Iris unguicularis has started to bloom here in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Earlier this week a friend reported that her plant had one open flower and two spent flowers which she had missed earlier. The plant I have here opened its first flower today. If the past is prelude, it will be in bloom off and on for the next five months. Three daffodils have budded scapes on the way up: Narcissus albidus foliosus, Narcissus tazetta and N. bulbocodium pallidus. These grow in the protected cold frame (which has not yet been closed against weather so far). My Thanksgiving snow drop is also blooming today, a week early. This is a selection made here from snowdrops (nominally Galanthus elwesii) in the lawn. The florist’s version of Cyclamen persicum is appearing in the shops now. Every year the same thing happens: the shop keepers evidently know nothing about the care of this plant, they forget to water them and they overheat them. As a result, there are plenty of plants which quickly become shop worn and are put out at a steep discount. The other day I bought one for $1.50; after pulling off a few leaves and spent flowers and giving it a good watering and a brief vacation outside in the seasonably cool weather, I now have a handsome plant with plenty of flowers and the potential to bloom for the next four months. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7, where autumn camellias are blooming and the shrub Elaeagnus pungens is filling the garden with its sweet scent. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/