The village of Wonersh in Surrey, England, where I live, is about as far from the Pacific Rim as you can get without leaving earth. Despite my geographically challenged location I have recently joined the PBS in the hope of corresponding with members who share some of my plant interests. I've been a keen amateur gardener for many years but I'm on the verge of committing a serious folly by giving up my job in banking and starting a small, specialist plant nursery. I'd like to specialise in growing species bulbs and other herbaceous perennials that are unusual - at least from the persepective of English gardeners - but that are nevertheless growable outdoors in our notoriously un-Californian climate. I'm particularly enthusiastic about bulbs in the Iridaceae family but more-or-less everything is grist to my mill. The title of this post refers to the fact that I am also hopelessly infatuated with the genus Veratrum. I have managed to amass a reasonably comprehensive collection of the European and Asian species but there are two Califiornia endemics - Veratrum fimbriatum and Veratrum insolitum - that I have been unable to obtain. I would be delighted to hear from anyone who might be willing to swap or sell seed of these species (or indeed many others on my wish list). Please write to me, Tom Mitchell, at tom@theexplorersgarden.co.uk if you would be interested in selling or exchanging seeds or just in corresponding about Pacific Rim bulbs.