Hello,
I live with my husband, 5 dogs (2 Standard Poodles, 2 Basenjis, and 1 Rhodesian Ridgeback), 3 cats and a flock of Americana chickens on the coast of Northern California approximately 2 hours south of the Oregon border, 15 miles south of Eureka. We have 3 acres overlooking the Eel River and a lovely valley of dairy farms. At the end of our property we have a peek of the Pacific Ocean. We have long dry summers (May through October) and wet winters with an average of 38" (965 mm) to 40"(1016 mm) of rain. There has been frost in Nov. or Dec., but winters probably average 35 °F (1.66 °C) to 40 °F (4.4 °C) with cool nippy days in the 50s (10 °C). Summer days average in the low 70 °F (21 °C), and nights in the 50 °F range (10 °C). It's been very humid here.
I am retired, an avid gardener, and a newbie to Pacific Rim bulbs. I've gardened for 40 years and moving North gave us a chance to start fresh. When we bought our property in April '03 there was nothing here but the house, a large Japanese maple, one Hydrangea, 3 old roses, some daisies, several clumps of muscari which popped up that spring, and a few very neglected shrubs. We are surrounded by pastures, large Douglas Firs and pines and a Redwood or two, Cotoneasters, native iris, rampant colonies of Crocosmia and poison oak. We have a small fruit tree orchard in the back. The soil is clay and rocky. We've had to start from scratch with fencing and garden beds and mulch mulch mulch. My interests in gardening are anything that grows.
Thanks to the list, help from members, some borrowed and gift books, and the BXs, I've entered a whole new world of bulbs. I have been trying for the past two years ('05 to '07) to help Mary Sue with the administrative end of pbs, but because of family needs and because of medical problems I find that I can't continue. I'm hoping that many others of you will volunteer.