Dear All, Harry Hay was one of the great English plantsmen of our time. He was a genius when it came to make difficult seeds germinate and it was very respect inspiring to see him grow so many difficult, rare and demanding plants in his garden. I vividly remember this immense pleasure in his face when he showed me his seed bench with some freshly germinating rarities: "isn't it always wonderful to see this?". I was introduced to him many years ago while I lived and worked in England and have met him and his wife several times. He was of such a friendly and generous attitide that I felt ashame not to have anything to offfer in return, at least at the beginning. Later I offered to share the most valuable seeds or plants with him because I knew that if somebody would be able to grow them it would be him. And he would distribute to like minded people without a hint of commercial thinking. Plantspeople all over the world seem to share this passion and generosity but I have always felt that English plantspeople are even more special in this way. This very special attitude has marked me deeply and I am very grateful to have met Harry Hay. I have always admired Harry Hay's knowledge (no need to look at a label) and also the sheer physical effort to keep up his private botanical garden, at the same time only knowing all too well that I would never be able to achieve such a state myself. For the future of his collection I have no information. But the very fact that he had distributed what he could lets me hope that most of his valuable plant material survives somewhere. I have to admit that by far not all the plants I got from him have survived in my hands but those that did carry a label with his name on it and are special plants....... Uli from Germany