POMEROY — What will it be? A sprig of spirea, a bundle of daylilly bulbs, some ground cover, or maybe something of each.

The semi-annual plant exchanges held at the Senior Citizens Center always raise some questions — how much space is available for planting, what will complement plants already growing there, and how many is too many to take from the well-filled tables.

While the gardening sessions are called plant “exchanges” — that’s where you bring plants from your home and exchange them for something different brought by someone else — it is much more.

Many of those attending had much to share, while others had nothing to contribute but were encouraged by the master gardeners tending to the well-filled tables to select whatever they wanted. And it was all free.

The spring and fall semi-annual events are staged by local Master Gardeners and the Meigs County Extension Service, Hal Kneen, educator.

Two sessions were held last week with Kneen giving tips on how to have gardening success. He identified the plants on the table and discussed how to give each one a healthy start.

He gave tips on proper planting and care after plants are in the ground, the use of fertilizers and composts, when and how far to cut back foliage, how to separate plants, when to prune and what, plants to avoid because they cause a skin rash or are poisonous, those that are invasive, ones which like wet soil and others which thrive in hot weather and survive with little water.

It was all very educational and quite entertaining.