Photo by Jessica Walliser |
I’ve been busy hammering in tomato stakes in preparation of planting time, mulching the perennial and shrub beds, watching the radish grow, and dividing things for friends and neighbors.
I have iris out the wazoo and am hoping to find them good homes. My bee balm has been in need of a division for the past three years and I’m finally doing it. The shasta daisies, daylilies, and cat mint are also on the chopping block.
Technically, I should have done this about three weeks ago, but I was busy doing other things then (namely fighting off the local deer herd) and am just getting to it now.
So, pots of divisions are sitting in my driveway waiting to find homes. Some of the less desirable varieties are in the compost heap. It kills me to do that, but sometimes I just can’t find homes for them, which brings me to the reason for this post.
If you have the time and space on your farm, host a plant swap. This is a great way for you to ‘get rid of’ plants or divisions you don’t want and get a hold of some new choices.
The best swaps are set up so that everyone brings some plants from their garden, potted and tagged, and leaves with the same number of plants they arrived with.
You can keep it private and just invite friends and neighbors, or you can open it up to CSA members, farmer’s market customers, or even post fliers at your local grocery store.
Have some lemonade there and put out some reference books so people can look up plants they don’t know before they take them home. It’s a great way to make new gardening friends and discover new garden treasures.
