This Week in Wildflower Gardening

We just received an amazing email from Major Steve Eddy, US Army Chaplain. He is at Camp Virginia in Kuwait working with soldiers who are being dispatched every day over the border and into Iraq. Maj. Eddy has some of our wildflower seed with him, and has planted 72 containers of them which are getting ready to burst into bloom. It's the rainy season there now, and as he says, "Flowers, new growth in the desert, signs of hope of new life, color and beauty in a dry and colorless place – all are gifts I hope to see displayed not too many days from now. Its such an encouragement to the result of your efforts to color the earth with beauty." Of course, we're thrilled and are sending him more seed and anything else he may need. Soon, we may have pictures, too. I'm sure you join me in big salute to Capt. Eddy.

When we chose our summerflowering bulbs, I thought this one would be big. But I had no idea! The Calla Lily is wild in South Africa, sometimes carpeting whole fields, and common in roadside ditches. Of course, the common wild ones are white, but we all know the Dutch have been "working" with it for years. Pink, Yellow, and Mango shades are now quite common, but this is something else. Deep purple "Anneke" is new from Holland, and I've noticed our early bulb buyers think it's just about the greatest thing this spring. Imagine a vase full of these mixed with the whites. How much? Our callas, right now, are just 4.76 ea with the 20% discount. Same price for all colors, including this incredible new one. Enjoy.

This photo shows you a slice of each. This is the "Species Lily Collection" we've put together in our new section of summer-flowering bulbs. These are lilies you won't find in every bulb catalog. In fact, they're 6 of the easy-to-grow "wild lilies" from around the world. Imagine a few of these towering over your wildflowers when they bloom this summer. After all, these are some of the most magnificent wildflowers of them all. Top to bottom: Lilium speciosum from Japan, Tiger Lily, Martagon Lily, No. America's own Leopard Lily, Regal Lily, and Henry's Lily.

His real name was E. H. Wilson, and he was one of the great "Plant Explorers" around the turn of the last century. Dr. Wilson was sent to the Orient to "discover" new plants, and sent back thousands of them to England, and then later to the US, since he worked for Boston's Arnold Arboretum later in life. His nickname "Chinese" was obviously because he was the champ for sending plants home from China. His most famous "discovery" was the famous Regal Lily, Lilium regale, one that's so beautiful in the wild form it's still a worldwide favorite even today. For Wilson's story and many more, visit a great new site I've found: PlantExplorers.com. And who exactly was Erasmus Darwin? Yes, Erasmus, not Charles. You have to go to PlantExplorers.com to find out. Enjoy!