Fall is for planting... and sharing plants.

Free Plants! UPDATE: canceled due to rain. Planning to reschedule.

Newcomers to the area are often surprised to learn that fall is the best time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials here in Upstate, South Carolina.

Between summer and winter, our summers are the far greater hazard to strong root establishment for long-lived plants.

Drought and temperatures in the high 90s are coming for your new plants when you install them in the spring. But some comfortably balmy, adequately rain-filled weeks are to be expected when you plant in October, November… heck, even December. Maybe even January.

You give those roots time to dig deep before they are forced to grapple with a Southern July.

Take this to mean you’re perfectly safe to go nursery shopping pretty much year-round here. But what’s more: Now is the time to score free plants, if you know who to ask. (Hint: It’s me.)

Shuffling the Deck

I’ve been co-hosting plant “share” events fall and spring with my friend Mandy Blankenship for the last few years. Spring is great, but fall is my favorite. Why? That’s when experienced gardeners are looking at the bones of their gardens and shuffling the deck. Dividing perennials. Pulling up volunteers in unwanted locations. Noticing the full-fledged tree that grew to 5 ft. in the middle of flower bed in need of removal.

(See Exhibit A below: This redbud popped up in the middle of one my azaleas this spring, and proceeded to double and then triple in size over the course of the summer.)

So many plants around my property were given to me by other gardeners:

• irises

• Japanese maples

• blue mistflower

• coreopsis

• heirloom mums

• Joe Pye weed

• lillies

• hellebores

• rudbeckia

• native wild strawberries

• lamb’s ear

That’s just what I can think of right now… because those are the kinds of things I will be digging up to move around my own garden, and potting up to share with friends.

Free Plants! Join Us

If you are just getting started gardening, a plant swap is an excellent place to browse. Ours is even better because it’s not truly just a swap. We renamed it a “Plant Share” because you don’t need to bring something to take something.

Seriously. We’re just giving plants away.

I look forward to these events so very much: I’ve met more and more fellow plant-lovers around town in the last few years.

I hope you’ll join in! Here are the details:

UPDATE: Rain in the forecast led the organizers to cancel the Mill Village Block Party. We are looking for a new date. Stay tuned.

FREE PLANTS! at the Mill Village Block Party

Saturday, October 3, from 1-4pm

1186 Pendleton St., Greenville, SC 29611

This fall, we’ll have our plant share tent and table at Mill Village Farms’ Saturday Block Party. They’ll have live music, a Village Launch Market with 20+ artisan vendors and food trucks going on, too.

P.S. Mandy Blankenship, Abby Moore Keith and I have a fun little surprise to share with you at the table beside the plant share. I can’t wait to let you in on it!