Jane has highlighted an often ignored group of bulbs that are reliable and forgiving. Also among my favorites for consistent blooming. They do tolerate summer water nicely, or at least they tolerate my particular method of watering and June and July can be pretty boring until they flower, while I'm waiting on the native lilies. Yes, the leaves are a serious annoyance, but then consider narcissus and tulip leaves... They're best planted in groups for good effect and show up well, being mostly in the blue/purple/white/pink range with most flowers being at least an inch in length. I was amazed to have Triteleia ixoides blooming so far for about six weeks. They are happy at last in their new home and very showy! This trit is one of the few that's golden yellow. For bulbs you can pretty much plant and forget, at least in the west, these are a great choice, and too often overlooked. As for keying them out, they drive me nuts, but I have learned about staminodes... Robin Hansen _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…