Dear All, Today I got a telephone call from a woman who lives near to me. She had a field of yellow flowers blooming in her garden and wanted to know what they were and when the local nursery couldn't help her a friend of mine who overheard the conversation suggested they knew someone who knows bulbs who might be able to help. So I drove over to her house for a look. This woman is renting property that has 10 acres. Most of it is uncultivated but a lot of bulbs were planted many years ago by the original homesteaders and more by the current owners of the property. The garden has been neglected and this woman is in the process of uncovering it, pulling weeds, cutting back plants, making pathways, restoring rocks, etc. The owners told her not to dig because there were bulbs everywhere. This garden is no doubt Zone 9, very wet winters, dry summers, moderate temperatures. Unlike my garden however it is very sunny as a lot of the trees were removed. Probably it is very windy at times as it is very exposed. There have to be deer and she said she had gophers. She has the most amazing views of the ocean in about three directions. There are some trees in the distance, but she says they are in pygmy soil so they are never going to get very tall and block her view. The garden she is tending is a perfect example of what can be grown in the ground with no care whatsoever!! The bulbs are extremely crowded. I was surprised when she said they bloomed well. The Narcissus are doing especially well. I am guessing on some of this that was not in bloom since I was judging by leaves alone and what she told me. This is what is growing well: Amaryllis belladonna, Narcissus (many different ones, but most through blooming so I couldn't say which), Allium triquetrum, Watsonia (could be cultivars, not yet in bloom), Muscari (not many, but a few), Bearded Iris, some other Iris probably (not in bloom), Crocosmia (I'm guessing here-she said the plant was fall blooming), Oxalis pes-caprae (everywhere-ouch). There was probably more, but that's what I could tell. There was one lone Freesia, a yellow hybrid, but she said the deer ate the Freesias. And what was the yellow flower she asked me about that was blooming in mass: Narcissus bulbocodium. It was very pretty. I will report on my garden, but won't some others join in? Mary Sue