I would like to add to Mark's observation about regional preferences for yellow flowers. My impression is that most gardeners here on the east coast welcome yellow during the cold months. During the summer it's a different story. Nor is it just a question of the time of year: the latitude has something to do with it. For as long as American gardeners have been visiting British gardens, they have noticed that the light is different. It seems a ridiculous thing to say: it's the same sun, isn't it? But it's true. Washington is at about the same latitude as Athens or Lisbon; London is well north of here. That apparently makes a huge difference in the quality of the light during much of the day. Americans are often very favorably impressed when they see "gold gardens" in England. When they return home and plant the same plants in their own garden to get the same effect, the results are often ghastly. Instead of the warm glow they saw in England, they see a sickly looking plant that seems to be virus infected or made of ugly plastic. Blame the light! Jim McKenney jimmckenney@starpower.net Montgomery County, Maryland, zone 7, just north of Washington, D.C.