PORT TOWNSEND — On Sunday, the first full day of spring, it’s high time to “spread the plant wealth,” said Ashley Kehl, co-host of the event centered on that goal.
The 10th annual Plant & Seed Exchange is free, as ever, and open to anyone who has extra seeds, plant starts, bulbs, plant divisions and house plants needing new homes.
All levels of gardeners are welcome — beginners included — to find something new, Kehl added.
The exchange will happen rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at a new location: Shy Acre Farm.
From 363 Discovery Road, signs will be posted to guide people to the parking and check-in areas.
Pop-up canopies will shelter people and plants from showers or sun, and if visitors have questions ahead of time, they can email treehuggerJM@yahoo.com.
“The event is COVID-aware,” said Jennimae Hillyard, Kehl’s wife and co-organizer. The outdoor exchange will be set up to make social distancing easy, she noted, and masks will be required.
Along with the chance to adopt new plants for home gardens, “it’s an educational thing, in that a lot of people who show up might not have a lot of experience,” Kehl said.
Those with expertise can exchange it with people they meet at the event.
For the first several years, the Plant & Seed Exchange was held at the Quimper Grange Hall with coffee, tea and reference books set out, and as many as 100 people participated, Kehl estimated.
In March 2020, soon after the arrival of the pandemic, it moved outdoors.
This year, the organizers, who also include Marla Streator and Lisa Doray, have some practice. They will gather the plants and seeds visitors bring and spread them out; various kinds of seeds will go into individual containers.
Kehl, a farmer and wildcrafter, said plants of all sizes are welcome, including trees.
“We’re pretty open,” while he and the crew would not like to see noxious weeds such as morning glory or quackgrass.
“It’s a grassroots networking event,” he said.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Jennimae Hillyard, left, and her husband Ashley Kehl will host the 10th annual Plant & Seed Exchange in Port Townsend on Sunday. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)
