Dear All, I am finding it really interesting hearing about the bulbs you can grow in colder climates. Adding to our thread from last week about wild flowers in bloom for those of us in milder climates is my contribution below. Several days ago we saw a wonderful display of wild flowers at Manchester State Beach. Most of the geophytes we saw were exotic (Allium triquetrum, Oxalis pes-caprae, and at an abandoned homestead some kind of Kniphofia, Narcissus leaves, and Zantedeschia aethiopica.) There were lots and lots of Iris douglasiana in bloom however and I have added some pictures of the flowers there and at least one taken a few weeks ago in my garden. We were especially taken with the combinations of Iris and poppies (Eschscholzia californica) and Iris and baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii) and I included a picture of the latter. In the first picture the Iris is surrounded by Erigeron glaucus. So maybe those are ideas for companion plantings devised by Mother Nature. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… Mary Sue Mary Sue Ittner California's North Coast Wet mild winters with occasional frost Dry mild summers