Topic of the Week

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Fri, 01 Nov 2002 15:55:13 PST
Dear All,

Some of you may remember that a couple months ago it was mentioned that I might start the topic of the week once I got everything replanted and seeds started. I am getting close to that time. For background information for those who do not know what I am talking about, in the year 2000 I organized the topic of the week for the IBS forum. People submitted suggestions of things they wanted to talk about and I compiled the votes and then organized a topic for each week. It was not meant to be the only thing discussed during the week, but an additional subject that hopefully people would share their experiences about so we could all learn from each other.

I tried to schedule topics for when they would be relevant in at least one of the hemispheres, but of course wasn't always able to do that. Although it was a lot of work to do it, I learned so much in the process and became better acquainted with many generous people who agreed to provide an introduction and often moderate the discussion on a subject that they knew a lot about (or were very interested in.)

What made it especially valuable I thought were those splendid introductions and all the responses they generated from others. I saved each topic as I am sure others did and often go back to them to reread and refresh my memory. Just for informational purposes topics were
Favorite Books, Clivia, Seeds, Moraea, Galanthus, Cyclamen, Veltheimia, Leucojum, Romulea, Anemone, fragrance and scent in bulbs, Oxalis, Juno Iris, Geophytic Pelargonium, Tecophilaea,  Anomatheca--Freesia--Lapeirousia connection, Homeria, Bomarea, Fertilizers, Tulbaghia, Pleione,  Tritonia, Arum, Herbertia and Alophia, Colchicum, Watsonia, Gethyllis, Phaedrannasa, Dierama, Allium, Massonia/Polyxena, Calydorea, Storage, Paramongaia, Canna, Amaryllis, Containers, window boxes, Habranthus, Lilium species, Crinum, Lycoris, Arisaema, Crocus (fall blooming species), Rhodophiala, Brunsvigia, Lachenalia, Narcissus (section bulbocodium), Fritillaria(American species), Cyrtanthus, Zephyranthes, Haemanthus, Alstroemeria, Tulipa (Antique tulips), Hippeastrum, Species, Calochortus (higher elevation species), and Getting bulbs in sync--changing hemispheres.

A number of people have told me how much they missed this when I retired and no one stepped in to continue it. In my next message I am going to ask the members of this list if they want to do this again. I don't want to go to all the work unless the group is really interested and unless people will once again help make it special by assisting with introductions, asking questions, and sharing what their experiences have been. So I will ask people to respond to me privately and give it a couple of weeks since I know sometimes people are away and don't get through their e-mail right away.  If a lot of people write that they want us to do this and will be involved,  I will then devise a system to nominate topics. If only a few express interest, we will not resurrect this.

Mary Sue
PBS list administrator 



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