Dear Members, Like Marguerite English, I love my bulbs for themselves but also because they opened the door to me for so many other types of plants. My life is filled with my garden, a small greenhouse housing orchids and early sown spring seeds and a few flasks of germinating orchid seeds. My special emphasis is plant propagation. I volunteer at the University of California Botanical Conservatory, in the orchid section. However, recently I was asked to recommend 50 geophytes offered by Silverhill Seeds that are suitable for our USDA zone 9. I grow California native plants for our Sacramento Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). This pleasant task has evolved into volunteering horticultural work in the CNPS Demonstration garden, located at the Old City Cemetery, in Sacramento. Presently, I am working on weed abatement and designing a plan for a 10 foot square plot using California natives. Although I began geophytes with Hippeastrum (Amaryllidaceae), I think my favorite geophyte family is Iridaceae. I share my home with three miniature poodles and a Siamese cat and volunteer with a local hospice group. Life is full. Joyce Miller