Nope, as I just rummaged through discount bin of the autumn ones. :P I got the calla thingie though and karatawian alium. Was looking at the gladioli, but resisted the temptation so far. x)

Did you order lilies at H.W.Hyde & Son? Those were epic quality bulbs that I got from them last year!

Nah, get mine from Peter Nyssen - check out the website - they are wholesale but cheap, varied and have great customer service.

I'm considering getting some, but I have to make a new garden bed first!

Checked Peter Nyssen, but I think it is bit too generic and pricey for that (yeah I am picky bulb buyer :P). I would like some Trillium though, but I think I am going to get it next season from some Lithuanian source: the link is bellow, you might like it, as he carries a lot of half wild stuff. :P

Here is a link that might be useful: Rare bulbs

I grow cannas and dahlias, Bishop of Llandaff, in large pots on the patio, the only way I can grow these exotics. The only lilies I care for now (as most other lilies don't care for me) are madonna lilies but they should be planted in early August, a difficult time to get fresh bulbs. I grow them in my very small herb garden with Florentine irises, Apothecary roses, Rosa Mundi and Conditorum, and the culinary herbs I use in the kitchen plus essentials like lavender for scent and southernwood (aka lad's love, old man and many other names) for spicing vodka.

ah, I didn't have much luck with my first attempt at Dahlias last year. I think they just rot too easily in my soil,... and I've been told most lilies don't do well here...

I did however -already- (months ago) plant some crocosmia that a sweet person on this forum gave me, and they're starting to come up a bit NOW! :D

I also planted some babiana and ixia, they're coming up, too, so I'm hopeful.

I just put in an order for some gladioli, which I've always loved but never grown. I only got about 20 bulbs though... trying to save money, and I'll see if these do well and then order more next year, I guess. Maybe.
I got my gladioli from brent and becky's bulbs. I've been happy with them so far and they're having a 10% sale. Even before that though it's like $6 for 10, so that's really not bad.

South African bulbs are excellent here. Mostly they bloom in winter. Freesias are heavenly. Boophone disticha for something extremely exotic. A few in late summer: Amaryllis belladonna.

From the island of Crete, the bowling-ball-sized Urginea maritimia is a favorite. Dahlias are easy here. Most Lillies are difficult.

I don;t have any flowers that come up in the summer, except those that are Fall blooming in other climates such as Four O'Clocks, chrysanthemums, salvia leucantha - our "Spring" bulbs (daffodils, Iris, etc.) come up in Jan/Feb in this climate. It is Meditteranean - also early Spring blooming are the So African bulbs ixia & sparaxis. I LOVE sparaxis! In this climate they spread, and come back year after year. They grow in grass, too, and in some old houses around here, the lawns are a mass of red, orange &yellow flowers.

Jackie

"Splurge" is probably too mild a term for my bulb behavior, but I'm on hiatus this year (well, sort of -- I don't guarantee anything if I see something really good) while I concentrate on increasing groundcovers and filler plants to "pull the garden together" (as if). A favorite South African summer bloomer for me has been Crinum x powellii "Album". The pinks of this hybrid are not as pleasing to me as the more robust white, which I consider spectacular. Puts up bloom spikes for 3 months, at least.

A favorite dahlia is one I found a few years ago in a local nursery, though I've never seen it anywhere else around here since and it only seems to be available in Europe (so heaven knows how it ended up there that year). It's called Ariko (link below), is pure orange and shaped like a star. The info on the package indicated that it would grow 1 to 2 feet tall, so I put it in front of the border -- the first time. It has never been less than 5 - 6 feet tall, occasionally more like 7 or 8, and has a trunk like a tree, practically. Very sturdy, self-supporting and floriferous. Vase life more than a week, easily. Tea roses, dahlias -- everything grows bigger in California, it seems.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ariko Dahlia

My summer flowering bulbs have been limited so far, to five bulbs of Lilium orientalis Stargazer!!
They flowered well last year and I hope they will do well this year.
Oh I forgot, I also grew three types of dahlia as well.
These did not do well. They all grew and flowered, but were very weak and flowered poorly. I don't know why. I lifted them all in late autumn to see if there was a problem with the tubers. However there was no clue there. All the tubers looked plump and healthy.
One lily I miss a lot, is Lilium regale. This is my favourite. I have searched my books, and the internet to see if it is possible to grow it in a warm climate, but have had no joy. I think my problem is, that I do not get a cold period.
If anybody else in a Mediterranean climate grows it I would love to know it.
Daisy

I love summer bulbs with roses! I used to have a bigger collection, but have toned it down now that I'm starting so many vegetables inside (there's only so much room!). I've unfortunately had to rip out most of my lilies as we've been attacked, big time, by the dreaded red Asiatic Lily Beetle. I garden organically and there isn't any effective way to get rid of them. I was handpicking them three times a day and it didn't seem to make much of a difference. All the others (Callas, Cannas, Begonias, etc) I grow in pots. They can be an expensive addiction but are so worth it.

Judith

Suzy, when you posted your autumn bulbs thread, it cost me $50. Go away. I'm still putting them in the ground since they're summer and next-fall bulbs here.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

Just got 13 white gladioli (I know some of you will laugh about the big number ;-) ) a couple of days ago. They will all be planted close together in my "White Bed" and are hopefully a nice addition.

Two years ago I made my first trial with some very dark violet gladioli, which are growing close to a white Iceberg. They did well and came back the last year. The contrast between the dark violet gladioli flowers and the white Iceberg blooms was quite striking. I loved it!

Bulbs are cool, just would wish I would have more time to plant them.

Christina

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Garden Dreams