Saving Money and Recycling by Plant Swapping
Last Saturday was one of the best days of my life- I got to do something I love- pick up some new plants and interact with other avid gardeners.
And the best part? It was all free because I did'nt "buy" any plants- I did "plant swapping" instead.
Now for those unfamilar with a plant swap or plant swapping, there are 2 ways you you can go about it- you can actually attend a plant swap like I did or you can also informally swap plants with neighbors, friends, or fellow gardeners.(The swap I attended was publicized on Craigslist a few weeks in advance so it gave gardeners a few weeks to prepare)
Plant swapping is nothing new, but the idea of plant swapping is starting to get more popular. With an emphasis now on "saving the planet" by going green, people are looking for more and more ways to recycle, reuse and reinvent traditional ways of using things.
At the 4 hour plant swap I attended there were were several hundred people coming and going- gardeners came with trees, rooted cuttings, seeds, bulbs, planters, landscape materials and even koi fish for the pond! There was a table for people bringing in plants, which were then identified with tags and then transferred to tables for people to browse through at their leisure.
I went with about 70 plants, and came home with new things that I needed for my garden- more pots, some annuals, a few new perennials and some bamboo sticks to hold my dahlias up. It was great to see people swooping up my plants as fast as i brought them- I knew they were going to good homes and I was satisfied to go home with some things I needed - all free of charge.
At the end of the day the person who held the plant swap donated the rest of the plants to someone doing a planting project for a patch of bare freeway land- so ultimately all the plants brought found new "earth" to be planted into- and no plants were wasted- very green I'd say!
I don't know about you but I have a very hard time throwing plants away, or giving up on them, so a plant swap is perfect for gardeners like me who want to recycle their plants. I also love to propagate new plants, so being able to see plants reproduce and go onto happy homes is a very rewarding thing for me. I also know I am being responsible to the earth when I recycle and reuse things from my garden.
So if you like to garden and a plant swap sounds like something you'd like to try, check out your areas for a swap, and if there isn't one around, consider holding a plant swap yourself. It's fun, rewarding and of course, very very green!
(Dorsi Diaz is an avid gardener who with tips on Craigslisting and other ways to be creative with both your money and your possessions)
