Here is the schedule for the day:9 to 11ish: Arrive Saturday morning for the meet and greet, browse the nursery and walk through the growing areas. If you want to shop, the morning is sometimes easiest to get things together if you want as the afternoon gets busy.
Noon: Lunch will be served. Bring a dish to pass, could be a side dish or desert, just post what you are bringing so people get ideas of what might be needed. We will provide the main course - LASAGNA!
After Lunch (start around 1/1:30): The hosta swap (an annual request by forum members). Bring one or two hostas to swap with each other. For each hosta you bring you will get a raffle ticket and by random drawing each person will get to pick a hosta from everything that is brought, until nothing is left. Please limit it to two hostas (three is okay if they are newer and more unique) but please do not bring common things. Sorry, most people don't want to get a Golden Tiara or other very common plants in the swap. If you don't have something to trade you could buy something ahead to enter it, but entry is completely voluntary.
Start around 2:30/3:00: The hosta (etc) auction. We will auction off new or rare plants, some from here and participants can also bring donations for the auction and proceeds go to Hallson Gardens for hosting the event and for the forum. This again is completely voluntary, no need to bring anything, but we hope everyone will have fun participating
After the auction: The garden raffle. Bring some garden trinkets (if you want) to enter into the garden raffle. Could be garden art, gloves, used gardening books, or just about anything, and then we will sell raffle tickets and raffle off the items one at a time. The more you bring to share the more fun this will be
4:00/4:30 to ?: Craft time! Last year only a few people were able to participate making the gourd fairy houses, but they all had a great time doing them. We will have the birdhouse gourds and many supplies, but you can also bring your own items to decorate them, such as feathers, acorns, leaves, sticks, or other items that might make decorations on your fairy house. Brian will help with this while I can help with people out in the gardens and nursery at this time.
Feel free to stay late and we often have enough food left for dinner too and we'll hang out all night and relax on the porch. For those staying in the area, many will stop back and shop on Sunday morning before heading home.
We are really looking forward to hosting this again, the 12th annual Hallson Gardens get together! See you soon
