Dear All, Back on the list as I stopped it for some time during my trip to California and afterwards. The time in California in April was wonderful, it was a glorious spring with a lot of flowers, I saw beautiful gardens and natural places that looked as beautiful as the man-made ones or even more so. One of the most lasting pictures was a dry sandy valley full of tree lupins in all shades of blue and purple and a wonderful fragrance. Also a meadow full of Salvia carduacea in full bloom..... and beaches along Highway No 1 full of sea lions..... sorry to go astray from geophytes..... but here they were as well, Delphiniums, Alliums, Calochortus, Lilium, Brodiaea..... I met interesting and very hospitable and friendly people and was taken to a two-day trip to the Carrizo plain in flower..... The Botanical Gardens of San Diego, Strybing and Berkeley, the Santa Cruz Arboretum and Tilden Park each were spectacular in their own way to a point that almost made me go depressed.... because I felt it so unfair that you Californians can grow so very many plants in one garden, plants I can only dream of..... The South African bulb plantings at Berkely were particularly colourful when I was there. The end of the trip was a bit stressful as my return flight was cancelled due to the volcanic ashes..... so my stay in California was extended.... I stayed with friends who were extremely helpful and supporting. I felt I was quickly succumbing to the charm of the Californians...... With greetings from Germany..... first warm summer days here after a VERY long and cold winter Uli