Last night, deer got into the garden and had their way with many plants. They took a big chomp out of the side of the huge Eremurus sprout which is the size of my fist and several inches out of the ground. They did not get the central portion of the sprout, so the inflorescence, if there is one, is probably safe. Since Eremurus are said not to be grazed in the wild, our local deer have some learning to do. Some clumping Dianthus were pulled out the ground completely and deposited on the neighbor's driveway. Emerging tulip foliage was cropped here and there. They came within a few feet of the protected coldframe. They ate some plants in another, unprotected cold frame out in the garden. Shibateranthis/Eranthis pinnatifida is not quite in bloom here yet. The flowers it had much earlier in the year disappeared; new ones seem to be coming up in their place. Eranthis hyemalis are nearing the end for this year and E. cilicica has not yet appeared. In the protected cold frame Dichelostemma capitatum has budded stems well on the way up. Narcissus of the romieuxii persuasion are blooming, as are Oxalis 'Garnet', Ornithogalum balansae and several Fritllaria including F. liliacea. A very beautiful seedling crocus has appeared in the lawn here. It's got the typical tommy colors and shape, but is much larger than tommies. And the contrast between the silvery outside and the very rich amethyst inside is very beautiful. Garden crocuses are also beginning to bloom. I like all of these very much. Leucojum vernum carpathicum opened here yesterday. That seems late to me. This growns in an unprotected site out in the garden. I went out and photographed Symplocarpus yesterday. Most of the spathes were a bit past their prime. I searched carefully for seeds, but found only two, both germinated. These plants grow in a flood plain and so the seeds probably get washed away quickly. Back in the garden, the Lysichiton are poking up, testing the waters - or in this case, air - I guess. Air temperatures today topped 80º F; the sun is uncomfortably hot on the skin today. Magnolia stellata has started to bloom again. Thundershowers are predicted for this afternoon with overnight lows in the 50s F. And snow showers are predicted for the weekend. So we're still on the roller coaster. Worst case scenario: it will fry the snowdrops today and freeze the magnolias this weekend. I’m seeing bees in numbers in the garden now for the first time in years. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where the blue flowered Roman hyacinth is sweetly in bloom. 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/