John Grimshaw wrote about earlier than usual flowering of Colchicum in England. Here in the Pacific Northwest, where the summer has been atypically cool and rainy, Colchicum are also flowering somewhat earlier than usual, considering a 20-year span of my own observations. However, I'd attribute the flowering to the cool temperatures, not to the moisture per se, since colchicums are notorious for flowering in the bag while being shipped. Acis (formerly Leucojum) also does this. People who purchase bulbs often wonder what to do about those that have flowered during shipment. My preference is to snip the flowers off before planting, because they will usually wilt and I think they might become a conduit for fungi and bacteria to infect the rest of the plant. Incidentally, there are a few western American bulbs that flower in late summer, such as Calochortus weedii, C. plummerae, and Allium sanbornii. They do this even when grown on a "Mediterranean," summer-dry cycle. The Allium is quite decorative and I can grow it in the open here; it's about 30 cm tall in flower, opens greenish white and soon turns bright rose-pink. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA