New Year Theme Swap
It's that time of year for New Beginnings and a fresh start to a New Year!
So, let's share our love of seeds with one another by having a theme swap.
What is a theme garden? Well, it's any garden built around a particular theme. Probably the all-time classic one you have heard about is the herb garden, or the vegetable garden. You could build it around a color - moon garden (all white), love garden (all red). You can build it around plant requirements (smart gardeners do this, I'm not one of them, LOL) - shade garden, sun garden, woodland garden, etc. It can be any idea at all, really - be creative! Some people collect plants that have the names of their family members or they like plants that have animal names (like tiger lily.) When I participated last year, I would see the ideas others posted and kept thinking, "I want that one, too!" I currently have a couple, and have some new ideas for this year. It is going to be lots of FUN!!!!
Please sign up on this post up through January 8th, 2016.
List your theme gardens, and any particular seeds you might like for them. Also, update your "Seeds Wanted" file, even if it doesn't have anything to do with the swap - some of us look at those and add in any matches we might have! Then, watch others' posts and start gathering seeds.
You may designate seeds for a specific person, but please put them in a separate baggy with their name on a sticky note rather than indicating it on the packet. That way, if one person gets 20 moonflower packets sent in for them, I can redistribute some to other players.
Seeds should be packaged in ready-to-trade individual packs; So as to cut down on sorting bulk seeds. You can add bonus packs that are ones that you are basically giving away (please include a sticky note with "Bonus" on them.) and that you don't expect something in return.
All types of seeds are welcome. However, if you only want vegetable seeds or only want flower seeds, or whatever, please let me know. I will do the best I can to fullfill that request based on what is sent in.
You are welcome to send in as many as you like - surplus will be distributed as I see fit.
If there is alot left I will do a "leftover" pick email at end of swap.
I will be contacting everyone around January 9th and will be looking for seeds to be sent to me by January 22th, so I can redistribute them, I plan to have the seeds in the mail back to you for an early February arrival date.
Please only send seeds that were harvested or purchased in 2014 or up to this year. Please let me know if you are willing to accept seeds from previous years before 2014.
You will need to send your seeds to me in a bubble mailer envelope. No boxes. Include a self-addressed label with your seeds. Keep the labels fairly small so I can try to re-use the bubble mailer you send when I return seeds to you or send a mailer that is sufficiently large. Inside the mailer include a listing of the seeds you have sent, a copy of your theme garden list and seed wishes, and your GW name.
Most importantly: Please include postage to equal the amount of postage or more it costs you to send your package.
Note to Newbies: if you have only few packs, still play! If you have NO seeds to trade, go buy 2 or 3 packs and still play! Many "vets" send in extras to swaps to be given away.
Some themes I have seen or heard of over the years and there is lots more:
Gemstones - (topaz, opal, quartz, diamond, emerald, ruby, etc.)
Classical Herb - (Italian Basil Pesto, Lavender, Mint, Rosemary)
Vegetable - (tomato, pepper, cucumber)
Numbers Garden (Four O'Clocks, Five Spot)
Foliage that is "Anything But Green" (Gray, brown, or purple foliage)
Witch's Garden, (Mandrake, Rowan, Aconitum vulparia, Wolfsbane)
Fairytale garden (fairy, pixie, dwarf, gnome, dragon, wizard, treasure, or miniature in the name)
I love reading everyone's ideas. I will be gathering seeds and hunting through my seed box to find things that everyone will like! So let's get creative!!
Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Tammy (mcc371)
P.S. I will go ahead and start with my theme:
My Theme Gardens:
Gemstone garden- anything with names or colors associated with a Gemstone.
Frontier Days Garden- anything heirloom
Patriotic Garden- anything red, white, or blue
Heal Me Garden- anything medicinal.
Comments (370)
silverdragon7
7 years agoJust got home from the post office. Still no seeds. :( I'm so envious of all the posts who got their packages. So exciting! I'll just have to be more patient I guess.
val (MA z6)
7 years agoAw, silverdragon, hang in there....it's hard to wait for, but it'll be worth it :o)
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ishareflowers {Lisa}
7 years agoMaybe now that everyone has placed their guesses for the delivery of the packages you could get your confirmation number and track your package.
poisondartfrog
7 years agosilverdragon are you further from the host than people already receiving? If they were all mailed by Saturday I would still expect the further you are from the point of mailing the longer it will take to receive.
silverdragon7
7 years agoIt looks like only about half to three-quarters have gotten their packages back, but it's still really hard to wait. I'm sure I'm not the only one on the edge of their seat waiting for the postal delivery every day. :) Here's to us stragglers who are still waiting! lol
ishareflowers {Lisa}
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI haven't gotten my package either.
Alana, I missed that it said packages were all mailed on Saturday. I should be concerned then because VAL was the first to get her package and she lives about 45 minutes from me in the same state.
mcc371- Tammy M.
Original Author7 years agoI wonder since I mailed on Saturday and Monday being a holiday if that had a impact on the packs being slower to receive?? hmm. I am going to the post office today and I'll ask the clerk how the saturday parcels are sent. As I am getting concerned as well. When get home, I will have to look at the receipts and see when everyone should have gotten their pack.
mcc371- Tammy M.
Original Author7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoishare there was packs mailed out on several different days and the remaining went out saturday. Not all mailed at once. That post just meant "all had been mailed"
val (MA z6)
7 years agoI have had some packages take extra long even though they there was not a holiday...but I'm betting the Mon. holiday DID impact the time of delivery.
Crisann12 (zone 4)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoGot my seeds today...looking through them right now!!! WOW...I'm gonna need a bigger yard...thanks everyone!!
ponyexpress_1
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI just received my package. All I can say is.....WOW! I can't wait to go through them all. Thank you so much Tammy for all the time and effort I know you put into all of this.
slm2118
7 years agoI recieved my package today! Everyone was so generous!!!! Thank you Tammy for hosting a great swap!!
racetowin
7 years agoHey Val,
Received my seeds today...How wonderful they are.
Thanks a lot I have lots to germinate an lots I never did see.
Will do it again ..
racetowin..;O)
dem_pa
7 years agoI received my seeds today. Thanks to all who shared their seeds. Thanks also to a great hostess.
dm_kelly
7 years agoWhen I got home from work today I found 4 inches of snow and a beautiful package of seeds that reminded me spring will be here soon. I want to say thank you everyone for all of the wonderful seeds but that just seems so inadequate. I'm blown away by the generosity that was shown. Thank you all!!!
ishareflowers {Lisa}
7 years agoI tracked to see where my package had gone to get here just for the heck of it. It said that it had been accepted on Tuesday at 2 o'clock. I guess the holiday did mess up the mailing of the packages a bit, some of our packages must have sat around from Saturday until Tuesday until they were scanned and left Tammy's P.O.
Thank you to everyone who sent seeds in for me and Tammy for hosting.
Happy planting
Lisa
silverdragon7
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI just went through the list and it looks like there are still six packages floating around? I haven't seen a post from Olya Me, Midwestfarmwife, or micyrey, and EricaBraun and I are still checking the mail with anticipation.
bluee19
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI did receive my wonderful package and posted it last week.
EricaBraun
7 years agoGah! Mail came and no pack. This is turning into torture.
But, on a happier note, I just might have had the correct guess when I guessed that my pack would be last. Lol.
silverdragon7
7 years agoNone here either EricaBraun. I think it's funny that we're both competing for last place and both of us voted for ourselves to get last.
EricaBraun
7 years agoSilver - Rofl. I didn't realize that you had voted for yourself as last place too.
mcc371- Tammy M.
Original Author7 years agoNow that's funny you both voted for yourself to be last. I am headed in house now cause I thought surely everyone would have their packs by now...had just got home and thought would sit in yard a few minutes an enjoy the 70 degree weather it is so peaceful out here.
mcc371- Tammy M.
Original Author7 years agoErica you should have gotten yours today .#9500111506826047072523.so your probably not gonna be last.
EricaBraun
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoTammy -- Are you sure that's my tracking number? According to that it's still in MI (I'm in CA).
Date & Time
Status of Item
Location
February 18, 2016
,
8:35 pmDeparted USPS Facility
GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49512
Your
item departed our USPS facility in GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49512 on February
18, 2016 at 8:35 pm. The item is currently in transit to the
destination.mcc371- Tammy M.
Original Author7 years agoSilverdragon7 it says yours has been out for delivery since Tuesday. I was thinking you were one of the last to be mailed.#9500111506836043071710
EricaBraun
7 years agoTammy -- ROFL. You freaked me out when you said I should have got it today. According to the tracking number it's in MI and still in transit to its destination. Why the hell it went from TX to MI, which is in the opposite direction of CA, only the postal system could say. I might very well be the last to receive. But thank god it's not lost.
silverdragon7
7 years agoI suspected as much. The post office left a delivery note in my box on Tuesday but when I brought it to the counter they said there was no package and that the slip was mistakenly put in the box. Our vehicle died this week so I've been walking to the post office every day. I will make the 40 minute trek again tomorrow morning with the code to see if they can track it down.
mcc371- Tammy M.
Original Author7 years agoWell Erica I was going by the receipts so my game probably kicked my butt... Lol! As everyone that was last to receive was today!!!! But I guess our postal is running behind so I will figure who hasn't received an post your tracking so y'all can see which state your packs are visiting... I agree Erica the postal went the wrong direction !! Good grief all it had to do was go thru NM,AZ to CA from TX
ishareflowers {Lisa}
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI see that Erica's tracking number and the tracking number above Erica's in the photo say the packages were accepted on Tuesday the 16th in Texas just like mine did. I looked back and saw your post that all were mailed on Saturday the 13th.
I would pay the post office a visit because your receipt shows you paid cash and the tracking numbers should have been scanned right there at the desk when you paid, not 3 days later!
Don't they know that we're sitting on eggshells waiting for our packages when we hear they have flown the coop!
silverdragon7
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago*happy dance* Package finally found!! My husband went in this time, ready to give someone an ear full, but when he got to the counter it was the lady who usually works in back. She looked at the box of PO packages, picked one up, and there was the seed package underneath. Husband says he's going to see about filing a complaint with the postmaster about this. Seriously, all they had to do was actually look for the package... and I was there literally every day this week (including Monday because I forgot it was a holiday) and dealt with three different employees who all told me there was no package.
Thank you to everyone for the wonderful variety of seeds! I'm excited to try many of them out this year! And Erica, you beat me for last seeds, but I checked your code this morning and it looks like you'll be getting them today too!
mcc371- Tammy M.
Original Author7 years agoI went to the post office the clerk said that they screen all parcels and the delivery day is just an estimated day that they can't specify a specific day . I told her about the last of our packs being mailed Saturday and that it stated by the tracking they didn't get accepted until Tuesday and she said that Monday was a holiday and they have to still go thru processing before they are accepted and shipped to the next handling facility. She wasn'tvery nice and acted reluctant to answer my questions.
So I hope everyone receives their pack soon. Good Grief!!
ponyexpress_1
7 years agoI was finally able to go through all the seeds that were sent. Everyone was so generous! What wonderful seeds, and such a variety! Thank you.
EricaBraun
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoSilver -- I'm glad you were finally able to get yours. Thanks for the heads-up on mine. I just checked the tracking number and looks like my package is out for deliver! I still have 3-4 hours till mail normally arrives, but I'm super excited. I'll let you all know for sure when mail gets here.
As for the PO, they are super sketchy. Thankfully, I've never had a package lost; however, I have had many take unnecessary routes to get to their destination. Most hilarious was the one I sent down to Los Angeles (I live near San Francisco). Now, you would think that local postal workers would know where Los Angeles is, right? Wrong... They sent the package all the way to Colorado.
EricaBraun
7 years agoLol. Hard to imagine. I feel for whoever is still waiting.
Btw, thank you to everyone who sent in seeds for me. I got some great stuff. And thank you, Tammy, for hosting!
midwestfarmwife
7 years agoSorry to be late in posting, but our computer crashed! I should have known it would happen sooner or later since it was 13 yrs. old. Going from Windows XP to Windows 10 is a big adjustment, but I'm just happy that all our pictures and documents were recovered.
I did receive my nice big package of seeds. I think it was Sat., but have lost track of time due to the computer problem. It was a bright spot in my day to look through all the varieties of veggies and flowers and contemplate what to plant and where to plant it.
Thank you so much to Tammy for all her work, and thank you to everyone who sent seeds for my themes. Wishing everyone a fantastic gardening season this year!
olya me
7 years agoI just returned from vacation to wonderful surprise. So many fabulous seeds! Thank you everyone for your generosity and great selection of seeds! Thank you Tammy for organizing this swap and all your hard work!
Olga:)
val (MA z6)
7 years agoI am very late in posting, have been meaning to..I got alot of goodies from the swap, but I want to send out extra thanks to whoever sent me the Major Wheeler Honeysuckle seeds! I have been wanting this plant, and could not find it locally to buy last fall. Extra thanks. Hope everyone is having a good "New Year" :)
ponyexpress_1
7 years agoHi Val. I sent out honeysuckle seeds. If you are wintersowing these, please be patient. I planted some last year and almost tossed the jug because nothing was happening. They didn't sprout until late. They were also a little slow growing, so I put them all in a couple of bigger pots next to the house on the south side. They are semi evergreen, so I know they survived. I'm hoping they take off this year.
val (MA z6)
7 years agoSusan, THANKS SO much! I tossed some WS containers out last late May, also...so I learned that this year, the ones that dont sprout, just have to continue to be watered and wait longer :)
heavenlyfarm