3rd Annual DC Plant Swap Details

hosted by Washington Gardener Magazine
What: a Plant Swap – bring and receive free plants to expand your garden

Date: Saturday, June 19

Time: starting at 10am bring your plants for sorting — swap starts promptly — do not be late – if you arrive after the swapping starts, sorry, you will not be able to participate due to the structure of this event – after swapping, we can socialize, snack, buy farmer’s market goodies, and trade more info on the plants we brought – we plan to conclude before 11am. so you will have the rest of the day to plant and enjoy your Saturday.

Place: H Street Farmers Market at H & 8th — 624 H Street NE near Union Station on Saturdays (the market runs from 9am-12n)

Who: anyone is welcome as are any of your friends, relatives, or neighbors — it is FREE — feel free to forward on this invitation

Bring:

~ a name tag – home made or from work or school — whatever works — so that we know your name and we can all connect our emails, names and faces.

~ pen and paper – you will want to take lots of notes as folks describe their plants and growing conditions

~ plants to swap – pot them up NOW — the longer they can get settled in their pots, the better their chance of success and survival – (no plants to share? see note below)

~ labels – fully label all your swap plants with as much info as you have – optimally that will include: common and scientific name, amount of sun needed, amount of water needed, any other special care notes, and color of the blooms – if it is not currently in flower

How: be prepared to BRIEFLY introduce yourself and describe your plants

What NOT to bring: common orange daylilies* and other invasive species – use this list to screen your plant offerings

*hybrid daylilies are fine and welcome

What if you do not have plants to swap? Come anyway! Bring refreshments: cold drinks and yummy finger foods to share with swappers will pay your admittance fee Be sure to bring cups, napkins, utensils, etc, if your food item requires those for serving.

A BIG thanks to FreshFarm Markets for hosting us and giving us the space to do this. Don’t forget to shop at the market!

(Pictured above are a group of happy swappers from our 2008 event.)

To celebrate the Washington Gardener Magazine’s 5th Anniversary* in print, I thought it appropriate to plant two new trees in my garden. One is a native Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis L.) and the other is Japanese Snowbell Tree (Styrax japonicus). They are both about 6 ft. tall right now and I hope the thrive and mature right along with the publication. We held our celebration event on Sunday afternoon, May 23, at the Historic Society of Washington, DC. It included a panel discussion on local garden trends and the future of urban gardening in the 21st. After the panel, we held a networking reception featuring cupcakes from C and G Catering. Our guest panelists were:
~ Angela Treadwell-Palmer, President of of Plants Nouveau (http://www.plantsnouveau.com/) on plants being bred now and coming soon to retail and your home garden.
~ John Peter Thompson of Invasive Notes (ipetrus.blogspot.com) on proposed invasive species laws and the impact of invasives and exotics.
~ Sylvia H Wright, author of From Eco-weak to Eco-chic on climate change and enviro-impacts.

Pictured above from left-to-right: John Peter Thompson, Sylvia H Wright, myself (Kathy Jentz), and Angela Treadwell-Palmer. I put an album of photos from the event at my Facebook page here. They were taken by Drena J. Galarza.

I hope to see many of you when we celebrate Washington Gardener Magazine’s 10th Anniversary!

*From the wood nymphs of Greek legend and the Indian Vrikshaka to the present day superstition of “knocking on wood,” forests, trees and woods have always evoked feelings of mystery, warmth, creativity, and wisdom. As a milestone of marriage, giving wood on the fifth anniversary symbolizes the strength, solidity and wisdom inherent to a strong relationship.
~ Paraphrased from The Meaning of Wedding Anniversaries by Gretchen Scoble and Ann Field, Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, CA, 2004