Dear Northern California PBS and list members, On August 15, 2005 there is a California Horticultural Society talk that I think would be of interest to you. Don Mahoney, Horticulturist and Nursery Manager for the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society at Strybing Arboretum is giving a talk entitled, "Buried Treasures -- Best Bulbs for year-round color in California." The description says, "The diversity of bulbs growable by the Bay Area gardeners is outstanding. There are bulbs that bloom every month of the year either for containers or for planting in the round. There are both winter dormant bulbs for watered gardens and summer dormant bulbs for dry gardens. They come in a wild array of colors and some are among the most exquisite flowers in the plant kingdom. By the right combinations, bulbs can be the dominant element giving color to your garden for much of the year. Both difficult small bulbs and easy landscape staples will be shown and discussed." The Cal Hort meetings are always interesting and I wish I were closer so I could attend every one. I've missed two talks in 2005 presented by members of our list that I wanted to go to, but just couldn't. I am going to make every effort to make this one. If you go, usually there is a walk through the garden at 4:00 and a no host dinner at a local restaurant at 5:30 followed by announcements, plant forum, etc. at 7:15 and then the talk. A couple of times when there were bulb oriented talks some of us who live farther away made an effort to meet and sit together at dinner and that was very pleasant. I hope some of you from our group will attend. There is a donation charge of $5 if you are not a member either of the California Horticultural Society or the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society at Strybing Arboretum. If you think you might be attending please email me privately so I can look for you. The last time I went was to hear Marietta O'Byrne in November 2004. I really enjoyed her talk and getting to meet her and Ernie. They also had plants along for sale and I have to say that the Begonia boliviensis I purchased has brought me hours of pleasure. Even the seed pods forming now are very cool. There may be items for sale or in the drawing that people will be interested in too. Mary Sue