In May, 1979 I was able to go to the Chelsea Flower Show (on maternity leave, which is why I remember the date), and one vase of daffodils in a display of hundreds rivetted my attention. The centre was bright orange, which is common, but the outer petals were soft orange, which I had never seen before. I remembered its name every fall as I cruised the bulb boxes, Ambergate. It was never for sale. I had assumed it was European, but eventually I found it was developed by Grant Mitsch near Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. I visited his bulb fields during bloom season, but the new daffodils were pinks and reverse bicolours, and they no longer sold Ambergate. After a decade or so, it finally became available among the Dutch bulbs, so I was able to grow it. I buy as many crocosmia as I can find. I brought a lot back from England, and have tried hybridizing them, but so far no seedling has equalled its parents. My final orange is a lost-label kniphofia which keeps the hummingbirds happy from midsummer till at least Christmas. If you ask again some year, Mary Sue, I might be able to name a favourite tulip. Last year I put a deer fence around the vegetable garden, and planted tulips for the first time in a long while. They're starting to bloom, but no orange ones are open yet. -- Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada maritime zone 8 cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually) sandy soil