Trade Plants with Your Neighbors at the Sharpstown Earth Day Plant Swap, 4/20/24

Trade Plants with Your Neighbors at the Sharpstown Earth Day Plant Swap, 4/20/24
Neighbors at the 2023 Sharpstown Earth Day Plant Swap. Image Credit: screenshot from a video produced by Derik J Mercado, CEO of Pinnacle Pictures.

Have too much of one kind of plant—or not enough? Trade with your neighbors at the fifth annual Sharpstown Earth Day Plant Swap, hosted by the Sharpstown Parks Alliance and Urban Harvest.

Check-in begins at Lansdale Pavilion in Monsignor Bill Pickard Park at 8:30 AM, when participants bring their unwanted plants and receive a ticket for each plant, to a max of eight tickets. According to the event flyer, participants can also exchange garden tools, gardening books, pots, and containers for tickets. Volunteers with carts will be on standby to help participants transport plants and other items from their cars to the pavilion.

The first swap round begins at 9:00 AM. Simultaneously, all participants will get five to ten minutes to peruse the tables and choose one plant in exchange for one ticket.

In the next round, participants will get another five to ten minutes to choose another plant in exchange for another ticket, and so on. The final swap round is scheduled to end around 11:00 AM.

Each participant also gets a personal numbered spot in the plant-sitting area to keep their leafy trophies safe until they’re done collecting them. When participants finish swapping, the volunteers can help cart their new plants back to their cars.

Sharpstown resident Joseph Permetti, who’s been involved in the swap from year one, said it’s a great way to connect with neighbors. “Even if you just bring two plants, it’s fun.”

He said that parking is “plentiful,” and since the event is at a pavilion, it will run “rain or shine.” Last year, around 120 people attended, and any leftover plants will be donated to local schools, said Permetti.

Several local vendors will also have booths at the event.

If you plan to attend, don't forget to register!

Just the Key Facts

  • Where: Lansdale Pavilion in Monsignor Bill Pickard Park, 8201 Roos, Houston, TX 77036
  • When: 8:30 AM check-in; 9:00-11:00 AM swapping
  • How to register: visit sharpstownparks.org and click “Register Here” on the home page
  • What to bring: plants, garden tools, gardening books, pots, or containers that you don’t want or need anymore
  • Questions? Email info@sharpstownparks.org.

The Sharpener has a booth at the swap too! Stop by to say hi to editor Tyess Korsmo. Current or new subscribers can get a free vinyl decal sporting our logo. Put it on a laptop, travel mug, or car—or come up with your own zany idea!


Conflict of Interest Statement: the Sharpener is a vendor at this event, although the Sharpener will not be selling anything.