Dear Jane, If you ever get seed of that Tecophilaea violiflora, I imagine you'd have a lot of takers, especially after Alberto's description. It doesn't sound like it needs summer water however. Graham Duncan wrote a very interesting article about Geissorhizas in Veld and Flora. He said the reason most people have trouble growing them is that they don't water them enough while they are in growth. For some of the more beautiful species, 2-3 times a week is necessary and some people put saucers underneath them to make sure they stay wet. When we saw them in bloom last year in South Africa, they were growing in wet sand. Last year was unusual so perhaps that doesn't always happen, but we couldn't walk through those areas without getting our boots wet. It dries out in summer (although there is some fog/mist.) Rod and Rachel told us it looks quite different in the summer when most of the vegetation has died. I grow quite a few species and keep trying more. Geissorhiza inaequalis seems to have weedy possibilities for me in the way that Gladiolus tristis might, but it is long blooming and I like it. I am reminded of when we were talking about weeds on the IBS list and someone told of moving something that had baby bulbs or corms attached and unleashing a monster. There are tiny cormlets attached to the small corm of this one that get dislodged easily and grow to blooming size quickly. Some of the Geissorhizas are really beautiful. We took a picture of Geissorhiza eurystigma on our trip and when we show the slide, people often respond audibly. Many of the Geissorhizas grow near Darling, southwest coast of South Africa. This is not one of the colder areas of South Africa and I know I lost a few of my Geissorhizas when it got down to 19 degrees (-7 C.) here in 1990. One of them (G. splendidissima) came back and bloomed for a number of years in my raised beds but ultimately I don't think it could compete with some of the other things in that bed that multiplied much more rapidly. You should try some. Mary Sue