Whether you are a beginner or have been gardening for years, this event is for you.

If you have a garden that needs thinning out or you don’t have plants to share; this event is for you.

It is easy to get in on the fun and the education surrounding the plant swaps.

All you have to do is show up. Yes, it’s that easy. The plant swap runs from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center’s pavilion on Saturday. There is no registration for the event.

Any plants that are “left behind” will be kept at the pavilion overnight for those gardeners that cannot get to the event while it is being held.

The plants are set up on tables and are free for the taking, all we ask is that gardeners spread the word to their friends and families.

Just like the plants, we want this event to flourish.

As the seasons change from winter to spring and from summer to fall, I look forward to the center’s annual plant swaps.

CCEEC has been holding these plant swaps for 15 years or longer and it is never the same twice.

The idea of the plant swaps came from Linda Gehres from Jim Thorpe. I clearly remember complaining about purchasing plants and having the wildlife eat me out of house and garden every time.

She said “Don’t do that! I have plants … what do you want?”

She said she had so many plants she could just give them away, and with that statement, the plant swap was created.

When someone tells me they have a garden, I envision a small garden. Linda has a garden paradise.

Every nook and cranny on her property has something growing. Her property is just amazing.

I have never seen someone so generous whether she is giving plants away or giving gardening advice. She is the expert everyone turns to when they have a plant, soil or critter problem. And, on that rare occasion when she doesn’t have an answer, she will find it.

What better person to partner with than someone who worked at various nurseries to answer all those questions about gardening? She truly makes the center’s plant swap the success that it is.

I try to remember all the advice and knowledge she readily shares. I can’t do it. But I do learn a new thing every year from her.

As I get ready for this event by sending out emails and creating flyers, I find myself humming Ricky Nelson’s song “Garden Party” to myself.

In case you don’t know this ditty, some of the lyrics go like this, “I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends …” and those words really do describe the atmosphere at the plant swaps.

We all gather under the pavilion … new and old friends. No one leaves the “party” without promising to return next time. And as always, stories and advice are shared to everyone’s delight.

Every swap is looked forward to, even by gardeners like Linda. She always looks forward to seeing what others will bring in, and even she takes home plants she does not have “yet.” That is part of the lure of this program because we never know what plants will show up from season to season.

See you tomorrow!

The Carbon County Environmental Education Center is located at 151 E. White Bear Drive, Summit Hill.