Join us for the 4th Annual Community Plant and Seed Swap at Pickering Creek Audubon Center on Saturday, April 20, 2019, from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. This is a great opportunity to share your garden treasures and find new ones to try in your own landscape! Native plants are valuable for wildlife and humans alike. Please share your native plant divisions, cuttings, and seeds, as well as favorite herbs, vegetables, fruits, bulbs, and flowering plants.
The Swap is 100% free and open to the public. The success of the swap depends entirely upon what you bring with you to share! Think about the kinds of plants you would be interested in trying out. If you have anything particularly unusual, try to bring several samples of it in root or seed form. It could be a favorite heirloom vegetable variety, a beautiful native wildflower, or your prolific raspberry canes. Flowers, fruits, vegetables, herbs, shrubs, and tree seedlings are all welcome. Natives are highly encouraged, but non-natives are fine, too (unless they are invasive). The basic rules are: bring something – take something.
All are welcome; no gardening experience necessary. Talbot County Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions, and the Chesapeake Herb Society will be represented to provide guided tours of the beautiful herb garden at Pickering Creek.
If you love the idea of planting natives for birds, but are unsure about where to start, visit the Audubon Society’s Plants for Birds website at https://www.audubon.org/plantsforbirds, where you can input your ZIP code and get a printable list of species to try. Remember that birds need not just trees or shrubs to nest in, but also sources of caterpillars, berries, seeds, and cover from predators. Everything from herbaceous perennials to shrubs to canopy trees play a role in supporting bird life.
As always, the Pickering Creek Audubon Center will be open for exploration. It is open from dawn to dusk every day and is free for visitors to enjoy. The Center is a 400-acre working farm dedicated to community-based conservation of natural resources through environmental education and outreach on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
A few common Invasive Species to Avoid: Periwinkle (Vinca spp.), English ivy (Hedera helix), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), all grasses (unless you are certain you have a native species). For a full list of invasive species to avoid, please visit the website link below.
For more information, please contact Pickering Creek Audubon Center at 410-822-4903, or Vanessa Goold, volunteer, at [email protected].
Plant Swap Guidelines
Each year, the Community Plant and Seed Swap has grown. We hope to make the 4th Annual Swap an even bigger success, but it depends on you and your generous contributions!
The focus is always on native plants that feed and nurture our Eastern Shore wildlife. If you have native plants to share, please bring them! We also welcome vegetables, herbs, and non-invasive garden favorites.
To make this a fantastic exchange, please divide up and label your offerings so that others can easily take a sample. The more information you can provide about your contributions, the better.
Valuable label info includes: plant name, sun/shade preference, water needs, soil, preference, bloom time and color, and mature size. Labels and containers need not be fancy: clean, recycled pots, newspaper, or even grocery bags work fine for plants. Envelopes or baggies are perfect for seeds.
Wondering if your plants are native? Check these websites for information:
USDA Plants Database: https://plants.usda.go
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.