British Columbia: Vancouver BC Spring Plant Swap 2010

Hey Gals,

I'll post my list soon. I have lots of tomato starts which should be a pretty good size by the time the swap rolls around.

Is anyone planning on going to the Van Dusen sale? Hubby and I are going to line-up early.

 

Sounds good, Karen.

So when is the Van Dusen sale happening?

 

Van dusen sale is Sunday April 25. We're planning on getting there at around 8am - doors open at 10am. great way to get those hard to find plants and the potluck area (volunteer donated plants) is a great way to fill up your garden for less $$$.

 

wow, Karen! 8am? I've never been to this plant sale before. Is there a long line up at opening time???

 

Just to offer another option: The Dunbar Garden Club plant sale takes place from 10 to noon on Saturday, April 24, 2010, at 37th & Highbury, Vancouver. Prices are low. Plants are mostly perennials, some shrubs, and a few vegetables and annuals or tender plants.

 

Hi Eve,

Ya, normally there's a long line-up. The first few that get in get the good stuff. I'd say by the first half hour the good unusual really sought after stuff is gone. Like if you're looking for a particular variety etc.

 

ugh, gotta work tomorrow, so won't be able to make that. But thanks for the heads up, Debbie.

 

Dunbar's sale and VanDusen's sale are next week, April 24 and 25 respectively.

 

Hi, Im an acer palmatum collector here in South Burnaby, BC. Can I join the plant swap even though I can only offer japanese maples? Does anybody plan to bring any *** maples too?

 

Hello Boloxis,

You are very welcome to join us! The more the merrier. Why don't you post the kinds of japanese maples you have to trade on the thread, "Trade Lists May 16 Swap", and also include your wish list too. Even if it nothing comes out of that, do bring what you have as people may change their minds. And/or just join us for the affair nonetheless, it'll be neat to hear about your acer palmatum collection. I have 4 maples myself.. nothing particularly rare. This year I'll be renovating my backyard and will be doing an Eclectic-modernist style with an Asian lean (to match my deck design), so will definitely be considering some maples for sure. It'll be nice to get some feedback.

 

That is exactly how I am trying for my townhouse garden, an eclectic-modernist style with an Asian lean, with some impulsive purchases thrown in for good measure... hope you'll show some before and after photos on the Pacific Northwest forum!

 

Hi Janet,

Sure thing. Good to be reminded to take "before" shots, I tend to forget to do that! If you are in Vancouver during the time of the swap (May 16), do come by!

 

Hi Eve and everyone! How's your gardens going/growing?

The Van Dusen sale was fun. We were the first 40 in line and got to the tree peony table first and grabbed one of each color, got my hands on a blooming wisteria, and a hardy lemon tree. Got some other plants at the potluck tables for CHEAP! I haven't been able to put them into the ground yet so i think i'll be skipping the UBC sale tomorrow. Anybody planning on going to that? I've told myself i can't buy anymore til the many plants i have in pots are planted. The tough part is making the beds. I do have a small rototiller but it really is not built for turning up turf.

I've bought some garden design mags and a book recently so i can figure out what i really want. I don't think I would call what i have in mind eclectic-modernist but I would say there is an asian-lean only b/c of the tree peonies i guess. I have one "waterfall" acer palmatum - maple but alas i can't trade that as that is the only one i have. Boloxis, do you graft your maples for trade? Or do you propogate by stem cuttings, seed starting, or do you trade maples you've bought but have decided they don't fit in your yard?

Karen.

 

The UBC sale is on May 8.

 

As our moving date gets closer I realize I was overly optimistic believing I could make the swap the day after. I just can't fit it in. :=( Hopefully there will be another one this fall - I've enjoyed our get-togethers over the years.

Katherine

 

I am just an amateur JM collector, I don't know how to propagate them. I purely collect, that's it. I search around garden centres, tree nurseries and tree farms in BC on weekends for japanese maples. Sometimes I grab bargains only to realize I already have one cultivar like it in my yard. So I want to trade it to another cultivar which I don't have one yet. I also drive as far as Oregon sometimes just to view different cultivars and try to cross them through the US border without papers, ok I am just kidding about the border thing, I haven't really done that... yet. You can see pics of some of my JMs on this thread.

http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=61333&page=2

My goal is to buy a house with a very big yard (somewhere in Langley or Aldergrove), set up a japanese garden (complete with pond and koi fish) then I will plant all these JMs and watch them grow through the years.

 

Hi Karen,

oh I love peonies! I have the perennial kind but don't have a tree peony... yet. Wisterias are great too. I have 2 now (one is a vine, one is trained as a "tree", I'm plotting to get another, but will also have to see...) Lemon tree. OMG, Karen, you must be my sister from another mother!! I have been fantasizing about lemon trees for the last year (I have a serious lemonade addiction, you see), and been envisioning harvesting lemons from my very own lemon tree. I've been hearing how great Meyer lemon trees are. What kind is yours????
Unfortunately, I work on most Saturdays, so I do miss out on many garden sales (hmmm, is that a good thing maybe???). I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has a secret stash of plants that need to be potted (well, some women buy shoes compulsively, and we just buy flora and fauna, so there!!)
I've dug up quite a bit of my lawn through the yard and still there's more to dig up. Some parts, I've covered with cardboard and newspapers. My backyard is in chaos now, so just so everyone knows that they'll be viewing a garden in a state of layering, flux and rupture!

Karen, I'm also working on a design for my backyard and parts of my front garden as well, so we can compare notes. :) Love hearing your gardening exploits thus far, it's infectious and energizing, I seriously need some psyching up to deal with my buttercup and morning glory jungle.

Heard on the radio that there is a home and garden show in Kerrisdale today (sat, may 1) . I can only dream of all the plants that are waiting for a good home... sigh.

 

Holy smokes, Boloxis,

I peeked at your link in the Maple forum and you sure have lots of interesting maples. Very neat. I've not extensively explored your world of JM, I see now how fascinating it can be.

btw, I have one maple that I bought last year, and had it in a pot in my front porch. I left it there through the winter, and now, it has not even leafed out. I didn't water it through the winter, was I suppose to???? Is is dead, you think?

 

That's too bad, Katherine. But house moving is indeed a lot of work to say the least. Good luck, and hope to see you in Fall.

 

Your maple should have leafed out by now, you still need to water them in winter but infequently specially last winter where it is kinda warmer than normal, like I water mine everyday in SUmmer, every 2 days in Spring and Fall and once every week in winters. Then I can extend them longer if it rains. You can bring it in Gardenworks for more advice but I think its roots did dry up.

 

Oh thanks Daniel! Got the date mixed up. Still . . . don't think I *should* go. We'll see what ends up happening. muuuaaahahahaha - that's my evil, plant plotting laugh. How to sneak plants in without Milton noticing. hmmmmmm

 

Hi Karen,

Oh, you're baaaad!! If you do end up going to the UBC plant sale, let me know what goodies you got. I'm guessing, Milton is your hubby?? Is he into gardening? Mine is not one iota interested in gardening.