Unusual Seed Swap 08 Announcement

Thanks for that encouragement, Pam! I planted a bunch of seeds I was given and have only 3 seedlings, but I once planted 12 bulbs and got nothing! So I figure I am agead of the game!

Carol, I have plenty of seed for both you and Potagere to experiment with. Please forgive me as I am new to trading seeds, but are you part of this swap? If so, I can just send in a couple of packets to Theresa. Potagere, I totally wish I could give you a cutting of the plant itself, as it is a monster, and has been completely covered with blooms all season long. I really hope the seeds will work out well for you.

Oh, sunnyg, you always say the sweetest things!

Is Lavatera trimestris 'Pink Beauty' an unusual annual? I had never grown it before this year, but I grow very few annuals, so I wasn't sure. It is just starting to produce a few seeds, so I could possibly send a couple small pkts. And I may be able to send a few pkts. of Arctotis stoechadifolia. I think any of the African daisies would be considered unusual, right? I winter sowed several varieties of African daisies but this is the only one that grew. (I sowed a bit of everything last winter just for curiosity sake.)

both of those sound good to me pam!

Hi Theresa,

I am sending the following out today:

Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus Africanus)-perrenial
False Indigo (Baptisia Australis)-perrenial
Cupids Dart/Love Plant (catananche caerulea)-perrenial
Devils Tobacco (Lobelia tupa)- perrenial (got these seeds from a DGer in Brazil)
4-o-clock 'Limelight rose" (Mirabilis jalapa)- annual/perrenial (harvested 8-17-08)

Thanks.
rebecca30

Sunnyg,

I am part of the swap and I can't wait for the seeds to fly!


Carol

LOL Potagere. Excellent Carol, this looks like it is going to be a really fun seed swap! Some of my seeds are just taking their own sweet time maturing and won’t be ready to send in time, but I will send the rest out next week.

If anyone has Josephs Coat Amaranthus seeds to share please enclose them. Ive been wanting to grow this for some time now.
Thanks :)

Theresa, Thanks for pointing this out to me in d-mail. Not sure if Hibiscus southern belle pink, and perhaps red ( makes only few seed - if ready), Nicotina sylvestry, Amaranthus dark leaves (Love Lies Bleeding) colesia Hot pink (cocks comb) stokesia stokes aster, "blue danube", sweet william mostly reds Dianthus barbatus, is anything useful, if so I'd like to participate. would like something from france, as I miss europe...Helene

Love Lies Bleedin, Amaranthus,Nicotina Sylvestry white in back ground.

If this is acceptable, I would like some seed of the white Hibiscus offered. Helene

looking forward to your participation Helene....

I'm in for all Hibiscus moscheutos (dinner plate hibiscus) seeds!

Theresa,
I cannot locate the info on the $ amt to send if one is not able to send seeds, but does want to participate. I do so want to start a "sun" garden. Could you please post the site with the information again for both the seed and bulb swaps. If I remember correctly the deadline was sometime around 9/10/08. Anyway, now that I have my Sept money I can send some to participate, but don't know where to send it.
I am so curious also...how do you decide what to send who and keep it all straight. I hope you have lots of assistants and also that it is a fun swap for you and all of us that are blessed by your efforts!
--Sheri

Sheri, I dmailed ya the info for the bulb swap and also for the seeds.
You asked how I know what to send to whom? At the end before I send out the seeds I ask for requests based on the seeds that are listed at the website. I give as many requested seed packets as possible. I then divide the rest trying to send seeds based on how knowledgable the participant seems. If you sent more common seeds, I give easy to grow more common seeds back. It varies of course by the size of the group, participants that sent alot of seeds, things like that. It helps when participants give me a list of their wants. I just have to match up things then. :)
I do this all myself. Being an organized person comes in handy. I have alot of fun with the unusual seed swap. I learn about seeds I have never heard of, and have the opportunity to grow, and also share the extra seeds I get with neighbors that might venture out of the box and try something unusual in their own gardens.
Isnt gardening great!!!!
my pic is of an escargot begonia that my hubby and I grew from a leaf sent by a kind gardener as an extra in the bulb box she sent. It was fun and look how cool this new plant is!

I am curious... How in the world do you separate so many different types of seeds and decide what to send to whom?? Also, I think the deadline was an early September date, but cannot locate the info . I would love to send my $ to participate. Unfortunately don't have any to share as I am just getting started in "Sun" gardening....have been a woodland shade gardener till now. If you could post the link again for both the seed and the bulb swap, I would be very grateful, as I now have my $ for Sept and can send some in to participate.
--Thanks very much....and thanks for coordinating these exciting swaps!

birdie
do you know how to get to your dmail? that is where she said she sent the info? if not plmk and i will help you ok? thxs

Theresa--That Escargot begonia is fabulous, and what a kind gift to you. I have seen them a couple times before and always admired them. I have this quirk about the odder , the better. thanks for sharing about your process. I (not being an organized person) just could not even fathom how you got this done.(still cant, but have a healthy respect for your skills!!) Well, the checks are in the mail and I made very few requests, cause..well just don't know what to request. Have had houseplants for 30= years and been an outdoor gardener bout the same time. Can't wait to be surprised. Will be like Christmas morning when I was a child!!
Moretz-- Yes, i got my Dmail, but our messages crossed at about the same time ;-))

Theresa,
I've sent the seeds for the unusual seeds swap.
Please let me know if they arrive.
Postage payed by PayPal.

Birdie Blue
What kind of sun plants are you looking for? I have been a sun gardener for about 5 yrs now and have lots of sun seeds. I am just getting started with shade gardening. Please give us a few of your wants, I'll put your name on them for you.

Mailed my seeds today. Priority mail.

My seeds went in the mail today,
Priority Mail also, but fro here that means usual "air mail".
Hope they make it in time.

Yikes, the time has passed, hasn’t it? I am ready to send out my seeds, except I am waiting on one blue impatiens seedpod which looks mature, but hasn’t exploded yet (I put a little baggie over this one to catch the seeds). I currently only have a few of these seeds, and wanted to put a few more in the packet…

I sent my envelope today, I hope it has some seeds everyone can enjoy.

I'm workin' on it. Hope I can make the deadline! I worked on one until I discovered it's sterile. I won't have many, but will have some.

Sent my small package of 5 packs out today.
1 Astrantia major---Masterwort
1 Alpine Strawberry White Pineapple. No runners, good ground cover and yummy snack while gardening. LOL
2 French Heirloom lettuce beautiful enough for the flower garden
1 Minnesota Midget Melon

Opps---that was supposed to be my French Heirloom lettuce.



This message was edited Sep 5, 2008 4:55 PM

Well I'm still holding out for a few more days. A lot of things are going dormant due to the dry, hot weather. I'm hoping a couple more things will mature before I mail.

I'm really furious at myself!!! A few weeks ago I harvested all my lovage (Levisticum officinale) seeds before I pruned it down. Now I can't find them anywhere. I'm afraid they may have been composted with the clippings or tossed in the garbage by mistake. I've looked everywhere I can think of, but no luck. I wanted some, not only for this swap, but I wanted to try WS with it to see how it would do. It is a nice looking herb & tastes just like celery leaves, but a little stronger. GRR!! Well, I guess I'll have to try again next year. Sorry guys.

Man, I can't win. Today I harvested some seeds from my purple loosestrife (Lythrum sp.). I spent a good bit of time cleaning them up & getting them ready. Then I went to PF & found out they are forbidden in several states. I don't want to break the law, so I guess I won't be mailing them either. I don't understand it. I have never had one single volunteer seedling from this plant. Yet things like Yarrow that crowds out everything in its path, is still OK. Go figure.

Oh, yes, beebonnet! I want your strawberry!!!! What lettuce is that? I've got gobs, but always love a new one.

Yes, Pam, I've had this discussion with other DGers because Purple Loosestrife is a favorite pondside plant of mine. It's gorgeous! Well, I think so, anyway.

Isnt the wild purple loosestrife different than the one that we have in our gardens? My friend has had one for over 15 years and it never has spread, not one single bit. This has been a topic of discussion for years here at DG forums too.

Im gonna try to harvest some chocolate joe pye weed. Hope they are ready!

I've got lovage seeds I can send in if you want!

And yes, purple loosestrife is a really, really bad guy. There is only one - not a wild version vs a cultivated one. No doubt it's pretty, but it has escaped here in IL and each year you can see more and more of it where it's not supposed to be. I spent a fair amount of my summer last year battling against it in a nature preserve not too far from my house. Sadly, there's way more of it than manpower to go around. So even if it may seem like it's not a problem in your area, that's not true everywhere.

In these parts it's common to see it with its two other thug partners - phragmites and narrow leaved cattail. Those three species alone are wiping out everything else.

I just finished hosting a swap myself so need a few more days to get my seeds organized for this one! But they're coming! I can't wait - I love to try new things!!

I would like some Japanese Morning glory if any comes in.

Carol

Carol - You are getting your wish! ;-)

Oh, I'd love some Japanese Morning Glories, too. I can send some of my White Feathered Hige morning glory, if anyone is interested. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/178629/

Deb

Deb - I'm making up baggies so those participating are each getting a baggie where each seed in the zipbag is a different MG cultivar. Some are Japanese created and some are American created. So you'll get to grow all different cultivars! All are Ipomoea nils (which I don't consider invasive even here in my zone 10a). These have the larger blooms.These vines like warmer temps with morning shade and 3-5 hours afternoon sun during the summer. But they can be grown in individual pots indoors in front of a sunny window or with grow lights in the winter. I grow them in pots and also in a garden bed with rich soil. Yes, these prefer rich soil to thrive & bloom and have to be fertilized regularly. (These are NOT the wild MGs that are considered invasive and can grow in the worst soil!!!) They are also annuals, but if you provide them with the right conditions, you may get enough seeds to grow them again and for sharing/trading. :-) That is my contribution to this year's unusual seed swap. Anyone that doesn't like MGs or vines can use them for a future trade. :-)

Wow! I thought almost all "morning Glories " were the "pest "type. I am learning different!
those White Feathered Hige are georgeous and now I am sooo curous about these Japenese ones.
I have some seeds on the way, but don't know if considered unusual.. Black eyed Susan Vine, Hyacynth Bean (hopefully)

Thanks, chatnoir, I have plenty lovage for myself. I just thought it would be a nice "unusual" to swap & WSing it would just be out of curiousity.

I suspect the reason I've never had any problems with the purple loosestrife (Lythrum sp.) is because I have sandy soil. I'm guessing that since the 2 accomplices chatnoir mentioned are moisture lovers, that it becomes a bad guy when it gets plenty to drink?

I sent my seeds out earlier today, but realized my address is hard to read on the package, so I’ll send you a dmail with the info, Theresa.

Becky, your morning glory pics are always amazing, and if the nils aren’t invasive in your zone I think they’ll be fine here too. I still have a bit of empty space on my fence, and I’d love to try some :-).

Sunny - You will get some, too! Be sure to share photos with me of the blooms! My seeds are from open-pollination and sometimes some really cool crosses are created by the bees and the hummingbirds (and me sometimes, too!). :-) They grow pretty fast from seeds. :-)