PORT TOWNSEND — Plants — the young, the even younger, the flowering and the fruiting — will be the stars of the show this weekend in an event free for all: the 11th annual Plant and Seed Exchange.
“It’s just waves of people coming in,” participant Marla Streator said of the exchange, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Shy Acre Farm; directional signs will be posted to the venue from 363 Discovery Road.
For information, email co-organizer Jennimae Hillyard at treehuggerjm@yahoo.com.
Hillyard and her husband Ashley Kehl, who started this gathering of gardeners, encourage people to bring their extra seeds, plant starts, bulbs, divisions, house plants, trees, bare roots — and whatever else needs a new garden to thrive in — as well as take home something new.
Those who plan to bring seeds are asked to package them individually, if possible, and everyone is welcome to bring a cash donation to offset the costs of the exchange, Hillyard noted.
The Plant and Seed Exchange is “super inspiring,” she said, adding a representative from the Washington State University-Jefferson County Extension Seed Library will join the event this year. For information about that project, see https://extension.wsu.edu/jefferson/master-gardener-seed-library.
Another attraction: Shy Acre Farm has a labyrinth for visitors to walk, Hillyard said.
“I really like the people,” added Kehl, “and the plants bring us together. The social part is a big part,” and since he and Hillyard never know what kinds of seeds and plants will show up at the exchange, the whole affair is a daylong adventure, he said.
Streator, for her part, has been saving seeds and packaging them, digging up plants and otherwise preparing for Sunday.
“Probably I have filled a couple hundred seed packets. I went kind of over the top,” she admitted.
Vegetables, herbs and flowers — columbine, red hot pokers, asters and beyond — are among the plants she plans to transport to Shy Acre.
“I get there in the morning … I really enjoy finding things” at the exchange, as well as seeing others make their own discoveries, Streator said.
Hillyard and Kehl are skilled plant identifiers, Streator said, and they bring plant books for people to look through.
“You may have tons of stuff at one point, think you’ll never get rid of it. Then comes another wave of people,” she said.
“It’s just such a wild thing.”
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Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Jenniemae Hillyard and Ashley Kehl work in their Irondale yard in preparation for the 11th annual Plant and Seed Exchange in Port Townsend this Sunday. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)
