Imperfect Gardener

by Adina Sara

At the time of this writing, the MetroGardenClub's semi-annual plant exchange is still weeks away. I am beginning to spruce things up outside in anticipation of the throngs of gardeners who I hope will come through my gate bearing flats of seedlings, baskets of seed pods, garden secrets to share. Some will present their offerings with carefully marked labels indicating Latin names, planting and dividing instructions, even photographs. Others will contribute clumped masses of plant materials identified loosely as "pink flowers in spring." There will be more than enough to go around, and if this exchange is like the ones in the past, folks will be just as thrilled to unload their five-gallon buckets of giant century plants as they will be to receive new varieties of heucheras, clarkia seeds, and other fragrant and frivolous discards. It's a gardener's free-for-all, a glorious shopping frenzy where plants, information, and advice are given and received with equal enthusiasm.

I have been hosting this emerging tradition since it began. Held in the fall and the spring, the plant exchange makes me think of a rural village where people gather to share their harvests. Newcomers to gardening arrive with eyes and ears open as experienced gardeners eagerly share their wealth. There is an abundance of goodwill and joy and playfulness, a byproduct, it would seem, of gardening.

When I survey my garden now that I've participated in many of these delightful and informative plant exchanges, I realize that some of my favorite and most unusual plants came by way of the MetroGardenClub plant exchanges, like the tutti-frutti Geranium. I'm sure that's not its proper name, but the leaves do smell remarkably like chewing gum. And the softly minted scent of another large-leafed geranium, contributed by a woman who gave me one small leaf and told me not to bother rooting it, it would root itself. And so it did. That one small leaf has grown into a showpiece plant now sprawling over most of the front patio that needs to be vigilantly pruned to keep from covering the house. Thanks to the plant exchanges, I've received innumerable varieties of succulents, along with the magnificent hollyhocks and scarlet runner beans and a whimsical yellow flowering cactus that I've never seen before or since.'

In turn, I have passed along excess iris bulbs, tansy and lemon balm cuttings, meliantha shoots that I carefully labeled with a warning sticker: these plants grow to gigantic proportions, and even bamboo. I often wonder what became of my offerings—whether they thrived and flowered in their new homes, as others' plants have thrived in mine.'

If you missed this year's plant exchange, start thinking about what you might want to bring to the one next spring. Our gardening community is growing, and one small leaf can make a huge difference.

If you would like to join the Metro Garden Club, please visit our Web site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheMetroGardenClub/.

MORE RESOURCES'

Share Gardening Information with Other Local Senior Gardeners: Visit the Oakland Senior Garden Club, which meets at noon on the second and fourth Fridays of the month at the Smith Recreation Center, 1969 Park Blvd. (across from the Parkway Theater). Meetings include discussion about local plants and flowers, along with presentations by members and outside speakers. You are welcome to just show up, or you can call Roger Brett for more information at 339-6626.

Adina Sara can be reached at adina23\@comcast.net.