Tulipa 'Little Princess' is just past its peak here in Maryland. The orange color in this cultivar matches exactly the color in Tulipa whittallii, and I suspect that Tulipa whittallii or another member of the orphanidea group might have been a parent of 'Little Princess'. The companion cultivar, 'Little Beauty' is by now over; here it comes into bloom a few days before 'Little Princess', but well after the general run of Tulipa humilis types. By now, the Tulipa humilis group has finished for this year. Several years ago I obtained what were nominally five or six distinct forms or hybrids of Tulipa batalinii. When they bloomed, there were all alike! These popped into bloom late yesterday afternoon and are very pretty now. Tulipa wilsoniana has been in bloom, but no typical Tulipa linifolia has bloomed yet this year. Every Fritillaria which will bloom this year has either bloomed or is in full bloom now. Fritillaria biflora 'grayana' opened yesterday, the last of the frits to flower this year. On the other hand, the Calochortus season is just beginning with 'Cupido' in full bloom and C. tolmiei also blooming - there are five other sorts waiting in the wings to come on. Camassia leichtlinii is in full bloom - just in time to compliment the tree peonies. Today is probably the peak tree peony day of the year for the Japanese hybrids. The lutea hybrids are still in advanced bud. Tulipa 'Zurel', which is a fair approximation for the old Bijbloemen tulip 'May Blossom', is in bloom now. This 'Zurel' is one of the modern, non-virused tulips marketed as substitutes for the old virused bijjbloemen (and bizarre) tulips I grew forty years ago. The ornamental Allium I obtained in the '60s of the last century under the names Allium rosenbachianum and Allium rosenbachianum album are coming into bloom now. I'm not sure what the correct current names for these are. These plants produce hard-ball sized inflorescences on 48' high stems, and I like them as much as I do any of the other ornamental Allium. The big ornamental Allium are all rapidly advancing and should be blooming very soon. Some hybrid lilies already show flower buds. And some of the modern super lilies are producing stems bigger than any lily stems I have ever grown. Two seem to be as big around as my forearm. Unless these are damaged, these will easily go up to seven feet, maybe more. And I can count flower buds on Lilium hansonii and 'Preston Yellow', an old hansonii hybrid. These are ahead of even Lilium candidum. In the iris department, Iris cristata and I. verna are in bloom, and I. tectorum is showing color (bloom tomorrow?). Tall bearded irises have scapes on the way up (so do oriental poppies), and regeliocyclus Iris 'Dardanus' has lots of scapes on the way up. Dutch iris 'Bronze Queen' and 'Eye of the Tiger' should be in bloom any day now. Anemone coronaria is blooming, and Anemone nemorosa 'Vestal' is blooming, too. Sessile and pedunculate Trillium are blooming, as are some Asarum. Cypripedium japonicum is taking the year off: there are no flowers this year. In my experience, if I don't feed it, it doesn't bloom (it's in a very lean mixture). I noticed the price of this plant in a current catalog and realized that I'm presiding over a $600 colony. I should add that I have no intention of disturbing that colony any time soon! The late Muscari, M. comosum and its presumed variety, 'plumosum', are putting up buds. I found a little Ornithogalum in the lawn recently. The flowers went before I could get a photo - the plant is now about ready to mature seed. It was superficially like O. umbellatum, but in bloom much earlier. O. umbellatum is now in full bloom. Two other members of the genus, O. magnum and O. reverchonii, have yet to show signs of bloom. If you don't know Ornithogalum magnum, you're missing out on the one member of the genus I would call spectacular. Some garden visitors last year were puzzled by it, and most assumed it to be an Asphodelus. It's that good. Ornithogalum reverchonii may not be spectacular, but I expect it to be the most elegant one I've ever seen - if it blooms. The garden calls - why am I spending so much time at the keyboard! Jim McKenney Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where the hummingbirds and wood thrushes are back.