Sorry I didn’t post on Friday but Saturday was the Plant Exchange at Scott Arboretum (on the Swarthmore College campus) and I was trying to frantically divide some hosta (and spend some time with the kids). If you live in Delaware County and like to garden it is worth joining Scott Arboretum for the Plant Exchange alone (they also offer some great gardening classes and lectures)! There are a bunch of detailed rules but the general idea is that you bring your extra plants to share. For every 3 you bring you get a ticket. With those tickets you can buy plants. Then all of the other plants are $1 (excluding some larger trees and shrubs). There is lots of lining up and rushing around, but I find it very exciting! Plus I get to see many of my gardening friends and neighbors. If you want to see an old woman fight you for a plant, this is the place. ; ) It is not good for those who wish to ponder about plants (although there are experts there for helping to describe different plants). For those with new gardens to fill it is especially excellent!
This is the first year that I wasn’t trying to fill a new planting bed, so I ended up with less than I have previously brought home (29 plants for me, 3 for my mom). But I was also there to help Stacey find plants to fill her new (1700 sf) planting bed. I think she ended up with about 70 plants, including some large shrubs.
Some plant highlights:
For Me: Ostrich Ferns (there were lots and I snagged 5 for the side yard), Shasta Daisies (a childhood favorite of mine), Aster (a shorter purple variety), Magenta Cranesbill Geraniums (to go with some that I got last year), Jacobs Ladder, Jack-in-the-Pulpit & Japanese Irises
For Stacey: Shrubs including Bayberry, Sweetspire Itea, Plum, hydrangeas and several evergreens. Perennials including Cardinal Flower, Shasta Daisies, Asters, Variegated Crane’s Bill Geraniums, Japanese Irises, Variegated Honeysuckle, and Redux.
