An abnormally mild winter -- the second in a row here -- has brought out plenty of flowers in both garden and bulb house. Many snowdrops (Galanthus) are in full bloom, as well as Cyclamen coum, Iris unguicularis, and some shrubs. Crocuses dot the bulb lawn and the covered plunge beds of the bulb house. I was happy to see Crocus alatavicus flowering, as it has defeated my efforts several times. I just took Brian Mathew's book there to key out a little white-and-yellow species, which proved to be Crocus danfordiae; although I've had it in the collection for some time, I didn't know there were numerous plants in its pot and had not seen it in flower. Another unusual one is Crocus cyprius, which is not supposed to be winter-hardy at all, but has flowered well in the bulb house for three years now. In the coldest nights I pop a glass over it. A visit to the seedling shed is always anticipated. There are plenty of first- and second-year seed pots with growth emerging, meaning a need this summer for room for their pots in the bulb house. Digging up hundreds of Narcissus cantabricus, N. romieuxii, and their hybrids is one goal, and getting rid of scores of Triteleia ixioides is another. Pretty in their seasons, but I need the space. The Triteleia should be hardy outdoors here. The narcissi are too, but the weather tends to spoil their midwinter flowers. The first Hyacinthus litwinowii has opened -- a grayish flower, mostly of botanical interest. A couple of Hyacinthellas, all bright blue, are also appearing. The "spring" sternbergias, Sternbergia fischeriana and Sternbergia candida, are just at the end of their flowering; I have 3 seed-grown plants of S. candida, but only one of them has ever flowered. Gymnospermiums are open a few inches above the soil and will elongate greatly as they grow on. Here and there among the collection are many small Colchicum species, mostly identified only tentatively as they are seed-grown and no good key is available; I am sure of Colchicum szovitsii and Colchicum hungaricum, but the rest are "little pink ones" and "little white ones." At least some may be considered Merendera species by some botanists. In nature they're snowmelt growers. I hope the recent issue of The Bulb Garden encourages more PBS members to experiment with growing from seed, and with more winter-hardy species. I don't have a heated place for the South African and subtropical species popular with greenhouse growers, but there is almost always some bulb interest here. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…