Nathan wrote
>I was suggesting that in a horticultural or botanical setting,
>derivations of the word "bloom" should be reserved for discussions
>concerning blooms (epicuticular wax) and are inappropriate when
>referring to flowers or flowering.
Well, if you want to ignore the history of English, you can specify that.
As a speaker of this peculiarly eclectic language, I claim the
freedom to intersperse my Italic loans ("flower") with my Germanic
"blooms." One could, of course, write "blossom" instead of "bloom,"
though it takes more keystrokes.
In addition, anybody who thinks this is a mild winter doesn't live
where most of us North Americans do. It is snowing like an SOB out
there right now, and all my early Narcissus, even under cover, are
lying flat and frozen (though they may likely rise again).
Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA