Ciao all, I hope everyone had a great day out in the garden today. I know it's a back to work day for most people, but my goodness, what glorious weather to be outside. Thanks to all of you for such interesting trades and also for your knowledge and wisdom regarding perennials. I have SO much to learn about them still, thanks for your patience in answering my newbie questions. Tristan grabbed some things from the middle circle which I have no clue regarding the names of the plants or what sort of care they need, so as soon as I'm able, I'm hoping to post some pictures of them for ID. I'm so excited about all the lilacs! They're small, but I know they'll fill that space nicely and I can't wait to discover what colours they turn out to be. I put the dahlias in full sun and just barely covered the root/tuber/rhizome thingies. I hope that's what they need. Tomatoes/eggplants/peppers/tomatillos/basil all got a full day outside and tomorrow will be their first major dose of full sun. I'm hoping to get them in the ground before the weekend. Duane finished 2 additional tomato beds as a birthday present for me and got all the 8' stakes in this morning. The soaker hoses are all in place and now it's just a matter of waiting a few days for the plants to get fully hardened off. Big hugs to all of you, I wish the weather had been more pleasant but it was still a very fun event and thanks again to sydseeds for organizing the swap and for everyone's wonderful enthusiasm and generosity. Get planting everyone!! Julianna

Hi All, I know I've been MIA for a few weeks. Work has been taking over lately. I just posted my trade list on the FTW Garden swap site. I added my pre-trades as I culled them from this page. Please review to see if I'm still on track. I'm going to try to accommodate everyone's rain lily requests. If I don't have enough of the yellow rain lily seeds to go around, I may be able to entice you with some minima seeds. Minimas are the most adorable tiny pale pink rain lilies. The flowers are less than a half inch in diameter. As a bonus, they go from seed to blooming in one year! I have about a dozen minima seed pods in my pots right now. I'll try to harvest some before the swap. Looking forward to meeting you all, JK

Congrats to those that are done already! Wow! You guys are fast! perennialfan273 - I'm glad your mom is not in pain right now. Yah, I've heard, too, that sometimes there are numerous surgeries when it comes to the back. I'm praying this is the only one she needs as well. (((HUGS))) Thanks for the update. Suzanne (hibiscusfan) - I got your update tonight. Please, always double-check to make sure I didn't mess anything up. I remember a request from you awhile back and thought I got it. I'm sorry if I overlooked it! I sure hate to make mistakes, but I'm not perfect yet for some reason. LOL I'm relieved we don't have to mail until November 25th, too! We're heading out of town again on Tuesday. It's busy, busy... Blessings, Angela Here is a link that might be useful: NEW All Player Compiled Want List Page (updated 10-25-09)

Oops! I forgot to post that I received 2 huge boxes from my secret pal! October - First, a note apologizing for being late for October(had flu/hospital), which was really nice but she didn't have to do because she'd already told me in an email. I feel for anyone w/ the flu - last year was the first time in 10 years I didn't get the flu. I luaghed (sorry!) when I read PlantladyJan's post. The one year I was able to get a flu shot was the one year I had the flu the worse. Go figure! I decided this year we weren't celebrating Halloween since the kids are teenagers. We live out in the country so we don't get trick-or-treaters. Therefore, my kids were grateful for all the candy you sent. My husband does most of the cooking & will enjoy the Vidalia french onion seasoning & raspberry vinaigrette dressing. he loves cooking & experimenting with new dishes & can't wait to try the recipes in the little onion cookbook magnet or to use the onion ball that you can use in the microwave. Since I have to get up so early I've developed a love of coffee (lots of creamer, little sugar) so I'm looking forward to trying the hazelnut coffee. My pal also sent an air freshener (smells great!) & "purrfect 10" on it, 2 hand poured votive candles, a peach scented body spray that my daughter begged for, & a little jewelry box that she's also begging for. I also got a picture & frame of a cup of Earl Grey tea done in blues & white w/ a little yellow that I hung in the kitchen. I also got one of those very decorative vinegar bottles w/ flowerheads or potpourri in it. There was also a little wooden cut-out made up like a girl with a heart sign that says "I'm having a bad hair day". I'm gluing a magnetic strip to it and making a magnet out of it. I also got this candle that is just too pretty to burn. It's one of those with the flowers pressed in & is just really gorgeous. It came on a terra cotta base surrounded by potpourri. Also, a little frog you hang on flower pots, a needlepoint kit I can work on when it's too cold or icky outside. Also a pretty coffee mug w/ 2 garden-related refrigerator magnets & packets of seeds (3 kinds of squash, 1 tomato, & 1 pumpkin). As if that wasn't enough: November - set of doll-shaped notecards the girl child confiscated, an herb stake w/ seed packets (sweet marjoram, parsley, chives, lemon balm), set of magnets, a jar of candle crystals that smells heavenly (rose petals). Hubby & boy child thanks you for the sunflower seeds - what they don't eat themselves they'll feed to the chickens. There was a little wooden desktop plaque the girl child wants, a pretty plaque of a lavender plant, a photo frqame w/ memo sheets, a box of Earl Grey tea, & an agenda kit w/ a calender, addresses, & memo pad. The pkg. of sour gummy worms went over well w/ the kiddos. There was a large container of powdered cheese for making pasta. My aunt told us you can take packets of the cheese from boxes of mac & cheese, & make cheese popcorn so we're going to experiment! My weakness is ice cream so I'm not sure that the bottle of chocolate ice cream topping will last long here. Also included in the box was a cute little birdhouse, a floating candle, a little jar of natural potpourri (smells great!), & a candle & candleholder set. I also like the garden-themed picture frame, & the yellow & white rose soap set. after the peach scented candle burns completely up, I'm going to clean the tin out & use for a pill box or to store Q-tips. Thank you pal! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! If you don't send anything at all December, I won't be offended or feel left out at all because you have more than sent your share!