A group of Carbon County green thumbs started trading plants online a couple years ago.

The community now numbers nearly 3,000, and has its own festival for fellow planters and the public.

Carbon County Plant Fest will be at Lansford’s Kennedy Park this weekend, featuring a plant swap, crafts, music, yoga and food.

“We have a plant swap - that’s what started it, but it has taken on a form of its own,” said Amy Wood, of Lehighton.

During the pandemic, there was a renewed interest in houseplants and gardens. Wood started growing houseplants as a pandemic project. She filled her home with philodendrons and hoyas. She formed the Facebook group “Carbon County Plant People BST” (buy, sell, trade), and others started listing spiderplants, inchplants and succulents.

“The world was going crazy at the time. It was something you could invest yourself in, see something positive come back,” Wood said.

The plant people started trading art, garden bulbs and fresh vegetables for new plants. Some give away cuttings to welcome new people.

Eventually, the online community wanted to gather in person. The first plantfest was an informal swap in a church parking lot. The second, last May, became an actual festival.

The festival continues to grow, moving to Lansford’s Kennedy Park where more than a dozen vendors will be selling plants in addition to the plant swap. Artists and crafters also have booths.

There will be live music from The Towering Pine, Persephone, and Dave Matsinko. River Run Healing Arts will teach a free yoga class.

Food vendors include the Weatherly Rotary Club, Mahoning Lions Club, Parryville Fire Department and Friends of Lansford Recreation.

For the plant people it will be a chance to gather in person and share their passion for plants. Their hobby doesn’t stop with the end of the summer. They continue to cultivate houseplants year-round, and the festival will be a way to add new ones to the collection.

“You’re used to just seeing their little icon on Facebook, and at plant fest you get to see them in person,” Wood said.

Plantfest is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The free yoga class is from 1-2 p.m. For more information, check out “Carbon County Plant People BST” on Facebook.

Additional parking will also be available at the Lansford Pool parking lot.