All this talk about conserving plants and especially Rodger's last post about sharing reminds me of the visits we had with Sir Peter Smithers in Switzerland and Harry Hay in England. Both had amazing gardens with high levels of diversity and both believed in sharing with others. Although they never asked for anything in exchange, a lot of people wanted to give back and searched for special material to give them. Peter talked of some wonderful plants people brought him that he never would have had access to. He suggested that we visit a local Arboretum and when we did and talked to someone there we learned that a large part of their collection had begun with cuttings from the Smithers' garden. Years ago we came up with the idea of the BX as a way to share with each other. It probably generates a tiny profit to help with other costs of running the Pacific Bulb Society, but this is not really a money generating project, but just a way that people can share their extras. It probably never would have been as successful as it has been if it were not for the dedication of Dell who has been in charge since 2002 and helped IBS with the same before then. That's a very long time to do such a time consuming job. No doubt some of the offerings go to people who may not live in places where it will be easy to grow what they order, but I'm sure we have a number of people with success. When someone offers something they originally got from the BX and continues the circle of giving it is especially nice. This list also brings people together who share the same interests and I'm sure a lot of private trades or gifts result as well. Thanks to all of you in this group who give (seeds, bulbs, helpful information, volunteer time for the Bulb Garden, the wiki, the Pacific Bulb Society). Mary Sue