out on one of their plants in the swap, they invited you over or ran home to get you a plant. Just too wonderful. We went to Sue's sister's house after and dug up the biggest hosta. We had to schooch some stuff around in back of the truck to fit it in but we did. She is right, bring a truck. Ours was FULL.

And thank you, thank you to all who donated their extra plants to the Sand Lake Library for their September plant sale!!! What a blessing.

I would love that recipe for PB Cake too!

Bizzie....are you a member of any garden clubs in Sand Lake or Cedar Springs? I know they have one in Cedar but I just have too much stuff going on in my life to add one more meeting to go to.

Bizzie......

We have a Sand Lake here on the East Side of the state, is that where you came from.....over by the Tawas/Lake Huron area??

Deann

Hello :)) WOW What storms this week an we got hit with power outage since last night about 7pm or so & just got it back on about 3-4 pm while i went into town to get a phone all i had was cordless & they do not work in power outages :( . We was told we would not have our power back till 11 pm Tueday or possible wednsday noon So we are very very lucky to have the power back sooner :)

I hate being without my net :) & Water . but I'm back & very happy but it could go back off tonight with the rain & winds later .

Well Here is the Famous

PEANUT BUTTER CAKE :) FROM SUSIE

MIX IN MIXING BOWL
2C'S SUGAR & 2C'S FLOUR

BRING TO BOIL
3/4 C PEANUT BUTTER
1C OLEO
1/4TEAS SALT

POUR OVER FLOUR & SUGAR MIX WELL

ADD
1/2 C SOUR MILK
1 TEAS VANILLA
1 TEAS SODA
2 EGGS SLIGHTLY BEATEN

MIX WELL &

POUR ON 17X11X1 COOKIE SHEET (GREASED)
BAKE 400* ABOUT 20 MIN OR TILL DONE

FROSTING
BRING TO BOIL
3/4 C OLEO
3/4 C PEANUT BUTTER
6 TBS MILK

POUR IN POWDER SUGAR 1 BOX BUT I FIND I NEED TO ADD MORE ADD 1TEAS OF VANILLA ALSO .
MILK CAN BE ADDED IF TO THICK .

AS FOR SOUR MILK YOU CAN POUR 1TBS VINAGAR TO MILK TO SOUR IT :)

VERY EASY & QUICK CAKE TO MAKE CAN BE FROZEN :)


THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE A FEW PICTURES OF SOME OF THE PLANTS :)

ALSO I RECIEVED A CALL TODAY FROM SHERRY FREEPORTS LIBRAY COMITTY WANTS ME TO HELP ORGANIZE A FALL SWAP
AT THIS TIME I DO NOT HAVE ANY DETAILS BUT AFTER OUR MEETING I WILL KNOW MORE & WILL INFORM YOU .
WELL I STILL HAVE TO GO PLANT MORE PLANTS WHILE IT IS COOL OUT THERE :)

HAVE A GREAT EVENING
SUSIE

NICE POSE KRIS :)))
THIS IS A FRONT VIEW OF MY longggg TRAILER I HAD FILLED WITH PLANTS & SO HAPPY i DIDN'T HAVE TO BRING ANY BACK HOME :)

Thanks for the recipe Susie.
Do you know if you can use natural peanut butter
with this recipe or does it need to be the processed type?

I have never tried the Natural always use JIFF here you can use crunchy or plain when I use it for a childs birthday I have put chocolate chips through it . very nice easy cake to take to events for you cut them in 1"in squares & it goes along way :)

sure seems so good to have my coffee & read all my mail & visit with friends :)

well i need to get busy . wiggly hope you got all you your plants planted great time to do it with all this rain :)
wiggly shared some of her TIGER MELON plants with us I sure hope they grow for me right now they might be flooded :(
will let you know .
well much to do again today you all have a great .
HAPPY GARDENING
susie

Thank you all for a really great time!!!! This gardening bug is a doozey! :-) I might have to call into work... for the entire rest of spring! ha ha. Thanks for the PB cake recipe... it WAS excellent!

Break time from mowing & I have a chunk of PB cake & a cup of coffee :)) Nice afternoon snack :))
I hope you will post when you have tried it for real :)) .

well i Have to take my blades in to be sharpened so you all have a great day .
susie

Deann,
No...Our Sand Lake is about 30 minutes north of Grand Rapids. Yours seems to be more popular. That is the one everyone thinks of first unless they are local.

Here's a pic of some of the plants at the swap.

Sue's trailer. What fun picking through her plants. She brought plenty for all.

Diane, the Master Gardener, brought plenty of reference books for us to use.

Some of our friends had a picnic.

The rest of us having lunch.

Sue, thanks for the recipe. I will be sure to try it. You're a sweety for sharing.

Someone brought dahlias and glads to share.

This dark purple Columbine was the star of the swap. Everyone wanted one. Good thing Sherry brought plenty. A couple of us were lucky enough to get plants in bloom. Others including my hubby will have to wait until next year. Boy will it be worth it.

CottageRose:
No I am not a member of any garden clubs. Sometimes I think I should be. I know CS has one. I have never looked into it. I work second shift and it seems most meetings happen in the evening. I have volunteered to weed at our new library for the summer. And I am the plant person for our library's plant sale. With my husband, I almost feel like our own garden club. Ha ha. But it was a real treat getting together with other nutty gardeners last weekend. I haven't met any true garden fanatics in our neighborhood yet. I'm sure they are out there somewhere.

I guess Sand Lake had a garden club but it has been disbanded. I had a fleeting thought a few weeks ago about spreading the word and trying to resurrect it. But thank goodness it went away. I'm with you...no more meetings.

Bizzie must be nice to have a hubby that shares your hobby. Do you live in the town of SL or outside of town?
I'm over on 18 Mile Rd. between Myers Lake & Pine Lake Rds.

If anybodys into Aquilegia (Columbine) you need to check out the "Origami Mix"
http://www.perennialresource.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=1082
http://swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/columbine.html

Cottage:
We are 3 miles west of SL. We have an old school house on 136th and Beech.