I grew up in Orinda, and have been to Wayne's Garden once many years ago - If the garden you visited was his or nearby it is indeed on the edge of the fog belt on the eastern side of the Oakland Hills. IIRC (notice I use all caps to indicate this is an abbreviation of If I Recall Correctly :) ) It is a fairly dense oak woodland about halfway up the mountain side. This microclimate is quite different from that of the low "flatlands" between the coastal ranges e.g. the Mountain View area. My own garden in Los Gatos is similar in that only 1 mile away in the low mountains (< 500 ft) it is suitable habitat for redwoods without supplemental irrigation, but they are somewhat marginal here needing lots of summer water and showing the effects of the drier air. Not sure if this is pertinent to Galanthus elwesii, but that is the main difference in locations - not minimum temps. If the Garden was higher in the hills (~1000 ft.) it may have reached zone 8 which seems more likely to s upport Galanthus. Still this is interesting and I will have to give them a try. Chad Schroter -----Original Message----- From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of John Grimshaw Sent: Monday, January 30, 2012 9:46 PM To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: [pbs] pbs] Galanthus nivallis The late Wayne Roderick once showed me a garden in Orinda, CA, where Galanthus elwesii was thoroughly naturalised and even 'escaping' to the roadside. As I recall, Orinda is on the very edge of the fog belt. I think that G. elwesii, with its origins in Mediterranean conditions, would be a better bet in the Bay Area than G. nivalis from central Europe. John Grimshaw Visit John Grimshaw's Garden Diary http://johngrimshawsgardendiary.blogspot.com/ Dr. John M. Grimshaw Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Tel. 01242 870567 Snowdrops at Colesbourne Park 2012 Every Saturday and Sunday in February and 3-4 March from 1pm Guided group tours on weekdays by appointment. >> >> Message: 5 >> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:01:08 -0800 >> From: "Carol Thornton" <carolt@lmi.net> >> >> Hi All, >> I have an Irish friend who now lives in Mountain View and would like to >> plant snowdrops next PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this electronic mail message is intended only for the use of the designated recipient(s) named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this message in error and that any review, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender by telephone or e-mail (as shown above) immediately and destroy any and all copies of this message in your possession (whether hard copies or electronically stored copies).