Despite the sub-zero temperatures and crust of icy snow blanketing the ground, spring was in the air Saturday morning.
At least it was inside the Berks Nature building in Reading.
The organization and the Penn State Master Gardeners of Berks County teamed up to host the second annual Community Seed Swap.
Gardeners listen to seed presentations during the second annual Seed Swap sponsored by the Berks County Master Gardeners at Berks Nature on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Gardening enthusiasts got an opportunity to pick up a vast variety of seeds — ranging from flowers to vegetables to fruit to shrubs to trees — and share some of their own with like-minded green thumbs.
“Everybody loves free seeds, there’s nothing wrong with that,” event co-chair Karyn Spengler said. “There’s a huge variety, if you’re looking for something special you’re probably going to find it.”
Co-chair Sandy Weiss said the idea behind it came when he began noticing the growing price for seeds and difficulty finding native species.
Having lots of friends who each grew their own array of plants, she figured teaming up and trading would be a great idea.
Seeds are displayed during the second annual Seed Swap sponsored by the Berks County Master Gardeners at Berks Nature on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
“It blossomed into a monster a little bit,” she said, looking over a room packed with about 100 people. “I’m thrilled that I can see it’s growing.”
Along with the thousands of seeds that were up for grabs, the event featured educational presentations on “Winter Sowing” and “Common Seed Starting Mistakes.”