Dear all, having just read the current bulb garden issue, it dawned at me that my previous two attempts to post to the list seem to not have come through, so I'll try again ... This being my first post, I'll include a short intro below. Thanks to all those involved for the current Bulb Garden issue! It arrived two days ago (in the middle of germany), and made me realize that Colchicums as garden plants seem to have fallen out of fashion in our area. Almost all plantings I remember have vanished, the only place I still see them is in my father's garden, where a small group grows since at least forty years, flowers every year and neither increases nor dwindles. Most people know they are toxic, and are overly timid to grow them (same with foxglove - nearly everybody visiting when they are flowering states that they like them, but are afraid of their poison). Regarding Martins questions concerning the EU seed exchange: Three days for ordering were fine, and the reminder via mail beforehand was very helpful as I am drowning in mails and could have overlooked it. Seeds were already in the mail before I read Martins announcement that he posted them. Thanks to all donors and organizers! As I joined the society late last year, I have not collected seeds so far, but will try to contribute in the future. Among others, I received a (generous!) package of Narcissus cantabricus seeds, and have a general idea how to treat them, but maybe one of the experts here could give some short advice on how to grow (this species of) narcissus from seed? As for the short introduction, I am a trained pollination ecologist (working in the administration of our local Faculty for Biology now), and live with my family on the slopes of a hillside very much in the middle of Germany, with heavy clay soil on lime bedrock. The forests around abound with Ficaria (starting to bud), Allium ursinum, Anemone nemorosa (both not emerged so far; in some weeks, they will cover large areas of the forest floor), Arum maculatum (just emerging), and, in some places, Hepatica and naturalized Galanthus. Close, there is also forest on sandstone, which sports delicate Trientalis europaea in some areas. So far, I grow my haphazard collection of bulbs mainly in pots (and some Narcissus und Crocus in our lawn). Our place is said to be very wet, however, during the last years spring has been increasingly dry. We have been going through diverse weather these last six weeks after a mild winter with few light frosts, ranging from -18°C with heavy snow in the middle of February to +18°C one week later and around 8-10°C until now. Storm is currently raging. The potted bulbs sure were carried around a bit this year. Nils - on the nothern slope of the Teutoburg Forest _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>