Some exchanges work on the 'free for all' principle - see it and grab it before someone else does. This method is sure to result in some bad feelings when two lust for one plant. A much better method is drawing numbers. It doesn't take much effort on the part of the organizer and it reduces conflict.
Once everyone has arrived, a head count will reveal how many are present. Numbers representing this total are written on a sheet of paper, cut out and mixed in a container - hat, basket, pot, pan…whatever's handy. Everybody then draws a number.
One person - with a good loud voice - is designated caller. He/she calls out numbers; when a person's number is called they get to select one plant. You can have several rounds of singles and then move to doubles or triples when each person gets to select two or three plants every time their number is called. Once most of the plants are claimed, it is free-for-all time; anybody can take as much of what's left as they want.
This method can vary by having numbers called backwards once or twice - those of us who always manage to get a high number appreciate this…we then have a tiny chance of acquiring the one plant we have craved from the moment we set eyes on it.
Anything not claimed at the end of the day belongs to the host who can plant it or compost it.
A Few Tips
- Bring some flats or boxes to keep your donations upright on the trip to the exchange and your acquisitions standing tall on the way home.
- Put your name on your flats…it saves altercations about 'who took my flat?'
- Establish a minimum number of plants that a person has to bring to participate in the first three rounds. It's not fair for someone to bring one plant and have the same claiming rights as another who brought a dozen. Tender plants are welcome but don't count against the minimum number. They're set off to the side and anybody can take them at any time.
- Set a rule that only one person in a family may claim plants - after all, one family equals one garden.
- Discourage people from bringing rampant thugs like Sedum acre and the lovely but rapacious Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon'.
- Clean up after yourself - don't leave your host with a mess of squashed pots and broken stems.
Once you've taken part in one plant exchange, you'll find it's an event you look forward to all year. My garden has been enriched by treasures from plant exchanges, as I hope my offerings have enriched other gardens.
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