Hello I love gardening and plants. A year and a half ago I moved out of my small Seattle house and property (the lot was 30 feet wide) and moved east about 20 miles to 10 acres in the community of Preston. It is one garden zone colder than Seattle (Preston - zone 7) without some of the marine influence Seattle gets. The property is at an elevation of 1,000 feet with a south exposure. Lots of sun in the summer and high winds during the winter storms. The lot is forested with trees about 100 years old. I had about 1.5 acres cleared for my garden and the house. Since I love plants, most of the garden will be plants with only a small side lawn for my dogs. I also had a pond installed, but that is turning out to be the dogs' pond - they rip the water lilies and keep the water muddy playing on the edge and swimming. I started planting plants last fall and continued through the winter until early spring. By looking at the pile of pots I think I've planted about 400 - 500 plants. A quick calculation indicates I need to plant about 2000 trees and shrubs to get the garden filled in. In general I've planned on it taking ten years until the garden starts looking good. I've become an expert at scouring nurseries for good sale plants. I had a greenhouse planned and it is now being finished. It is 8ft x 16ft and I believe it will be a nice place to puzt around in this winter when it is cold and rainy. And next to the greenhouse I think I hope to build a rock garden that the dogs won't overrun. A place that small delicate plants can live. So, in regard to bulbs - I'm a gardener that loves all special wonderful plants. I'm looking forward to getting some winter blooming bulbs into my greenhouse. I'm still learning about my soil and I'm concerned that it may be too tight and wet in the winter (about 60" of rain/year) for some bulbs. I was given some nice size Pineapple Lily bulbs last fall and only about a half grew and none flowered this summer. But I was also given dozens of Home Depot Oriental Lilies and they did wonderful. It will take me years to understand and develop my garden -- what a fun adventure. Vicki Preston, WA (just east of Seattle)