Jane's comments on hummingbird visitation to Crocosmia 'Lucifer' are very interesting (and her planting combination sounds lovely!). The stiff branched inflorescence of one of the parents, C. paniculata, is adapted for pollination by perching sunbirds (no hummers in the Old World), with the red tubular flowers being the classic shape for bird pollination, as does the gorgeous C. pearsei at higher elevation in the Drakensberg. Sunbird visitation has been observed for both of these, according to Goldblatt et al. in their book 'Crocosmia and Chasmanthe'. The more open, orange or yellow flowers of other species, including C. masoniorum (the other parent of 'Lucifer') are adapted for butterfly pollination, while a few species are bee-pollinated. Goldblatt et al. actually cite 'Lucifer' as an example of the 'transferability' of the bird pollination syndrome between continents and bird families. John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Garden Manager, Colesbourne Gardens Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/