The Moorestown Improvement Association is partnering with the library for a plant and seed exchange on Saturday, Oct. 4, from noon to 3 p.m.
The free event is a way to grow the variety in one’s garden as well as learn about new plants.
Consider sharing plants that spread easily, such as mint, lemon balm, oregano or berries. Dig up plants and transfer to pots, yogurt containers or compostable coffee cups with holes in the bottom for drainage. For those who have an overabundance of pots, seeds or other garden materials, bring them, too.
The exchange is not limited to library members. Residents can bring both indoor and outdoor plants, and plant identification software will be available.
“So many people spend a lot of money to buy plants for their gardens when it really isn’t necessary,” said Lynne Schill, president of the Friends of the Library. “If you know enough people, you can have a whole garden next spring with handouts – other people’s extras. So that’s the whole point of this.
“I’m hoping that people will make connections,” she added. “It’s something when I first started gardening that I wish I had, because when I first started, everything seemed so expensive. It’s really something that we want to spread through the community.”
Schill grew up in a family that gardened. Her father served in WWII, and during that time, her mom had a Victory Garden (a home or community plot planted during wartime) in the backyard. All the neighbors shared their extras with each other, Schill noted, so her parents continued that. Over time, Schill got back into gardening when her daughter was young because it was an activity that they could do together.
“It’s good exercise … and it’s optimistic,” she observed. “You’re planting seeds, you see them grow, you transfer them to the garden … It’s an optimistic thing to do.”
The library introduced its seed collection earlier this year as a way for residents to get free seeds for free – or for a nominal fee – and is run for the public’s benefit. Moorestown library patrons can pick up to five vegetable packets per household per week and up to three flower packets per household per week.
Donations will also be accepted for the seed library, all of which must be in unopened packaging.
The plant swap is designed as a take-one, leave-one event where participants can visit any time between noon and 3 p.m. Consider sharing plants that are easy to propagate, such as herbs (basil, mint, oregano, chives, rosemary, sage, lemon balm, lemon verbena), Jerusalem artichokes, berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, goji berries), indoor plants (spider plants, ivy, coleus, aloe, succulents, Tradescantia zebrina (Purple Heart) and outdoor plants.
For those who are unable to attend the plant swap but want to contribute, drop items off at the library on Friday, Oct. 3, between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
