I noticed today that flower buds, lots of them, are forming at the leaf axils of the stems of Tropaeolum brachyceras. I’m very happy about this. Although the plant is growing vigorously it somehow seems very frail. The stems are very thin and the leaves are much smaller than I expected: does it thicken up later in the season? This plant grows in one of my protected cold frames, cold frames which are against the house foundation and are covered at night. And that this plant has survived the winter in that cold frame gives you an idea of just how “protected” it is. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/