Dear Friends, We US gardeners hear of UK garden galas involving hundreds of people pouring over acres of Snow Drops as the first hint of spring breaks. This Galanthomania has resulted in record breaking sales of single bulbs of special cvs (A single bulb of G. woronowii 'Elizabeth Harrison' sold at auction for a record £725.10 or US$1,145.06 !!). Public gardens in the UK open for tours, sales and auctions of plants. I personally did not think there was a market in the US for single Galanthus cv bulbs for $40 or 50. I made an informal survey of a half dozen friends who I knew were at least vaguely interested in the genus and aware of UK fervor. I was very surprised at the interest and heard of some US nurseries selling bulbs for the $50 to $100 each range and selling out very fast. The degree of incipient Galanthomania surprised me. I started to get inquiries if I knew of a source for various lists of cvs available for sale, or was I planning on importing bulbs from the UK and could they order a few more? I grow maybe a half dozen or 10 named cvs a couple of which I recently priced on US and UK web sites and found they sell for much more than I would ever pay. So I am still somewhat awed at the seeming interest in Snow Drop Mania. What do PBS members (Especially those in the US) think of this whole thing? Do any of you buy $20, $50 Galanthus bulbs? Do you think you might be a Galanthophile ? Is the whole thing totally a fad; overblown and doomed to obscurity in the US? What's the most you have ever paid for a single Galanthus bulb? Thanks for your indulgence and feel very easy deleting the whole post if you think it is totally silly. Best Jim W. PS: Incidentally, the Galanthus here are pretty much in full bloom although the earliest are done and 1 or 2 are not yet up and open fully. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +