Afterthoughts of the Chinese Swap on 2-23

Jill is soooo organized. Here are the little bags with seed requests in them.

Door prize table just getting started.

Last one----

Here is what the whole bush looks like in the Summer.
In the background is my Birch Tree and my shed.

The leaves are coarse and sand-paper-like to the feel. The roots are fibrous/stringy and quite surface-invasive--BUT--they have a wonderful, spicy fragrance if rubbed--kind of like cloves......

The house to the left is my neighbors. Not much space between houses.

This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 4:01 PM

Holly not facing the camera (forgot everybody else's names at this table.

Gita, Happy and (not sure who that is in the back) perusing the seed swap/share table)

Sally, Jill, Becky and Chantell

Doccat & DH, Doc Gipe and not sure of the lady & her daughter in the back, but I am sure somebody will fill me in.

Why, that's JennGroves and her mom (whose name is eluding me today).

Lest we all forget those seeds, cuttings and plants all add up to some significant part of the total. In my case I swapped for cuttings going into the activity. To boot there are many fine seed to dream upon.

Here is the REST OF THE STORY. We potted the cuttings today. The final count is about twenty pots and well over forty cuttings. These are just time short of being $4.99 each. Sure we could buy them but not the memories and the fun of being their moms or dads. The math tells it all.....5 X 40 is a nice number. It was and will continue to be endless hours of free care time activities.

What goes around comes around. Guess what I may have with me next year?

I hope they do well for you, Doc! BTW, when I got your lovely CC home and looked in better light, I got a surprise... to me, it looked more pink than red... in fact, it's quite possible it's the same color as the "hot pink" CC cuttings I gave you! It's a gorgeous plant, though, and I'm enjoying it. If anybody else was really lusting after it, PLMK and I'll pass it along at the next event... Otherwise, I think it just might go to Danna, at the restaurant. I broke off one perfect flower and gave it to her daughter... half an hour later, she still hadn't put it down... :-)

Why don't you pot up four cuttings in a four inch pot and challenge her to grow it on to a whole new hobby introduction.

Bet you did not think compost when those girls were cleaning fresh greenbeans. Bet you could get a five gallon bucket a day of dandy compost base materials from that restrurant....and tea bags and tea bags and more tea bags.

Somebody was talking about compost when they saw those green bean tips... was it Sally? But as for tea bags, I'm guessing they use loose tea.... still compostable, or it would be except I'll bet it gets tipped in with general garbage. Hmm...

All restrurants pay for disposables by vollume. A sharp business person can see bucks in his pocket if anyone can show them the dollars going to the landfill will make great compost. Some will work to figure a way to get that weight onto your truck free. It's win win when a deal like that is cut. The problem is the person asking for the components may not understand that this is an every day or so pick up The deal is great....but both parties must be consistant. One might be better off talking to a much smaller restrurant. I captured a Mr. Donuts shop one time. They came up with six to ten five gallon buckets of coffee grounds a day. I had to yell uncle in about a month. I was up to my gazoo in coffee grounds in a hurry. Stopping every day or two was not the problem. It was simply to much for my much smaller need.

Now what they and Starbucks do is put about two or three wet pounds in a bag. They put them in a basket near the entrance to the shop. They educated their customers to want them in small bags.
Starbucks has been here for about a year now. I have never gone in when there was a bag of grounds there for me. Lots of people ar happy. They get free press about once a year. Everyone is a happy scout.

Hey doc! I saw those green bean tips and thought about compost! ( Two waitresses were trimming a mountain of green beans at one of the tables) I bet a Chinese place has a lot of vegetable scraps. Somebody should have a rabbit rescue operation next door- free bunny food. Actually, a friend of a friend does have a rabbit rescue, and she got a bunch of bagged romanie past sell-date for them, but it still looked plenty fresh....Wish more Starbucks did that prebagging. and setting out. Sigh, maybe I'll arm myself with their website print out and this idea, and see if they'll do it here.

The key issues with collecting compostables, to me, is whether it causes them more work in the back to keep them separate fom other stuff you don't want to bring home. You are right , if it saves money I bet they would go for it. They may pay by volume, but I think around here the dumpster gets dumped on a schedule which ensures it doesn't overflow, so they pay bythe calendar.
And doc, I wish I had known you did that apple gourd, it was great. I was going to chat with youabout gourd stuff. I have done a few birdhouses. I have a few kinds of gourd seeds I was going to offer.

Thanks all for the goodies I got, hope everybody took something from me, and I'm going now to see if another thread has started answering my care questions on my goodies.

Hi everybody,

What a wonderful and highly successful round-up! I'm so sorry to have missed out on all the fun and I really wanted to meet all of you! I tried valiantly for over 1 hour to find the restaurant. I think that MapQuest took me on a wild goose chase. MapQuest took me all over Frederick and I must have been driving around in circles. I am sooo sorry that I couldn't find the restaurant. I did call Jill's cell phone twice. However, as I was valiantly driving around the outskirts of Frederick, my car must have hit a patch of black ice and I skidded off the road into a guard rail. I am fine, but the right side of my car is very banged & scrapped up. After the accident, I decided to stop looking for the restaurant and headed home. Like I said before, I'm so sorry that I missed the round-up. I'm sure it was a lot of fun & a big success.

I'm enjoying all the pictures that everyone is posting and now I can put names & faces together. I still have a basket full of seeds that I was bringing to the swap that are still available for a S.A.B.E. Do you want me to list them here or on a separate thread? Jill, I sent you a D-mail on the seeds I have for you.

Sorry again to have missed such a wonderful event & I'm looking forward to the one this Summer.

Shirley

Shirley= I'm so sorry you had that trouble , and missed the event. Please let me know if I have anything of interest to you from swap or my list to take to it, and I will get it to you.

wrightie, too- if you see anything I got that you like, please holler. I will share! Did everybody see wrightie's pup pic??

This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 10:32 PM

Oh Shirley - I'm SO glad you're ok!!! I, too, kept looking for you to walk in any min...was so looking forward to finally meeting you. Next time for sure though!!
Jill - don't know what to say that hasnt' been said already...you ARE amazing!!! Truly did a magnificant job planning this...not even to mention doing so while not feeling 100%!!! Big hugs to you!!! Those goodie bags made my day...thank you - thank you!! Should you be so brave to plan another though, please let some of us help with napkins/candles etc. NO reason for you to BOTH plan and have to pay for those types of things!!
To all you gals I shared the table with - kudos to all...wonderful conversation...enjoyed it immensely!!
It was so great to finally be able to see some of the faces I've been chatting with!! For those sharing their seeds and cuttings - big ole thank you!! I've been saying for SIX months that I'm going to get my seeds organized - mercy should've made THAT my New Years resolution!! Debbie as an "add on" so sweet for you and Rick to have remembered and taken the time to bring those Euphorbias - God bless you!!! They are going to be such a wonderful addition of color to my Sedum/Hens and chicks/moss rose bed!!!

This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 5:58 PM

Echoing what everyone else has said -- yesterday was a lot of fun. It was great to see so many faces to go with the names. Some of you made some really long drives to get there, too. Glad the weather cooperated and everyone made it home okay. Shirley, sorry you had such problems getting there. Mapquest must have been confused with Route 15 directions or something. I'll look forward to meeting you another time. Holly, the sweet potato is in water and has perked up considerably. I read your thread and it looks like a bunch of starters on there! Jill, hope you are feeling okay. I'll be in touch this week to see how you are doing. Hopefully you spent today with your feet up. Thank you so much for all your planning and hard work. So when are you writing the article about how to do a party?

Some pretty nice weather this afternoon -- we spent about an hour doing some pruning and cleaning up. At least it's a start. I'm so ready for spring . . .

Again, it was a pleasure meeting all of you.

Sherry

It is fun to meet people that I've been 'reading' from. I start to hear their voices when I read.
I wished I could have mingled more, too, but had a great time with Lastelf, Gita, miatablu and miatahubby. Fun table! Lastelf described her front yard maze design, sounds very interesting. And talked about her work at school. And did you know Gita was a very high level volleyball player and official at one time? And then got to see tweedleChan and tweedleBec in action at the plant farm afterwards.

Shirley, next time we go to Frederick, we'll pick you up! I have been thru a few times which helps. I hate the way the highway is laid out thru there- can only hope the work that they've been doing for ever there will help. If they ever finish.

I really enjoyed the swap--it was the first function of this type I have ever done and it was an adventure and exciting. I thought I knew a lot of plants, but was floored by the wide variety of offerings from others.........

I wanted to meet all of you but i it was over before I knew it!! Critter did an outstanding job of organizing this event and deserves praise!! I'm glad someone took a time-out to get some pictures--they are good!!

Thanks, Critter and all who contributed and helped which made it successful.

LOL - hmmm - "tweedleChan and tweedleBec" - I HAVE no idea who she is referring to!

Chantell - we need to start behaving ourselves in public! LOL

Bec

Awwww. I am so sad I had to miss it. I had a rotten weekend but this certainly makes up for it reading about all the fun you had. Maybe we can do it again just to chat. It would be cool to meet once a month just talk about gardening stuff and our lives. Like a book club, only gardens instead!

I spent the weekend at home with my little boy. While my husband was gone all day moving his brother, I was home with Aaron and tending to his sinus infection, pink eye and stomach flu. Then I wake up this morning and my throat is hurting. Grumble!

Glad you guys had a great time.

Critter--are you going to mail me some seeds? :oD

Just now getting a chance to check in after the swap. Thanks again Critter for hosting the event and allowing us all a chance to see each other again. Didn't get a chance to chat too much with you because you were soo busy. Maybe if you're up to it we can visit before my class on Thursday evening and catch up a little. I'm also sorry that I didn't get a chance to chat with a few others because I had to leave a little bit early due to the wedding. Thanks to everyone at my table for keeping Rick entertained. As usual he enjoys Gita and Sally's company and we both enjoyed getting to know Elf. I'm glad he changed his mind again and came with me. He was such a sweetheart for coming so that I could have an extra hour with you all before having to go to the wedding. And to all the other husbands that came with their wives, even though their eyes may have glazed when the seed swapping started, you guys are champs.

Jill, the goodie bags were great and you could tell you spent a great deal of time on them. Now I just have to get all my basils started so I don't come begging to you for plants this spring. I was surprised when I got home and saw that Docgipe and Happy had stuck some seeds in there too. I feel like such a moocher, all I brought was an book on herbs for the door prize table. Happy, you know me so well. Monkshood is one of my favorite plants! I scored a tiarella from Debbie, always wanted one. And get this, I even got two pine trees from the wedding I went to that the couple had for each guest from the Arbor Day Foundation.

Shirley, so sorry you had problems trying to get there and about your car. I was really looking forward to seeing you. So glad you're OK. You should take Sally up on her offer for the next time. It's always nice to have company on trips like this.

Missed you Wrightie, Hart, Ruby, and all the others who wanted to be there, but couldn't make it. Hope to see you all at the next one.

Bobbie

Miata, getting together Thursday would be great! I'm glad things have slowed/settled enough at work that we can do that... you were really running, there, for a while.

Newbie, I'm not going to mail you your seeds... I did something better with them! I sent them home with Jenn, because she said she can easily swing by your place and get them to you. I have a feeling you two will get a big kick out of one another... wish I could be there too! Let me know if you didn't get enough yellow tomatoes, as I may have ended up with a couple more by the time I got through playing with the round robin box last night.

That box was a treasure trove! Boy, if anybody is looking for tomatoes, let me know. I may not be able to spare more than 3 seeds of some (the round robin specified a minimum of 10 seeds, so many of my packets are limited), but I do have a lot of different kinds!

Sounds like everyone had a great time! I so wish I could have gone, but the 4 1/2 hr-ish drive one way just wasn't in the cards this time. I so envy all of you for being able to get together.

Jody, we wish you could've been there, too! I think some folks are considering a spring swap more in the DC area... that should cut a little bit off that travel time, or maybe you could make an overnight trip of it. (Picturing a car in a motel parking lot, bulging with plants)

:-)

Sunglasses have been claimed!

Newbie lemme know when you feel up to it and I will bring your bag by...

*whew* about the sunglasses. Happy, thank you very much for taking charge of them!

"Behave" - hmmm....not in MY vocabulary...

Critter you are so right... and it wouldn't be the first time I had a vehicle at a hotel parking lot bulging with plants, LOL. I even drove down to a GA RU a few years ago.

This just wasn't a good time, I just got back a week ago from a trip to vegas and the grand canyon and have been too busy "catching up" around here. I will be watching for swap threads and be making a definate point one way or another to get to at least one this year no matter the distance.

And I am also planning a swap at the house in VA this spring. I think I'll go start a thread now :)

Newbie,

We could get together anyway to chat once a month or every other month! Sally already tried--sooo hard---but it just did not work out with all the kids' schedules.

There are now plenty of us here in the Baltimore, and surrounding, area. There is Sally, You, Jenn, Elf and me. I know there is someone that lives north of me too--can't remember her name? She lives in Harford County....DC is not that far--that would add Happy, Bobbie and Beck.
Did I miss someone?
Chime in if you are reading this.....

Gita

Bobbie.................I thought that book was a drag along to show someone a thang or tu. Had I realized that the book was up for grabs I would have captured it on my first pick. Then I could have felt guilty of only bringing some seed and an excess plant. :)))

Be it hereby known that all my loot was potted Sunday and is all perked up this AM in the hopes of becoming new plants for me. In between some huffing and puffing I had a great time. I did not move about as much as I normally like to because of my oxygen restraints. I had to be a mad scientist to manage a long day on the tanks I had with me. The other options are not nice.

Half the fun of a round up is meeting everyone that you've been chatting with on-line! Matching names & faces is always a treat! Sorry again that I missed everyone & thanks so much for your concerns.

Sally, I'll probably take you up on your very kind offer. I'm sure that there will be lots more round ups in the future.

Gita, I'm in the "surrounding Baltimore area" - Howard County.

OOPs! Of course you are!!!
I just did not look at the location by your name.....Sorry! Will include you if we ever do get together. Do you like to shop? Or just eat and chat?

Jenn....can you swing by my humble abode tomorrow? I will be home all day until about 1:30. Send me a d-mail and I will give you my address.

Maybe I'll have a cookout at my little home this summer...as long as you guys promise not to laugh at my little cape cod. I don't live in a palace, but it's mine.

Plus, I can make ribs and homemade sauce that will make you want to slap somebody! :oD And, of course, we'll have veggies fresh from the garden....

Yum!

Ditto to happy....my tum-tums growling just thinkin' about it. Oh to have a Cape Cod...personally, I'm jealous!!! Brings back wonderful memories of my grandparent's home in Conn so many years ago!!

Ooh, me too for Newbie's BBQ! :-)

Doc, I'm impressed that you managed all that visiting and traveling in a day -- I'm sure it took some major juggling of your usual protocol! I'm really enjoying getting to know you, and I'm still hoping to tempt you down to the Violet Gallery if we manage to take a road trip up thattaway!

Noobie (sorry I misspelled your name before)--

If you want to do this--do it as a Pot-Luck where everyone brings something. It is so much easier on the hostess and YOU do not have to cook anything---EXCEPT those yummy ribs!!!!! If you make them too fire-hot, I may just slap YOU!!!! Haaa...haaaa.... as I will be in unbearable pain and NOT aware of what i am doing.....

Can we just have this a social get-together and not have to worry about any seed/plant exchanges??? That is--unless YOU want to do it that way! It all depends on the time of year.....PLEASE don't make it between end of June and middle of July--as I will be out of the Country and would miss all this!

Keep us informed! Gita