Hi Jan,
If you get this before everyone is gone, (which I didn't) tell them Hi for me. I meant to
send this yesterday but got busy with my daylilies.

I love you all and my thoughts are with you this absolutely beautiful God
given day to have the swap. Mona

We had intended to go to the swap this spring, but sadly we were called to Florida and just today got back...

Glad it went well.. and you sure had some wonderful weather..

Carolyn

Perfect weather, excellent food, friendly faces, and lots of plants is my description of the day. Thank you a million times over, Jan for letting us plant lovers invade your slice of heaven. I gotta give a big thumbs up on the brugmansia lecture. I love my brugs! You can't imagine how much I look forward to seeing my plant friends. It was so nice to see everybody that was there; I missed the ones that were not. Now I'm not naming any names but there was a certain 'mater growing couple that snuck out without saying goodbye again. It was so good to see you all! Rhonda

Once again, an AWESOME day!

Jim and Jan thank you for allowing us to gather at the river again. It is such a beautifully, peaceful setting.
Jeff awesome job organizing everything. It was much more relaxed this year, than it was last year, and Im sure you really appreciate that.

Joe and Judith thank you for sharing your knowledge with everyone. I think that you may need to tutor Jeff a little bit, so that he too can grow these gorgeous flowers.

Thank you Marianne for our awesome talk last night. If only we didn't need to sleep, I could have talked for hours!

Last but not least, thank you to everyone for sharing your plants with myself and everyone else. The plants mean so much more to me than anything I could ever purchase! It was so good to see everyone again.

First - thank you Jan (I don't think I've ever exchanged emails with Jim and to be quite honest, I don't think I even got to meet him yesterday?) and Jim (even if I missed you!) not just for providing a place for the swap, but such a perfect place! You don't know (or maybe you do??) how great it is for me to not only be able to have some or all of my kids along with me where they can take part but also "attractions" that they can take advantage of when they become disinterested in the main event. Woods and river-side was just the ticket! As a further bonus, the no-alchol rule sets me all the more at ease where their safety is concerned. (no, I'm not a rabid anti-drinking type, but the absence of alcohol in a setting sets me much more at ease when my kids are in the equation - stupid and bad things can happen when alcohol is introduced in an equation and it was so nice not having to fret about that) On the way home I asked the kids if they thought it might be wise or prudent to oh, you know, keep an extra set of clothes or gee, even their swim suits/trunks in the 'van for future possibilities of an opportunity to go swimming. They agreed. :) One, for her own reasons, had brought a change of clothes, the other two hadn't. But once Sterling "fell in" when wading out with his fishing rod, it was pretty much moot to debate on whether they should be allowed to go swimming in their clothes. They had a great time, their only "gripes" being wholly centered on me saying "no" to a repeated request. (they wanted to rent a canoe, but with no life jackets, NO EXPERIENCE, and no adult supervision/their father for instance, I just couldn't give them the go-ahead - sorry, maybe next time or even before the next swap since hubby is so keen on the idea now and especially since I got back and told him how nice it is up there) The fact that my kids enjoyed themselves and the environment was conducive to kids, would outweigh virtually anything else for me even if I hadn't also enjoyed myself. We will be back. :)

But Jan & Jim - THANK YOU FOR GOOD DIRECTIONS! :) Not having a street address/city/zip to plug into my mapping program/route planner that I LOVE because I can get directions down to 1/10th of a mile and it's wonderfully precise, not being able to use that had me a bit spun because I figured I'd end up lost in foreign territory. Now, while I can always find my way home if I get lost whether in a vehicle or on foot in the midst of the woods or mountains, trying to insure I get to a specific place within a specific timeframe... that's another story. :) But the directions on your website from my general area were just fine and I feel confident I can get to/from there even in the dark now.

Jeff - Thank YOU for the time you dedicate to making things "happen"... I KNOW firsthand how much of yourself (not just time and energy, but those too!) goes into arranging and organizing an event like this and my great thanks is wholly empathetic! It was REALLY NICE meeting you. You were personable in emails, but even moreso in person. It is no offense to anyone else, but since you were my "hook-up" to MTPS it really was you that everything else would depend upon - and you are a fine ambassador to the swap and gardening in Middle Tennessee :)

Jeff & Jan and others who spoke up pre-MTPS and post-freeze around Easter to let me know to come even though my "new" plants were wiped out - THANK YOU. I had convinced myself to not go and was only prompted to reconsider and then commit after you were encouraging and let me know that I certainly wasn't alone - and now I know that I would have sorely regretted not attending. As Jeff knows (but I don't think anyone else here did), I was accustomed in the past to much higher pressure and far more rigid (must have been that "military bearing") plant swaps from a completely different area of the U.S., so to attend this one was not only different, but much, much better. My anxiety did get the better of me around 5 AM and will confess that if it hadn't been for Sterling/my youngest son having invested in a fishing license out of his own pocket (okay, yes, we didn't know for sure he would be legal without it, but $8 for his license was much cheaper than a pop/surprise license inspection by a game warden and what fines are involved if you don't have one and need one) and his genuine desire to go fishing, I probably would have choked and just stayed firmly planted on the hill for the day. I don't foresee that as an issue in the future. Everyone was so nice... so... well, so not-that-other-part-of-the-country-ish... trust me Jeff, you are so NOT a "swap Nazi" compared to past experiences!!! But you can keep the title if you want. :)

I was surprised to meet several people who were not on Gardenweb - it threw me out of whack a bit not being able to jot down a screen name, but they were just wonderful. I haven't yet had the chance to check my swap journal to see if they included full names and addresses for me or not - I hope they did because I want to write them and thank them again since they won't ever see this thread online.

Everyone was not just nice, but so generous. While I only had seeds and some non-plant material items for trade, my wishes were certainly met and I also received on behalf of the Sanctuary, many plants to put in for the wildlife here. I know the wild critters would say thank you - even if for some of them their idea of a thank you "note" is pooping next to a plant or spraying it to let me know they've been there and like it and such. :) Those of you who provided plants that will be used here at the Sanctuary, I want you to know that it really does make a difference for the wildlife. I KNOW they are responding to the environment when even the rarely seen ones make blatant appearances. While I had only actually seen one twice before (once I was in a vehicle at night and it landed on the road briefly, the other time I was bush hogging in the wooded area and disturbed one that showed me it had taken up residence behind "the shop" in the woods), I can now say I have seen a Whippoorwill up close and personal because one came out the other night just before the faded edge of illumination from the security light and stayed for quite some time on the driveway not more than twenty feet away from me, singing out its whip-poor-will song and looking right at me and four of the canines. It wasn't a fluke, the bird isn't sick, it was fully aware of where it had chosen to land and I cannot even begin to express how special that moment was. I'm rather of the mind that when wildlife, especially one so elusive as that, make such a blatant and extended "appearance" without any "cover" and don't even flinch when spoken to - then it is my belief that the creature has been "moved" with Divinely inspired courage to act out of its cautious habit/nature/norm to give such a sign. Different from a wild creature saying "thank you" for intervention and assistance with an injury or post-care/released... more as if to say "thank you for giving to this place that is our home". I feel truly blessed each time an event such as that takes place and I know it is because of the effort to provide for the wildlife (and domestics, but with the plants moreso the wildlife in maintaining and encouraging things for their habitat) despite our human presence on the very same ground. Kerridwen's Sanctuary endeavours to go "above and beyond" just bird-feeders and the "rewards" are genuinely inspiring. Everyone who has given seeds and plants to that effort I feel confident will be thanked beyond my words - word gets around with the wildlife ;)

I didn't mean to go on and on about that aspect of MTPS but I suspect that at least some here will "get" what I'm talking about or at least sense what "moves" me inside ... the ineffable mystery of our symbiotic existence with plants and animals and the spiritual glue that I think binds us all together.

I really enjoyed - and though it a tad "coincidental" that Brugmansia would be the subject - the seminar/lecture/Q&A at MTPS. Figure the odds that one of my few intense focus areas in botanicals would be the topic at the first MTPS I attend. Judith & Joe - thank you! I am so incredibly hopeful that it will spawn more Brug fanciers in our area. I'm "desperate" for more trading "closer to home". Currently the bulk of my Brug trading and acquisitions is done at much greater distances and via USPS. I am one of those anal hybridizers that trials new varieties and documents "everything". :) I wish I had had more varieties to offer of cuttings, but with experience under my belt, I didn't dare to put my Brugs out until a short while before the swap, so there was only so much new growth that I could take cuttings from for the swap. If I had known that Jeff had a Brug-block, I would have brought a specific already-rooted and growing specimen for him that has been "tried and true" for me. I'll have to start a new one to give him in October and see if he can kill it LOL

The "swapping" was a bit faster paced than I had anticipated... I'll know next time to not tally or linger and get to everyone's table or set-up promptly, because I "missed" the bulk and that includes even saying hello and I feel really bad about not at least introducing myself. I think I will also make a concerted effort to arrange more trades pre-meet and earlier than I did this time. I saw some really smart people who had wagons to pull along with plants in them - and wish I had had such forethought! It would have been much easier than trying to hold as much as I could or summoning kids to help while I went to and fro. Live and learn!

A real highlight for me was the truly positive energy of being around people who enjoy plants as much as I do. While my family has "always" had an edibles garden to varying degrees (in my youth it was the mainstay of our food supply, lots of canning, freezing, etc. - as I've gotten older and my parents have, their gardening has been scaled down), I still stick out like a sore thumb because my interest/involvement/"greenthumbness" tends to be more than anyone else's "level" of interest/involvement. So to be around others just as passionate about plants was a real treat. For me to say I enjoyed myself is saying a lot, because normally I not only steer clear of people, especially larger groups of people, in person, but would also be chomping at the bit to leave right after saying hello and in fits of anxiety post-event on the way home swearing "never again" - and it wasn't at all like that for me. It was "all good". So I have to reiterate the "wow double wow" of Jan's. :)

It had been a looooong time since I had felt that comfortable in a group of "total strangers"... which just goes to prove that YOU ALL ARE GREAT! :)

HermitOnTheHill

Yes, Jan I agree, wow and double wow! This was our third trip to the river and it just gets better every time! We left Knoxville at noon on Friday and returned on Sunday at 8:00 pm! We had such a wonderful time we wished we could have camped for one more night. The fellowship, over-abundance of awesome food, and plants (in that order). What more could a person want? It was wonderful seeing everyone again and made several new friends! Plenty of hugs to go around and laughter.

We finally got to go on a canoe trip Sunday morning before we left. We hadn't gone before because our daughter Maleah was too little. It was a wonderful adventure for our family and can't wait to do it again next time! Oh, and Jan, I have no soreness at all this morning :).

The only downfall of our trip was when we returned home. We have three cats all in the house over the weekend. When we left Friday, the bathroom door was accidently kept shut where the litter box is. As you can imagine...we had quite a mess on our hands when we came home. I felt so bad for my furbabies not having access to it.

I would say the best part is my children having wonderful memories that will be with them for a lifetime. Thank you Jim and Jan!

Rebecca and family

So glad to hear that you all had a wonderful day. You all certainly know how to put on a swap!!!!

Utterly PERFECT day!! Couldn't have been any better (well, unless I'd been able to trade for George Clooney. A girl can dream can't she?!) I know it's verbotten to mention the Tennessean, but my life changed last spring when I read about something I'd never heard of before...gardeners who get together to trade things. Last spring's MTPS turned out to be the last trip my mom and I got to take together. And yes, it was a madhouse, and yes, I'm glad it wasn't as crazy this year. But that article opened the door for so many friendships I wouldn't have made otherwise, even some friendships at work. Peggy (from work) allowed me to ride down with her and we both enjoyed ourselves immensely. I saw one of Jeff's posts about the dollar amount that he got off just a couple trades. Peg and I both had the same experience. I got so much cool stuff, I'm still kind of freaking out. The fellowship alone was more than worth the trip. We've started a small swap up near Nashville, in Hendersonville, and would love to have all of you guys come join us. We've already been encouraging everyone we've been in contact with up here to come to the river also. It was such a pleasure to meet everyone. Jan, I know you guys have to work really hard to keep your place in such good shape, but I know it has to be a dream job. I could have happily sat with my feet dangling in the river all weekend. Thank all of you so much. However, you will be plagued with me from now on!

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! We had such a great time camping and visiting and swapping. Jan and Jim are such nice people, we enjoyed visiting with them and thank them for making their campground available. Jo and I were both newbies and everyone was so nice and generous. We had a blast and plan to make this an annual trip. Emmily Jo had a great time and was talking about it all weekend her mom said. Jo has gotten all her plants in the ground and I only have a couple left to do. We are looking forward to the fall swap as well. Thanks everyone for everything! Emmy

sweetposey,

Was your mom the one with the widebrimmed hat sitting next to the pavillion last year????????? Sorry I missed you all but the fall swap is on the calender. Glad ya'll had a good time and we will be bringing the fishing poles with us and planning on a canoe trip to.
Martha

Martha,
My mom wasn't wearing a hat. She was in a wheelchair and we didn't get to stay long because of the heat. She had had a stroke several years ago and couldn't take the heat. But she still had a blast. I'll look forward to meeting you in the fall!