Annual Seed and Household Plant Swap—February 21, 2026
FCGN’s annual Seed and Houseplant Swap, co-sponsored with the Penfield Community Victory Garden, will take place on Saturday, February 21, 2026 at the Penfield Recreational Center gym (behind the Penfield Library), 1985 Baird Road, Penfield 14526.
The swap is free and open to the public. We’d appreciate it if you’d preregister by emailing flowercitygardennetwork@gmail.com (to help us with seating and refreshments). But everyone is welcome even if you don’t preregister. Also, it isn’t necessary to bring seeds or houseplants in order to attend – you are very welcome either way.
Doors will open at 9 am, with time for refreshments and perusing the seeds and houseplants, welcome and introduction at 9:20, then two talks starting at 9:30. There will be a break, with refreshments and time for seeds and etc, visiting with participants, and talking to the presenters. Presentations will end about noon but we will stay till about 1 pm if you’d like to visit with presenters (or others) or have more time with the offerings.
Join us for this fun day of interesting and informative talks, catching up with new and old friends, talking about gardening, dreaming about spring and the return of the garden season – as well as collecting some new seeds and plants. We look forward to seeing you there!
About the talks
Cultivating Place, Reciprocity and Purpose in the Garden, by Sarah Sutton
Sarah Sutton describes her talk thusly: “We are fortunate to have natural areas interwoven through our neighborhoods in the Greater Rochester Area. With this blessing, comes a call to action. This talk will center on ways we can all contribute through the intentional practice of restoring native plants in our home landscapes to support ecosystem services, reverse habitat loss, and bring nature back into our daily lives. The first part of my talk centers on a ‘walk in the woods’ - images that show the dynamic changes in the ecosystem through the seasons through considering each layer. I define horizontal and vertical layers in landscape design as well as ecological gardening. I use a short, gorgeous and accessible trail at Powdermills park as an example, so that people can go see the plants I describe in different seasons. After that I show images of several residences, and describe how we may apply to our yards the layers that we see in nature which are unique to our area. For instance, how to model gardens after meadows, shrublands and woodlands so that we can consider our ecological contribution in each season, all while creating beautiful, lower maintenance yards. I will include lots of design tips and suggest plant combos that work.”
About the speaker: Sarah Sutton is Ontario County master gardener and owner of Spicebush Swallowtail Native Plants and Ecological Garden Design (spicebushswallowtailnativeplants.com).
Native Plants and New Invasive Threats: Building a Resilient Landscape, with Practical Strategies for Home and Community Landscapes, by Brian Eshenaur
Brian Eshenaur will share his wealth of knowledge about native plants, with an emphasis on their ecological and landscape value. In this talk, he will focus on his favorite native trees and shrubs that thrive in our gardens. He’ll also provide an update on some of the new non-native pests to keep an eye out for.
About the speaker: Brian Eshenaur is Sr. Extension Associate for the Cornell Integrated Pest Management Program.
About the swap
Swapping seeds
If you are bringing seeds that you’ve collected, there is no need to split them into small packets ahead of time. Just bring each separate variety in one envelope or other container. We will have small envelopes available that attendees can label and use to take home appropriate portions from the bulk envelopes. Also feel free to bring extra commercial seed packets that you’d like to share.
Label the seed samples you bring with as much of the following information as possible: name (scientific name if you know it), perennial or annual, flower color (if it’s an ornamental), height, preferred growing conditions, days to harvest if it’s a vegetable.
Swapping houseplants
If you have houseplants that could use trimming, cut some good-sized pieces with one or more nodes (places on the stem where leaves are attached), wrap them in slightly damp paper towel, and bring them in a labelled plastic bag. If you have a large overgrown plant, you can bring the whole plant for people to cut pieces from it, and then you can either give away the plant or take it home again.
Swapping gardening magazines and other sundry
We’ll have a table for items that are free to take – bring your extra garden magazines, books and other items you think gardeners might appreciate.