This year’s plant swap, put on by the Heartland Beautification Committee (HBC), was “a pretty wild one,” according to HBC member Rob Spencer.
The swap took place in West Stettler Park on Saturday, May 10. Anyone could bring perennial plants for exchange, and anyone could take a plant home with them. In the past, the event has attracted swappers as early as 9:30 a.m., but this year it didn’t gain momentum until just before 10 a.m.
“We had as many as 30 plus people here this morning,” Spencer said. “It’s been lots of fun, lots of exchanging back and forth, people bringing information.”
Spencer remained at the plant swap to answer questions about the plants. By 10:30 a.m., he estimated that 70 per cent of the plants were gone. Some people came several times to drop off or pick up plants, and Spencer said that one man made two trips with plants because other people at the swap wanted more of what he had.
“The idea is just to give people an opportunity to come and exchange perennial plants, bring some, share some, learn a little bit about it, interact,” Spencer said.
Though it was a bit chilly on Saturday, it looks like the ninth annual plant swap was a success.
“It’s a chance to do something fun,” Spencer said. “It’s working on being spring, but it’s not quite there yet.”