If there is not an annual plant swap in your area, start one! The public library in our community started a spring plant swap in 1996, and it has flourished every year since then. The rules are simple -- take only as many plants as you bring. It is a noon time event. Gardeners bring a sack lunch and listen to a speaker as they eat. After the program, the swap begins. When the swap was cancelled in 2003 because of a devastating tornado, gardeners were so disappointed that a fall swap was planned. It was equally successful. This is a great way to pass along plants and to visit with other enthusiasts. The quality of the speakers makes this event an opportunity for community education as well.

Judy Pennel 

Identify your plants with painted rocks: add name or drawing of plant in contrasting color.  Rocks are free and only need to be primed and painted with acrylic paints.  We used Liquitex Glossies for all the painted surfaces.  All items have been in the garden for almost one year, with almost no paint loss or fading.

Marge Kafeder

you'll laugh but the best garden i ever had was when my children were small... i would take any unused baby formula and pour it out in my garden... my veggies were the best and biggest i have ever seen.. i still do that with any unused milk... when they leave a 1/2 a glass... i pour it out into the soil... but that baby formula was the best.. so listen people with lil ones...  don't pour the unused formula down the drain.. put it in the garden....   and just watch what will happen.....

Allie H.

I planted a 'famiy garden'...that is, I searched every catalog that I could find for plants that had the names of my family members...no matter what it was,if it was a plant,a flower, a vegetable ,rose or whatever I could find, if it had the name of my relatives,it went in the 'family garden'..when I was more or less finished, I had a unique flower bed and plants of all order and color...it was so pretty and when it all bloomed, it reminded me of how my relatives had 'bloomed' as they grew up and found their own way in life. I still have quite a few of the plants,and I replaced the ones that were annual and this year,I have enlarged the flower bed to include old time favorites from my childhood....trees and such that I remember being in my grandmothers yard and flowerbed.....its my 'flower genealogy' of my childhood and keeps me close to my relatives and family....

Kaye Jonas

My gardening tip may be different from what most people would send in, but it is the best thing I can do to make my garden grow. I share my garden with my children. I use my garden to involve and teach my children about nature, horticulture, benefits of hard work, and good eating habits. In turn, they teach me to see my garden (and our world) through the eyes of a child and respect the earth so it will be here for their children and beyond. My garden flourishes!! My four year old daughter can already transplant seedlings like a pro, and my 7 year old son can wield a hoe with the best! My 2 year old is always there for moral support and extra exercise as we chase after him. We have made it a family effort and the bounty is indescribable.

Heidi Allen

When I retired from Goodyear after 35 years, the woman in our Tire Division had a surprise luncheon for me in a large conference room. Each one ( about 50) brought a perennial plant or garden tool. Then I was given two days off to plant them and they transported me home, along with all of the flowers, in a company limo! It is something I will never forget. If you know of a gardener who is going to retire, it is such a great gift. Now all of these flowers in my gardens are named after my friends along with their botanical names.

Rose Bovard

Make a unique seed starting gift.  A plastic egg tray works best. Cut off the top with scissors. When cracking raw eggs, save the shells. Try to crack eggs so that you have a "large half" to use. Wash shells out and poke a hole in the bottom of each with an ice pick. Fill the egg shells with potting soil, then add seeds. You can write on the shells with a pencil to label them. Place filled shells in the egg tray. Water. Your friend will love this gift. Be sure to tell him/her to crush the shells, peeling them back a bit, but leaving the roots and shell undisturbed when planting. Egg shells are good for the soil.

Laura DeJulio

Invite friends over to help you re-vamp a flower bed. The work goes quicker, they get to take home some of the extras, and it's a great time for visiting with friends. This is a great time for new gardeners to get up to their elbows in dirt and learn first hand some wonderful skills.

Jo Anne Appel