Community Corner
Plant and Seed Swap TODAY
You still have time to run outdoors and harvest a few seeds, divide a plant, or dig up some seedlings.
What great weather to return to our gardens. A little rain and cool temps have called me to dig in the dirt again.
Today, I dug up some of Charlotte Waters' favorite Chinese Rice Paper plant, which I will bring to the plant and seed swap. Be careful where you plant this, it spreads like mad. My neighbors have seen a little growing in their yard.
Recently, Peter Ray gave me a Neomarica. Common names for this rare beauty are Traveling Iris, Walking Iris, or Apostle plant. As you can see in the photo, it has lots of pups, so I separated some from the mother plant which I will bring to the plant and seed swap.
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Since this is my first time to propagated Neomarica, I read all the comments on Dave's Garden, noting that some people root theirs in water and others in soil. Mine is in soil, and I hope the recipients have good results.
Neomarica blossoms look like a cross between an iris and an orchid. They are very fragrant but the flower will only last for one day. They bloom in the spring and summer and each spent flower will make a pup. This is a tropical plant so it will need to be brought indoors during the winter months.
Find out what's happening in Athenswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Outside my kitchen door I have a Variegated Porcelain Vine with purple and turquoise berries. Molly, my 3-year-old neighbor, loves to collect the colorful berries and put them in a clear vase.
Some of the remaining berries fell into an urn under the vine and rooted like crazy. I am bringing some of the seedlings on Sunday. This was another gift from Charlotte and John Waters about 11 years ago.
About ten years ago a dear friend gave me a hot house gardenia for Valentine's Day. The gardenia didn't make it in our Georgia soil. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, I went to and purchased a replacement plant without telling him. This has been the strongest mildew resistant gardenia I have ever had.
This summer I rooted 43 cuttings of this old-fashioned, large blossom gardenia. I am bringing some of those to the swap.
Plant and Seed Swaps have been going on for years. Boulevard Garden Club had one this spring. UGA anthropology professors Virginia Nazarea and Robert Rhoades have hosted the Southern Seed Legacy Old Timey seed swap in Oglethrope County in past years.
Dr. Nazarea informs me that Southern Seed Legacy has been moved to Denton, Texas. But we are hoping she will visit the Garden Bones swap today with some of her heirloom seeds.
In the attached photos you will see the plants and seeds Meg Dure and I will bring. Meg's hyacinth bean plant is to die for.
Hope to see all of you at 2pm Cofer's Garden Center parking lot, Mitchell Bridge Road in Athens.
