Annual Seed and Houseplant Swap—January 2024
By Judy Hubbard
The Flower City Garden Network was so pleased with how our annual swap went on January 27, 2024. Attendance was great, with lots of friends–old and new–interested in getting together to talk about gardening and to swap some great finds.
Notable plant donations were the big ornamental ginger and staghorn ferns that Carolyn and Bob McKee donated, which could be seen poking out of the bags of several attendees.
A staghorn fern destined for a new home
Michael Hannen came through as always (!) to bring a large assortment of seeds from his extensive home nursery, as well as his professional and kind help at the plant and seed tables. There were many other plants that found new homes, as well as lots of seeds to happily portend the coming season. Sincere thanks to all who donated the much appreciated seeds and plants so important to making this a great day.
Happy swappers …
... and more happy swappers
Tim Boebel, our first speaker, gave an interesting and well-informed talk about flowering shrubs for the garden. Many of us have been thinking about adding more shrubs to the landscape, for variety and color and, maybe, easier maintenance, and Tim’s talk gave much information and many new ideas.
Tim Boebel spoke about a wide variety of flowering shrubs
Our second speaker was Nellie Gardner, owner of Flower Fields, a cut-flower business in Adams Basin near Spencerport. Nellie fascinated us with her background, hard-scrabble start, and self-reliant approach to becoming well educated in the field of horticulture. She is employed with two Frank Lloyd Wright properties in and near Buffalo, the Martin House and Graycliff, where, among other responsibilities, she has rehabilitated the gardens and landscaping. Nellie also offers workshops and classes, and she consults on a variety of horticultural and agricultural projects.
Nellie Gardner spoke about growing cut flowers, among other fascinating subjects
As always, the Penfield Recreation Center was the perfect venue. This year’s move into the gym turned out to be the best yet, with plenty of room for tables for plants and seeds, gardening information, and refreshments, as well as seating for the biggest attendance we’ve had.
The spacious gym accommodated our largest swap attendance ever
Our wonderful volunteers–both experienced and new–did a fabulous job of keeping things running smoothly. And many thanks to the Penfield Community Garden for partnering with FCGN to make our annual swap possible.
FCGN snack table (foreground) and gardening partners’ tables (background)
Happy gardening! —Judy
Photos contributed by Jeff Schuetz and Nita Beck