Flower City Garden Network

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Seed and Houseplant Swap

Saturday, January 27, 2024

9 am-1 pm

Penfield Recreation Center Community Room

1985 Baird Rd, Penfield 14526

It’s been a while since our last garden get-together in September! We are working on our schedule of garden visits for the upcoming season and will keep you posted. Meanwhile it’s time for our annual Seed and Houseplant Swap, co-sponsored by the Penfield Community Victory Garden. This event will take place on Saturday, January 27, at the Penfield Recreation Center Community Room (same building as the Penfield Library), 1985 Baird Rd, Penfield 14526.

The Seed and Houseplant Swap is free and open to the public. We’d appreciate it if you’d preregister by emailing flowercitygardennetwork@gmail.com  (to help us with seating and refreshments). But everyone is welcome even if you don’t preregister. Also, it isn’t necessary to bring seeds or houseplants in order to attend – you are very welcome either way.

Doors will open at 9 am, with time for refreshments and perusing the seeds and houseplants, welcome and introduction at 9:20, then two talks starting at 9:30. There will be a break, with refreshments and time for seeds and etc, visiting with participants, and talking to the presenters. Presentations will end about noon but we will stay till about 1 pm if you’d like to visit with presenters (or others) or have more time with the offerings.

Talks:

Tim Boebel will present Gardening with Flowering Shrubs in the North: “Thanks to plant breeders around the world and the tremendous improvements they’re bringing to nearly every plant genus, it’s a great time to be a gardener! This presentation details the most improved cultivars of many common—and many not-so-common—hardy flowering shrub species, with all you need to know for them to thrive in your own garden.”

Tim has worked in retail horticulture since 1990, and has been Nursery Manager at Wayside Garden Center in Macedon since 1997. He has published two books on hydrangeas—Hydrangeas in the North (2011) and Today’s Hydrangeas (2019), as well as the novel Wine & Spirits (2013). Tim lives, writes and gardens in East Bloomfield. Tim’s website is www.hydrangeasinthenorth.com

Unfortunately, Christine was unexpectedly called away, and will not be able to be at Saturday's event. But fortunately, we have another fine speaker and talk lined up:

Nell Gardner will present Growing Cut Flowers: "This talk reflects my 32 years of making a living growing cut flowers commercially. I’ll discuss the details of growing plants for flowers, including information on soils, fertilizer, harvesting the flowers, conditioning them and creating arrangements. I use dahlias as a cut flower and will discuss digging and storing dahlia bulbs. I’ll also include information about wreath making, drying flowers, and marketing. Whether you’d like to think about making extra money selling cut flowers or your handiwork, or you are simply interested in upping your game in your garden and home, this talk will provide you with the information you need for success."

Nell’s horticultural education began with the family’s many relocations, as they restored old farmsteads and planted gardens in forgotten fields. At the age of 12 they settled on a hard-scrabble farm on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.  From there, with no formal high school education and no money, she earned a degree in Agriculture from Nova Scotia Agricultural College and Cornell University. Working for The Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell, the Cornell Cooperative Extension, and her own private consulting business, she has gained a wide range of experience which she applies to her approach to horticulture. Nell sees nature as an integrated whole, a system that needs balance and a thorough understanding of natural systems. She has run her own consulting business and flower farm “Flower Fields” for over 30 years.  Nell’s signature wreaths were featured in July 2018's Country Gardens Magazine, as a "resourceful recipe for long-lasting wreaths." She currently works as the consulting horticulturist for the Frank Lloyd Wright estate, Graycliff  (near Buffalo and on the National Register of Historic Places), as well as continuing to operate Flower Fields, and to consult in horticulture and agriculture. 

And the details of the day:

Seeds:

If you are bringing seeds that you’ve collected, there is no need to split them into small packets ahead of time. Just bring each separate variety in one envelope or other container. We will have small envelopes available that attendees can label and use to take home appropriate portions from the bulk envelopes. Also feel free to bring extra commercial seed packets that you’d like to share.

Label the seed samples you bring with as much of the following information as possible: name (scientific name if you know it), perennial or annual, flower color (if it’s an ornamental), height, preferred growing conditions, days to harvest if it’s a vegetable.

Houseplants:

If you have houseplants that could use trimming, cut some good-sized pieces with one or more nodes (places on the stem where leaves are attached), wrap them in slightly damp paper towel, and bring them in a labelled plastic bag. If you have a large overgrown plant, you can bring the whole plant for people to cut pieces from it, and then you can either give away the plant or take it home again.

Gardening magazines and sundry:

We’ll have a table for items that are free to take – bring your extra garden magazines, books and other items you think gardeners might appreciate.

Join us for this fun day of interesting and informative talks, catching up with new and old friends, talking about gardening, dreaming about spring and the return of the garden season – as well as collecting some new seeds and plants. We look forward to seeing you there!

Membership:

Membership is $20, which you may pay by sending a check for $20 made payable to FCGN and mailed to FCGN, 11 Inverness Circle, Fairport NY 14450, including a note with all of your contact information. Be sure to include your mailing address, email address, and phone number.

If you are not yet a member and would like to attend an event, respond to our email (if you are on our email list) or email flowercitygardennetwork@gmail.com to register. You may then bring your membership payment and contact information to the event. Registration for most events is required. 

At this time, we will not require another membership payment from anyone who has signed up in 2019 or beyond. Only new members, and those whose membership goes back to 2018 or earlier, will need to send in a membership fee. No one will be dropped from the email list due to an outdated membership, and if/when you sign up for an event we will check your status and let you know if your membership is outdated.

We look forward to getting together with you to celebrate the joy of nature, gardening, and community!

About US

The Flower City Garden Network is an all-volunteer organization made up of gardening educators and enthusiasts. We offer get-togethers in special gardens, nature walks, garden-related events, and talks.

Join our email list for updates for our upcoming programs by emailing flowercitygardennetwork@gmail.com xxx

Most events require membership, which allows you free entry for members (and a guest, except where attendance is limited). Our casual get-togethers, offered about once per month in garden season, are generally in private local gardens. Members may wander around the garden at their own pace, chat with the owner and other FCGN members and enjoy refreshments. We occasionally offer wildflower and tree walks in local parks and arboretums. When pandemic conditions have allowed, we have had a winter seed swap with lectures, which was open to the public.