Seeds for My Balcony

Many thanks to wolfcreekartistry for lending me her idea and title for this swap. :-)

USA only, to avoid customs hassles. All containter gardeners are welcome, regardless of whether you have a balcony or not. ;-)

I love gardening, but I live in an apartment, so the pots on my balcony are all I am able to plant. But hey, at least it's something! And really, with a little time, effort, and creativity, one really can raise a wide variety of fun plants in a small space.

In this swap, you will have two partners, and you will be sending three packets of seeds to each one (for a total of six packets of seeds). These should be seeds for plants which are suited for container gardening (no gigantic sunflowers or watermelon, for example), and should have the following characteristics:

• one packet of flower seeds (marigolds, zinnias, petunias, dwarf sunflowers, etc. -- any flowers appropriate for container gardening),

• one packet of herb seeds (think basil, mint, oregano, chives, etc., or something more obscure but useful as a seasoning), and

• one packet of "off-beat" seeds -- your choice of something a little less ordinary and predictable, such as a plant with colorful foliage, a funky heirloom aromatic plant, a decorative grass, a novelty plant, etc.

Non-commercial seeds (such as those from plants you have grown yourself) are allowed, as long as they are sent in a sealed packet (coin envelope or zip-top baggie, for example) and include the information that typically is printed on the back of commercial seed packets: name and description of plant, sowing instructions, water and sun requirements, days to germination/maturity, size at maturity, etc.

You can go ahead and get your seed packets ready to go now, before the sign-up deadline, since this swap is not profile-specific and is sender's choice. Once partners have been assigned, there will be less than a week in which to mail them out.

Consider mailing your seeds in a bubble envelope to keep them intact and safe.

Requirements: Though you are not required to have a balcony to join this swap, you do need to have a rating of at least 4.8, a minimum of 5 rated package swaps under your belt, and no recent no-sends. I reserve the right to ban anyone for any reason -- but I won't use that power recklessly. If you have a checkered past but have turned over a new leaf and still want to join this swap, tell me about it in a pm and we'll talk. It is spring, after all -- the season of new life :-)