Hi All, The Lycoris are now all nearly over with here. I hate to see them go, as this means summer is about to end. However, there is consolation at hand: the first Colchicum are starting to bloom in my lawn, C. byzantinum. It is usually the first one up in autumn, and this year is typical. Usually, the next one to appear will be Colchicum cilicium "Purpureum". In the dappled shade of the lath house, Haemanthus albiflos selections continue to flower. Another sign that autumn is not for away! In the greenhouse, two dormant bulbs of Haemanthus barkerae are showing pink scapes. This will be the third season that these have tried to flower. The first year, they tried to bloom while bone-dry in the dark basement storage room -- I didn't see them until long after the scapes had withered and dried. Last year I knew enough to have them in the greenhouse at bloom time, and I got to see flowers. I did not succeed in setting any seeds on them, unfortunately. Pots of Hymenocallis acutifolia are in flower too -- another sign that summer will soon be over. They have large flat staminal cups and are truly handsome flowers. Hymenocallis cf. expansa is also in bloom. It has the tiniest staminal cups I can recall seeing on a Hymenocallis! H. expansa is a large plant in the Caribaea alliance. The flowers on my plant are definitely not green, nor even greenish, but the tips of the tepals are slightly yellow in color. H. expansa is from the Caribbean islands, while H. acutifolia comes from riverine environments in southern Mexico. I'm trying to set seeds on both these flowers, by self-pollinating them. The seed (if any) will go to the Hymenocallis Species Conservation interest group (Hymenocallis SIG). The Hymenocallis SIG is an informal group I have organized to facilitate communication and exchange of plant materials among hobbyists and professionals interested in the conservation and preservation of Hymenocallis species. Strictly out of season, in another shade house the plant of Clivia 'Jean Delphine' donated by Dave Conway to the NACS fund-raising auction to be held this autumn (ca. October), is also in flower. The auction will raise money to help fund the International Clivia Conference 2005 being organized by Harold Koopowitz. See the North American Clivia Society web site for details as they develop, both about the auction -- coming soon! -- and about the March 2005 conference. Find it at: http://www.northamericancliviasociety.org/ 'Jean Delphine' has a bronze-red-orange flower with a deep olive green throat, to die for! Dave is low on stock of 'Jean Delphine' and NACS is very grateful to Dave for his donation. Jim Shields ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA