I've modified Diane's season descriptions slightly to reflect our continental climate in Chicago, Illinois. Climate change has flipped on us so far this year, providing a very cold and snowy winter and a very late (and snowy) spring. Yesterday we experienced snow flurries for about 1.5 hours and temperatures last night dropped to 31 degrees F. Fortunately most of the spring geophytes are hardy folks and the flowers survive down to the mid-20 degrees F. Early and midseason bulbs came into flower simultaneously this spring - providing for breathtaking displays. Winter: November to March We read with envy of the geophytes blooming in other parts of the world. Still in all, the reports help keep the faith that spring really is on the way. Spring: March, April and May Galanthus elwesii - one of the earliest reliable bulbs in our area. During a really mild fall we had a few that flowered in October/November but that was a very unusual year. Merendera trigyna - this accession originated from a Georgian collection in 2000 and has proven to be reliable near the edge of a raised bed in the Chicago area - definitely winter hardy. Delightful small pink-lite purple flowers. Scilla sibirica - nothing beats this blue color in spring! It reseeds in cultivated areas but is not invasive of natural habitats. Crocus tommasinianus - the only Crocus to survive long term in this climate; it slowly increases by division and reseeding. A week of just above freezing winds unfortunately zapped the display this spring. Eremurus - the foxtail lilies have proven reliable over the last 7 years - and we have experienced some significant environmental conditions during this time frame. Slow to reseed, the original plants are slowly increasing in number of spikes. Narcissus - Division 1, 2 and 3 are all reliable over the long term. Summer: June to August Iris sibirica 'Caesars Brother' Deep blue (purple) color and more reliable in the long term than some of the other cultivars sporting other colors. Bearded iris - miniature, intermediate and tall bearded iris all survive here long term. Iris borers are a serious pest but avoiding monocultures of bearded iris seems to provide long term success. Lycoris squamigera - the other species are very nice but none of them have the history of long term survival of this taxon. Clumps slowly expand over time and the displays just keep getting better. Fall: September and October The species and cultivars of Colchicum provide the most reliable bloom in the Chicago region in Fall. Boyce Tankersley Director of Living Plant Documentation Chicago Botanic Garden 1000 Lake Cook Road Glencoe, IL 60022 tel: 847-835-6841 fax: 847-835-1635 email: btankers@chicagobotanic.org