Spring is in the air and you can bet that plant swaps are a big part of spring gardening fever. This Saturday on April 1st, the Hancock Native Plant Swap will once again grace the grounds of Mother’s Cafe and Gardens, at 4215 Duval Street, Austin, 78751. The community event will start at 8am and last until all the plants are swapped!
As its promotional information states: In its 5th year, Austin and surrounding area gardeners converge on Mother’s Cafe and Garden, bringing baby plants to share with others. The spirit of this free event is to promote the sharing and use of a variety native plants in our landscapes. Master Gardeners and Habitat Stewards attend and love to help you find plants that will work well in your yard. Wondering if a plant in your yard is native or not? Bring a sprig from it and one of the experts will be able to identify it for you. Don’t have any natives? That’s okay, nobody goes home empty-handed! A fun, lively event, but it doesn’t last long, so come early!
There will be a variety of native plants, but also herbs, tree saplings, as well as hardy non-natives appropriate for the Austin area. Here’s a by-no-means complete list of plants available at the swap:
beauty bush
lavender phlox
western daisy-fleabane
wild arugula
tulsi (holy) basil
Spiderwort
Lyreleaf sage
Tropical sage
Zexmenia
Frostweed
blue mist bush
datura
climbing rose
greggs mistflower
flame acanthus
Purple Heart
passion vine
little periwinkle shade flower
engleman’s daisy
purple iris
fall aster
red rain lily
artemisia
white yarrow
shrimp plant
golden groundsel
parsley
dill
basil
tarragon
sage
Live Oak saplings between 3-4 feet tall
Chinquapin Oak saplings
pecan saplings
redbud saplings
snake herb
anacacho orchid
bur oak
live oak
fall obedient plant
cedar sage
Texas Poinsettia
heartleaf skullcap
Rosemary
Frostweed blooms in late summer and fall, and is a prized by the southward-migrating Monarch butterfly nectar source.
I love swaps … Hope that it is a big success!
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Me too! I think that it’s quite popular, so no worries there!
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Plant swaps are great. I figure if anyone can dig a plant out of their yard to share, it has to be good.
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Yup, I agree wholeheartedly!
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The lyreleaf sage is so pretty. I finally can identify it when I see it. I found some last weekend with stunning foliage. Perhaps because it was in a relatively sunny location, the veins in its leaves were more purple/maroon than I’ve seen, and really attractive.
We had a small swap at the last meeting of our new NPSOT chapter, and it went well. We have a plant give-away at every meeting, too — four pots of whatever the plant of the month is. We have some dynamite propagators who are keeping us supplied!
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You’re correct that the lyreleafs in more sun seem to display that dark veining more–I think it’s so pretty. It’s great to have friends and associates who are gifted propagators–nothing like free plants!
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Tina happy exchange the Texas native plant! Even if you do not go in person the flowers you are going to donate are very pretty. It is a beautiful act. The flower I like most is the giant Spiderwort with its lilac-purple flower. The photos are wonderful. If I lived in Texas I would go but from Spain it is a bit far! Greetings from Margarita.
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Yes, I think Spain is a too far for you to come for the plant swap, but maybe someday you can visit Texas, Margarita and I can visit Spain!
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Sounds like a great event. I should look for something similar up here. The Lyreleaf Sage is new to me – very appealing.
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I’m sure there’s a plant swap somewhere near to you–plant folk are weird that way. The lyreleaf is native to a large area of North America–including your neck of the woods. Beautiful blooms, seeds that songbirds like, and lovely foliage–oh, and it seeds out like crazy! A win for the gardener and her/his friends!
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Frostweed? I have thousands of seedlings if you want some.
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Haha! No, I have scads too, I just didn’t have any big enough at the time that I potted these plants up. Trust me, the fall plant swap will have frostweed on the menu!
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