2023 Fall Plant Swap

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023

Moose Lodge #1081
840 S. Cory Lane, Bloomington, IN 47403

Basement, with possible use of shelter house if weather permits
(parking in far end of long drive, near the lodge's shelter house)

(Register by: Sept. 23, 2023)
There's a $10 fee/attendee to cover our rental and other costs.
First time attendees are not required to be PE members, but we do ask that you register online.

Program Schedule (All times in Eastern time zone)

9:00AM – 10:00AM Setup* & Continental Breakfast (door prize donations table open)

10:00AM – 10:30AM Plant Swap (usually lasts about 20 minutes) followed by initial clean-up

10:30AM – 11:00AM Business Meeting

11:00AM – 11:40AM Light lunch/brunch with "Successional Planting" presentation by Moya Andrews, author of Perennials Short and Tall
During presentation, we'll enjoy a light lunch/brunch
11:40AM – 12:00PM Door Prizes & directions to Moya A.'s and Victoria W.'s Bloomington show-case gardens**
12PM – 1:30PM Optional visit to two member's open gardens, in neighborhood south of the IU Campus

*Set-up is a time to bring in the non-invasive plants or garden items you have brought to swap or donate. We recommend digging and potting plants or packaging bulbs/tubers/seeds at least one day before the swap. Label all plants clearly and keep the area underneath the table for plants that you have selected during the swap and plan to take home. To make plant labeling easier, current members can download and print label sheets in the members area. Also, use those unsolicited address labels that charities send to you to stick on your labels and/or pots, so that members can remain in touch between our spring and fall swaps.
While setting up, enjoy some continental breakfast, help newcomers identify plants, make new friends, and start looking for plants you may want to choose in the early "rounds" of the swap. At 10:00, we will start the swap with an officer announcing the first several "rounds" so that everyone can get their first choices on items. During the first five or six rounds, please take only one of the same plant so that everyone can take something they value home for their garden. As those of you who have attended before know, after about 15 minutes, we stop doing the limited rounds and open up for people to take more than one and for new gardeners to get some of our old favorites.

** Long-time Perennial Exchange members and master gardeners, Moya A. and Victoria W. have opened their gardens for swap attendees to visit after the door prizes are distributed. If you want to take advantage of this amazing opportunity, we'll set up a space to store your plants out of the sun and several volunteers will remain at the Moose Lodge basement and/or shelter house until shortly after 2PM to keep your new plants and seed packets out of the sun while you visit these two gardens that have been show-cased on several Bloomington Garden Walks. Street parking will be available on this weekend, but we encourage carpooling.

Door Prizes:

Please bring a gift for the door prize table. It does not have to be fancy or expensive, and we all enjoy the fun of door prize drawings!

New Membership Model:

To keep our volunteers from being overworked, we have changed from charging an annual membership fee to agreeing on a one-time membership fee of $10.00. That’s right, you will not need to renew again unless this new model does not match our costs of producing a digital materials and having a website. There are several ways to pay for membership: the links on this website, at the swap via check or cash, or via USPS mail to Ivy McCammon (6925 W. Ison Rd., Bloomington, IN 47403).

For any additional questions on the swap or membership, use our contact form below. You can also call and leave a message at the following 812 area code number: 333-4667.