A spot of blue caught my eye in the bulb frame today: Tecophilaea cyanocrocus is showing color. While I'm happy that a home-grown plant is blooming (the ones which bloomed last year were fresh from Jane McGary), I'm not at all comfortable with its early appearance. I found a little caterpillar, very active and rather elegant in its brown and white stripes, eating my largest plant of Fritillaria biflora 'grayana'. I had to pull the leaves apart a bit to get the caterpillar out, and as I did I could see the flower buds. A bit more checking found flower buds on F. liliacea and typical F. biflora. Again, while it's nice to see that they are about to bloom, they're much too early. Shibateranthis pinnatifida has flower buds up at ground level, as do the typical winter aconites. Tulipa ingens has foliage up and expanding, too. Anemone palmata, new and unfamiliar to me, has foliage up. Galanthus 'Ophelia' is about to pop. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where great horned owls are calling more frequently and probably more amorously. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/