Swapping plants
Gardeners do much of their dividing in spring and fall. Neighbors and friends often casually trade and share these extra plants. Without much work, you can host a more formal plant swap in your neighborhood or community. It’s an occasion for gardeners to meet and mingle and, best of all, to acquire new and interesting free plants. Local newspapers will usually run a complimentary notice in a calendar or bulletin board. You can also advertise through flyers and word of mouth. Choose a format for the swap in advance to avoid chaos. You might number each plant and place corresponding numbers in a hat for each participant to withdraw. Gardeners may choose to negotiate trades amongst themselves afterward. Another option is to ask people to bring several plants to the event. Allow everyone some time to mill around and peruse the selection. Then give a signal for each person to choose one plant. Continue with several rounds until all the plants are gone. It’s fun to enhance the gathering with a potluck meal.