I am interested. It's one of my favorite spring time events!

Thank you for offering to host again. Your place is great! I am willing to come there or elsewhere if there is other interest in hosting. I would choose the earliest Saturday. Sometimes I have already purchased too many plants by the swap when it's later!

Sounds good Catnohat! Have a great week!

Arborwolf

We also hope to attend wherever it is.

Oh so happy to hear! So far for us, it is looking like May 17 (from here and other folks), but it is early and someone else may want to host or want a different date. Thanks for the feedback.

Arborwolf

Yes, it is still early. Leslie and I will most likely attend. I've already started rosemary and thyme cuttings intended for the swap. The 24th is a bit late.

So glad to hear from you GJ. Will love to see you both this spring

We will be away from May 15 to the end of the month. I can host a swap on May 10 at our church in Lakewood.

I will be out of town on the 10th, so I would not be able to attend. I think people should vote here on what works best for them as far as date and location. Thanks all for the interest shown to have a spring swap! 😊

Arbor Wolf

I like the earlier date of May 10th but can do any of them.

We would like to host one of these years but I'm fine with not this year, Both locations are good for holding swaps. As far as a vote not sure if we need an official tally. Some of the regulars should weigh in, discuss a bit and go from there.

I agree. There have been regulars that have been swapping for a lot longer than we have been. I am unable to do the 10th, but Lucy could probably attend if it is held at the church. Make a final decision and post.

Arbor Wolf

My logic for the earliest date offered is that it has been a really warm winter and if this continues we will be able to get things in earlier than normal. So for me the earlier the better.

Yes. I agree. Reading these posts and thinking about it more, earlier is better. Since we've had an unseasonably warm winter, I hope we don't get an extra hot summer and the plants stress. But Colorado can have weird weather sometimes, so we never know. I appreciate feedback and this group's knowledge base!

I would prefer to tomatoz1 host. Mostly because I think it's best to move the host around to different locations. Just my two cents.

Are we ready to decide on a date and location? I'm ready to get it on my calendar!

Might we have 2 swaps this year?

Saturday, May 10 is on my calendar to host a swap 11am-1pm. There will be a birthday celebration 2pm inside the hall, but I doubt there will be any problem. We will enjoy the warm weather outside for the most part.

Wherever you want to share your plants, the swap(s) are a great time to meet with fellow gardeners.

Green Mt. Presbyterian Church

12900 W. Alameda Pkwy.

Lakewood, CO 80228

Great! We will be there with strawberries and purple salvia. Both spread like mad.

Tomatoz1, Can you let Lucy know where the swap will be located? She plans on attending. Thanks. Arbor Wolf

Just started some tomatoes to bring a few days ago. My WOW tomatoes go out starting today. Are set on the 10th?

I’ll be there. Luckily we have a few weeks before the swap as the tomatoes are really slow this year.

Note the earlier 11:00 start time.

Usually skybird posts the rules but she doesn't seem to be around. Are we all okay with the legacy rules?

Thanks, Greg. Good info on the swap. You can be in charge!

Hi all,

I really don't check in here very often anymore since there's really no activity and never any questions about perennials, but I have been checking the swap thread every now and then, and was watching for when it was gonna be. I already knew I'd be out of town for the first two dates that were proposed, and the date it's gonna be now is just the second day before I leave. I take "everything but the kitchen sink" with me when I go trippin', including all my food for the entire trip, and being that close to when I leave I'm gonna be crazy busy, so I won't be able to make it to this one.

If there's a fall swap hopefully it won't be at the same time as my fall trip this year!

Have a great time, everybody! I'll be thinking Good Weather your way!

Skybird

SA 04.26.25 @ 2220 MDT

Looks like the post I made about the rules was edited by the forum Op or a problem with the website. Since it no longer contained any information I deleted it. I'll just write a new set of rules.

Oh, that's really strange, Greg! I've never seen anything like that happen before! I have the FAQs on a Word document so I'll just copy them here to save you some time! This version also includes about "doing dibs" and about "communication" about the swap. Let's see if this one gets deleted!

Have a good Spring Swap!

___________________________________________________________

Hello everyone,

For anyone who hasn't been to a past swap, or anyone who has been to one but still has questions about who, what, when, where, and how we do it, here are the "Basic Swap FAQs" for you. Pretty much any questions you may have should be answered here, but if you think of something that isn't included here, this is the place to ask about it!

~~~~~ THE BASIC SWAP FAQ'S! ~~~~~

WHAT TO BRING!

Anything that has anything to do with gardening is welcome at the swap!

Plants, of course, are our primary "commodity," but people also sometimes bring fresh produce, like cut herbs, rhubarb, or other fresh spring veggies to include in the trading. The Spring Swap plants are usually mostly starts and seedlings of annual bedding plants and veggies, with some perennial “starter plants.” (The Fall Swap is usually mostly perennial starts!)

In addition to garden plants, we also welcome house plants, seeds, pots, books/magazines, tools, rocks, garden art.......... Anything garden related that you don't want or need anymore!

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE SWAP!

~ The Arriving Part!

When you arrive, there will be a table with a sign in sheet and name badges. Everybody needs to sign in and make a name badge for themselves and any significant others or guests that came with them.

~ The Eating Part!

We start out with the pot luck! Your dish can be absolutely anything, hot dishes, cold dishes, appetizers/finger foods, salads, sweets--anything you think others would enjoy! Homemade dishes are always good and very much appreciated! Please plan to bring a serving spoon if it will be needed for your dish, and also please make some provision for it to be covered--a lid if it's that type of a dish, or plastic wrap, or whatever. And a request I've made at swaps in the past that seemed to “even out” the types of dishes people were bringing! I love sweets, so I definitely don't want to put too much of a damper on the dessert type things, but at a couple of the early swaps we seemed to wind up with mostly sweets, so if you're trying to decide between that or something else, lean toward the something else!

~ The Swapping Part!

During the arriving/eating parts you will have had time to check out the plants people have brought, and now it's time for the swapping! First we make sure anybody who has plants earmarked for others, gets or has already gotten them to the right people. Then we draw numbers for the first TWO rounds of picking what we want. With number in hand, we go around and have everyone briefly describe what they brought so people know for sure what's there and so everyone can decide what they want the most! Then we go around twice in "number order" and each person picks the one thing they want the most in each round. This gives everyone a pretty good chance of getting the two things they really want! After the two "civilized" rounds of picking we open it up to a free-for-all! Everyone just goes around and grabs whatever they want of what's left! (Bring your Body Armor!) *NOTE:* At more recent swaps, after the first two rounds of picking we’ve been deciding as a group if we want to do more “rounds” of picking before we go to the free-for-all! Most people seem to prefer doing that, so odds are that’s what we’ll do again this time!

~ About the Earmarking!

On the day of the swap we don't allow any "early picking," meaning, while you can look and touch all you want, nobody can take any of the plants till we start our first two “official” rounds of picking! BUT we do allow earmarking of plants BEFORE the swap when people post what they plan to bring. When people start posting what they plan to bring they'll say whether or not they'll be willing to earmark plants for people, and if they are, you can ask for dibs on them at that point! In more recent years I and a couple other people have decided it's more fun to not do dibs—and less complicated—at one swap I had almost 150 plants earmarked for people and I almost needed to hire an accountant to keep track of it all! So for anyone who posts what they’re planning/hoping to bring, please state if you’re willing to do Dibs for people or not.

OUR PRIMARY SWAP RULE!

And then there's that one Swap Law that everybody needs to know about! Nobody needs to have any plants to be welcome at the swap! If you're new to gardening and don't have anything yet, if you just moved to a new house and don't have anything to give away yet, or if you just don't have anything for any reason at all, that's ok! There are always way, way plenty plants to go around, and we get together as much to swap gardening talk and friendship as to swap plants--so come regardless of how much you do or don't have to bring! (And, yes, you do get to pick plants in the swap part even if you weren't able to bring any!)

HERE'S SOME BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLANTS YOU BRING!

PLANT THEM – Whether it's divisions or seedlings or whole plants you'll be bringing, please try to get them into their pots AT LEAST a couple weeks before the swap so they have time to "settle in" and start to root out some. If plants are dug up and put into pots, and then taken back out of the pots to be planted in the ground just a couple days later, it's "double trauma" for them! Also, most plants don't do at all well in pots in "garden soil," so if at all possible, use some sort of a store bought potting mix—it doesn't need to be expensive! (But Hyponex brand would probably be worse than garden soil, so if that's the only option, stick with the garden soil!)

LABEL THEM – Please be sure the plants you bring are labeled one way or another! Here are some of the ways people have labeled their plants in the past: a regular plant tag in the pot – plastic beverage cups cut up into narrow strips – popsicle sticks – old blinds cut up into label size strips – staple or tape a piece of paper with the name onto the pot – write the name of the plant on the pot with a marker or crayon – make up adhesive labels with the plant name and basic information and stick them on the pots. I make up little strips of paper on the computer with the name and other info and include one with each plant. Be creative, but find some way to label them! Anything to ensure the person getting the plant will know what they have when they get home. When we're at the swap, we all think we'll be able to remember the things we're getting to take home, and then we wind up grabbing all kinds of things in the free-for-all, and........... Oops! What is this!

WATER THEM – Please plan to thoroughly water the plants you're bringing the DAY BEFORE the swap so they'll have time to drain well enough to be easy to transport, yet be wet enough to not be wilting at the swap or while people are taking them home!

TAKE THEM HOME! – It's a really good idea to bring a box/tray or two to carry your booty back home in! If the plants you're bringing are in something, don't let anybody else snag it, and you can use that to refill with the new goodies! We do ask that you please don't use someone else's boxes or trays without asking first if it's ok!

MARK YOUR EARMARKED PLANTS -- If you're earmarking something for someone who's requested it, please be sure to clearly mark on the pot somehow who it's for, to be sure it gets to the right person. You can write the screen name of the person on a paper bag and put the plants in the bag, or write the name of the person directly on the pot—if it’s a light enough color for that to work! That makes it easy for everyone to find the ones that are for them. Small boxes work well too! There will be an area “away from the general swap plants” to put things that are earmarked for specific people.

COMMUNICATION ABOUT THE SWAP!

ALL swap information is posted here on the Rocky Mountain Gardening Forum! The ONLY email that will be sent directly to the people that are planning to attend the swap will be one with the address and directions, approximately a week before the swap. Be sure to Private Message the host with your email address so you can get on the mailing list!

BE SURE you have Private Messaging enabled on Houzz! To do that: Click on your screen name to go to your “profile page,” then, in the upper right corner hover over “Your Houzz,” then, in the drop-down menu click on “edit profile and settings.” From there, in the left side menu click on “advanced settings,” scroll all the way down to “privacy settings” and in the “who can message me” box, on the drop-down menu click on “allow anyone to message me.” Then click “update” on the bottom on the right side!

Also, since houzz took over, when you PM somebody the person who receives the message will NOT get your personal email address unless you put it in the BODY OF THE MESSAGE, so when you send your PM to the host BE SURE you include your email address in the message!

Now it’s your turn! If you’re planning—or hoping—to attend, come post that on this thread! And remember, you need to Private Message your email address to Tomatoz1—in the body of the message—so she can send you her physical address and the directions when we get closer to the swap!

Skybird

Welcome Amanda. This is a great group. I look forward to meeting you.

I'm itching to see what plants I'll be bringing home this year and finalize placement plans. It's so much fun!

We are doing a potluck Saturday correct? Do we need to talk about who is bringing at least basic things like plates?

Potluck, yes! I think I have most everything covered - please let me know if I’ve forgotten anything.

plates napkins utensils name tags

numbers for swap bottles of water

sign in sheet

I’d recommend going more than 2 rounds for choosing plants, etc. Don‘t forget boxes to take beloved plants home with you.

Pretty sure we've been doing at least 4 rounds for quite a few years first number ---> last number then last number -->first number twice. Seems we've done that 3 times/6 rounds the last few years.

Should we bring our own chairs for the outside portion?

The church has metal chairs, but you can bring your own.

Wish I was closer so I could attend, but I will be with you in spirit at the swap! Had so much fun at the swaps in the past. I am enjoying having some of the irises I got from them blooming here in my new garden bed. It's taken a couple of seasons for them to show - Immortality, Jungle Princess, Kent Pride, Garnet Robe, Faerie Court, and my old faithful blue violet. Also my peonies Abalone Pearl (bought) and Raspberry Rumba from a swap.

Have fun!

I'm glad you were able to take plants to your new home. I was thinking of you, you were there in spirit! Have a wonderful gardening year, Misty!

Mystywoods, your creek bed is so beautiful! The iris are gorgeous and you have done such an artistic job with the planting. Glad you checked in and posted pics of them.