Uli's mentioning Narcissus is a good point. I've never succeeded perfectly with N. poeticus here, but N. obvallaris and the Cyclamineus hybrid 'Jenny' both naturalized beautifully in a seasonally wet area in my old garden, and the former is a mainstay of my present bulb lawn, which is well drained but seasonally wet. I've seen N. cyclamineus itself growing well in a garden on the Oregon coast, but it does not thrive for me. Another that does very well here in damp places is Narcissus jonquilla, a population grown originally from wild-collected seed. And of all things, I saw Narcissus tazetta growing in a seaside marsh by the Mediterranean. And the point about Fritillaria meleagris is very important! Many people don't know it's a denizen of wet meadows. It has self-sown by the hundreds here, both in the bioswale and in a well-irrigated rich border setting. Best to buy it in a pot, because stored bulbs deteriorate badly. Fritillaria camtschatcensis is also a plant of moist places, but it should have a dry, i.e. frozen, winter dormancy. My Leucojum vernum is planted where the overflow from the sump pump runs down on rainy days. The trees one would expect to find near a pond in our region are mostly pretty invasive or have huge floppy leaves. I'd stick with a conifer if you want a little shade. Uli wrote, "There are many other bulbs which I cannot cite from memory, but reading their descriptions it often says something like: grows in seasonally wet depressions or the South African vlei which is a shallow seasonal pool. Don’t Californian tuberous Delphinium grow like this?" We call these "vernal pools," and they are a treasured part of the Pacific Coast, though mostly gone now because of development. I don't think Delphinium nudicaule and its relatives grow in them; the flowers are mainly annuals. You do see the tuberous Delphinium leucophaeum in seasonal ditches, but it likes a dry summer dormancy and has colonized my bulb house. Some vernal-pool plants even flower under the surface of very shallow water, but most flower in succession as the water rapidly evaporates in "circles." Some of these spring annuals can be grown in the colder climate of the Pacific Northwest, but don't ever plant a "wildflower mixture," or you will end up with California poppies forever and not much else. Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>