Cool..I've been waiting to hear about a plant swap in Chicagoland. Every other area seems to have one but us so this is great.

I live near Oak Park - so driving to Skokie would not be too far for me. I have lots! of plants to trade (many of them IL natives)- just have to dig them. And I have about 3 years of back issues of Garden Design (in decent to good condition) that I'd like to give to a good home.

I will email you with regard to directions.

Thank you

I really hope to make it to the swap! Last year's was excellent.

Gonativegirl, I was already planning to bring some Starry False Solomon's Seal and Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum) to the swap, let me know if you want some of that and IÂll bring some extra. I donÂt think I have much else in the way of natives, other than horsetail, 18" tall, seems to be Equisetum laevigatum or hyemale. IÂd love to find out what you might bring! You donÂt have Illinois Bundleflower by any chance, do you? I donÂt have any sprouts from my seeds yet.

Dear Stage rat,

Re: the bundleflower - I've had a handful of them (2 or 3) in the past in my front bed. It's slow to come up so I will see if I can dig one - they're a little unpredictable otherwise, I have a client that I see again in June or July that has them everywhere.

Off the top of my head, I have in abundance lots of Sweet Indian Plantain, way too much Cup Plant, Prairie Cord Grass, Wild Golden Glow (Green Coneflower), Tall Coreopsis, Wild Geranium, Stiff Goldenrod, Ohio Spiderwort, Ironweed, Prairie Sage, Yellow Coneflower, New England Aster, New York Aster and more.

I would love some Celadine Poppy - it's a little hard to come by. The False Solomon's Seal too.

Gonativegal:

Argh! I feel dumb. I don't have the Stylophorum, I have the other one, Chelidonium, the non-native one. Lindalana figured this out last year, but I didn't correct my photo. It's naturalized in my area. It looks great with Lunaria, while you're waiting to find the native one! If you'd like it, I can bring it.

I'll bring plenty of the false Solomon's Seal. If you can find a bundleflower plant for me, that would be great! An aster or Ironweed would be neat too. I sowed a ton of asters and don't have any sprouts. I think both of the ones you listed are tall? I'll take whichever has more vivid or bigger flowers. If you have a short aster, I'd love that.

In the Wintersowing forum, Lindalana suggested we post what we want and can bring:

In addition to perennial asters (including Stokes), I'd love Centaurea Montana, scented geranium, Melampodium, and Brunnera Jack Frost. :)

I will bring some of the following. If you (anyone coming to the swap) know you want it, tell me and I'll mark it for you and probably can bring more:
Horsetail for anyone who wants it. It grows to 18" tall.
Yellow Iris (medium yellow, bearded)
Walking Onion
Celandine Poppy, the Chelidonium one
Hosta -- medium green, lav flowers
Mystery sedum
Starry False Solomon's Seal
Lily of the Valley
KMOTGG seedlings
Agastache foeniculum seedlings
Tovara--Painter's Palette--seedlings
Fevefew seedlings
Montauk Daisy seedlings

Since I am cross posting this on winter sowing forum to gain better coverage please check winter sowing forum post as well.
I am slowly working my way through digging out plants.
So far have some
hardy geraniums- most bloom fall, beautiful ground cover and easy as weed to grow.
Lychnis- pink, wintersown last year, have to look up the name
columbine Chocolate soldier- was first to bloom this year
columbine flabellata white- short spurless
astilbe chinensis var davidii- beautiful pinkish- purplish foliage so far- started last year from seed, should be tall
aruncus aesthusifolius- dwarf goatsbeard- from seed last year, cute ferny foliage
anemone robutussima- this one hard to transplant so am hoping will be successful
lysimachia atropurpurea- love that purple foliage and it is first time in 5 years I am dividing it so it is not aggressive as others

I'm close by but I don't have anything to swap--I don't have it that together! Just wanted to say that a couple of years ago I found a beautiful plant growing in my back yard, ID'd it as Celandine poppy and was tickled; now I can't get it to stop! So I have many live specimens anybody's welcome to come and pull up ; ) I'd be glad to save some seed and mail it when it's time. Actually, I'd like to come by just so I can see what some of your native things look like since I'm not from around here. Is garlic supposed to be native? I've got some kind of wild garlic all over the place.

Joan
you more than welcome to come! I remember time when my garden was in the beginning- got some plants from neighbor swaps, then started WS and now....it is hard to find empty space
{{gwi:244961}}
I love visiting other people gardens. At the very least it gives me idea what I like and do not like about designs, I might pick up a design concept or see how mature clump will look and maybe I should move it now while it is small..

Thanks for e-mailing me! I have not been visiting this forum. IÂd like to come. I live in Buffalo Grove. How do we bring the plants? I have a problemÂIÂm out of pots as DH tossed them in the recycling: guess he couldnÂt imagine why I needed so manyÂ

When trading with a few friends I have been just bringing them in trays and then into plastic grocery bags! Very inelegantÂ

I have Centaurea Montana, dwarf alpine columbine (dark purple, short spurred, cute as can be: love them), geranium JohnsonÂs Blue, geranium sanguineum (magenta), Alma Potschke aster (tall, magenta), trailing catmint (Nepeta), Phlox (a maroonish-lavendar-pink), Monarda (Bee Balm) true red color, Daylily Chicago Royal, Sedum Autumn Joy, dwarf prostrate sedum Indian Paintbrush. Couple of very young arborvitae trees 6-8 inches tall. Plenty of orange wild daylilies if anyone wants those! I can also take cuttings of my scented geranium if anyone wants those; they root very easily.

I have not attended a swap before. I donÂt want to dig plants no one there wants: do people say here what they want and those are what you bring?

Thanks!
Linnea

Forgot to say above...I also have cuttings of dahlias I am rooting. I started the tubers inside in March and they grew so fast I took cuttings too. They have been rooting now for 2-3 weeks so IÂm not sure how far along they will be. I got directions on GW but have only grown from tubers before, not from cuttings.

First, an addition to what I can bring: Red raspberry.

Linnea:

We can set up swaps beforehand, but I am also going to bring some plants that I only hope will go home to another place. I'd rather not dig up things I'll just take home again, but I'll risk it because I know my plants are great, right, and someone will want them? :) There are people from this forum coming, as well as the Wintersowing forum, plus people from Lindalana's neighborhood. You listed very nice plants, so I'm sure they would find good homes.

Do I have anything you'd like? Or, do I have any seeds on my swap list that you're interested in? I'd LOVE some of your red monarda, and centaurea. The dwarf alpine columbine, scented geranium cuttings, and geranium sanguineum would be wonderful, too. But that sounds awfully greedy! Getting the first two would make me very happy.

I don't mind getting the plants in a grocery bag, not at all!

Joandaugh, I hope you do come by, it's fun to meet other gardeners! If your wild garlic has little white flowers, it's probably garlic mustard, which is actually an invasive plant. It takes over, and kills off the natives. If you look it up by that name, you'll get a photo so you can be sure. The first-year seedlings look different, so it's good to know that they look like too.

Oh, this is so hard! I'm so close (Highland Park) but the 23 is our anniversary and we have dinner plans :-(

Think I can convince DH I'd rather go to a plant swap?

Reading about cuttings and seeds then seeing that picture - well let's just say I'm mighty intimidated! Most of the time I can't even remember the names of things in my garden!

I have a question for gardners in this area but will start a new post - hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.

Deb

Stage_rat: Sorry I donÂt know your real name! I will bring some monarda, centaurea, and scented geranium cuttings for you. I can dig more of some things if I know they are wanted. The other ones will be no problem: not sure yet how many alpine columbines I will have. I direct sowed a lot last year but they are so tiny: I want to bring some decent sized ones. I am a rotten seed sower (have not WSed: bought seeds and supplies, never did it.) so would want plants instead of seeds.

I will have to look up some of those plants you listed. I have some of those already.

I would like some of your tomato plants if you have extras: the heirloom varieties like Black Krim and similar. I donÂt have much room for tomatoes (like 5-6 plants) but would like fresh eating kinds, smaller or cherry types too rather than large-fruited beefsteak types(which seems to take too long to mature).

What is "KMOTGG seedlings"?

Linnea

Can't believe I actually know this - KMOTGG = Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate. Now don't ask me what it looks like!

Thanks for the name. I was able to google pictures (though some sites said it was a Persicaria and some a Polygonum). Very pretty though too big for my garden. Why is it called that, "Kiss me over the Garden Gate"?

dlm, I wish you could make it! The swap starts pretty early, maybe you can come briefly, and then go off to dinner? If necessary, wear your cocktail dress--and sneakers!

KMOTGG: Maybe some Victorians named it that because it will lean over a fence and tickle you with the pink flower-dangles.

Gonativegal, are you still planning to attend? I realized that I have Verbena hastata that I could bring.

Linnea: I posted more detail on the W-sowing forum, but I will bring some tomatoes, Siberian Iris, Goatsbeard cuttings, and Foxglove if you want.

I'm going to try and make it but as I said, will be coming empty handed. Among the few things I have that could be split at this point are hostas of various kinds but that's a real yawn for most people here - we all have them! My coreopsis are big enought to split, I suppose - it's been such a slow start. I'm only a couple of blocks from the lake so haven't had those afternoon warm-ups that happen even a couple of miles west of me.

Do we get a Cliff notes handout for nicknames/real names? I just started coming to this forum and can't even link up nicknames with specific posters yet. Mental-pause is a terrible thing ;-)

stage rat - Cocktail dress? What's that? Oh you make me laugh. It's a red letter day when I get out of my jeans or workout clothes!

dlm:

Yay! I'm glad you can make it! I can't remember if we had name tags last year. I'll be the one wearing Tevas and wool socks! (Unless it's raining hard, in which case it will be big brown boots)

It is not promising to rain but it is cool and not sunny.
Deb, am so glad you could make it.
Am planning to get name tags going.
One gal already stopped in with beautiful ferns.

oh shoot - it's looking more difficult now. Just found out I need to be the driver to get my son to work today and he starts at 5 - never easy is it? Will just have to play this by ear.

Deb
sorry it did not work for you, mark your calendar for next year, it is on Friday of Memorial Day weekend.
Am so happy - many people came, brought grand goodies, we stayed up like till 10 pm chatting. Wish weather was better but, oh, there is always next year.

I'm so sorry I missed it! Maybe you'll do a mid-summer tour? - should be warm by then ;-)

I'm sorry you missed it, dlm, etc.. Like Lindalana says, mark your calendars for next year! I really like that we could arrange some swaps ahead of time, I'm very happy to have those plants. And then to show up and see what random stuff was carried in was exciting! Being handed a shovel to dig something out of Lindalana's yard is very unnerving, though! It's like being handed a chisel and told to take a little piece of Michelangelo's David.

Dear Lindalana,

I am such a dunst- I had it marked on my calendar for this Friday. Rats!

I work in the Hort industry and it's been a tough month trying to get everything done much less look at email. I am so sorry I didn't respond to your inquiry sooner.

I am glad that you had a lot of folks show up and had a great time. And as you made mention, there's always next year.

However, I'm still waiting for the IL sensitive plant to emerge - it's a late one so if and when it shows itself if you're still interested let me know.

Hi, Gonativegal:

I'm sorry you missed the swap! Definitely do it next year. I finally have sprouts in my container of bundleflower--yay! One has a cute little frond already. I hope the deer don't annihilate them.

Happy gardening!

Glad to hear you have the seeds. I had scheduled an appointment in Skokie for 5/31 with a client thinking it was (like a dumdum) it was that weekend.

Definately, would like to attend next year.