On 4 Mar 2011, at 13:39, r de vries wrote: > Crocus sieberi 'Bowls White' Recte, 'Bowles White', named after the great English gardener E. A. Bowles. The earliest of the spring crocuses in my garden, and a durable plant. Consciousness of Bowles is now receding into the mists of the past, to the detriment of modern gardening (imho). Among other plants named after this great man are Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve', and Ranunculus ficaria 'Bowles Double'. He wrote a number of books: one on Narcissus, one on Crocus and Colchicum, and three marvelous accounts of his garden, "My Garden in Spring", "My Garden in Summer", and "My Garden in Autumn and Winter." While the two on geophytic genera are now technically obsolete (but still worth reading), his "My Garden" books are perfect for a dark winter evening when the garden is a soggy/snowy mess. Bowles also contributed profusely to the horticultural (and, I think, botanical) periodical literature but alas! no one has ever gotten moving on publishing a "collected works". -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada