On 18 Mar 04 at 21:24, Mary Sue Ittner wrote: > There hasn't been much participation in this week's topic of the > week. Does this mean there aren't many orange flowered bulbs or they > just aren't favorites of anyone? At a guess, the numero-uno orange geophyte is crocosmia, in a broad sense. And being a summer flowering thing, it's out of mind right now. In my own garden, the only things with orange(-ish) flowers right now are Ranunculus ficaria 'Cuprea' and Narcissus 'Jet Trail'. The ranunculus is not bad, but I have my doubts about the concept of an orange flower at this time of year: somehow it just doesn't seem to go with the soft blues, pinks, and yellows of early spring. > I thought we might hear from David Fenwick with some of his favorite > Crocosmias especially after Jane's comments. Among the orange crocosmias, I prefer C. masonorum as being not quite as garish as some of the big hybrid cultivars. But taken as a whole, I value the crocosmias for the bright color they bring to the late-summer perennial garden, during the infamous "August gap" when about the only other perennials in flower are campanulas. Hot weather: hot colored plants. Among the dahlias, there are some pretty garish orange cultivars also. Any garden centre worth its salt can sell you these right now. Another favorite orange flower is Gladiolus dalenii. It's a beautiful soft glowing orange. (The yellow form is even more beautiful, though.) Regrettably, it's a little tender here and I'm none too certain I still have it. And homeria, which someone else mentioned, is also a good orange with some subtlety to its color instead of a bright aggressive splash. These bright colors are in some disrepute among the more ethereally minded garden crowd, but I wouldn't want to be without them. After all, as the prophet said, pastel gardens for pastel people. For a truly eye-catching display, nothing beats brilliant crocosmias coming up through a tangle of Geranium 'Ann Folkard' with its yellowly-green foliage and intense magenta flowers. But this kind of color combination is not for the timid or faint of heart. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island