Dear Lisa I am so glad I found your site. I am an artist working in England. I mostly paint botanical subjects and I was given a photograph of the white spider lily last year from a friend who visited South Africa and found one there. I have since approached The Eden Project in Cornwall, England to see if they had any knowledge of this plant, but they do not. The Eden Project is a major conservation project which has a tropical biome in which the spider lily might thrive. I would be most interested in finding out what growing conditions the lily likes and whether it would be possible to grow it here in the tropical biome. I am also interested in how the lily is polenated. With the anthers being so far apart, we thought that it might be Humming Birds that spread the pollen, with the action of its wings. I would be most intersted to find out as much as possible about this flower as The Eden Project have commissioned a book (the fourth one) and the subject will be exotic flowers. I have been lucky enough to be published in the last book, and if I can get enough information about the lily and a really good image to reproduce in watercolour, I may be accepted for publication again later on this year. I see that you have a list of plants you would like to swap, and it may be possible for me to ask the Eden Project if they have any that we can sent you in exchange for a specimen of the Spider Lily. Its a big ask, but might work, I am going down to Eden in May for a painting day, and will ask the chief horticulturalist then if we can do a swap. I hope I have not taken up too much of your time and would really love to hear from you regarding this lovely and unusual plant. With kindest regards Yours sincerely Ann Jelley

Hi, I don't have a lilac for trade, but I do have a red canna bulb or a purple and white tall iris. As well as the items below. Lily of the Valley established plants Rose of Sharon seedlings (or small bareroot trees) (mixed/unknown) standard royal hostas common orange daylilies Rose of Sharon seeds (pink, lavender, white) Tiger lily seeds white hardy hibiscus seeds yellow daylily seeds canna lily seeds - dark pink dark pink morning glory seeds Marvel of Peru 4 o'clock seeds Let me know if you might be interested. Thanks, Margaret

Thanks, Abby! Hot Cocoa is a rose purchased through Wayside, I believe... it was on backorder for quite a while, but we finally got it last summer. It barely survived the winter, dying back to the ground... and I wasn't sure if it would make it. It appears to have gotten a good start this spring, and at present, there are two more buds about to open. I will try to get good pictures when they open. I suppose you could stagger your hippi bulbs' bloom times so you could enjoy them in succession... as long as they get the proper amount of growth time to "refuel", I suppose it's possibly to force them at any time of year. Personally, I prefer to allow my bulbs to grow and flower naturally... which means I'll have a lot of flowers next spring. I'll also have some winter blooms from bulbs I plan to purchase this fall! Depending on how much room I have after I rearrange my "jungle", I may put some bulbs to rest at the end of summer so Christmas blooms can be had. Indoor bulb space is at a premium... my orchid collection is growing, not to mention the fact that more bulbs have joined the ranks! I may just have to put some bulbs to rest and stagger bloom times... if only to have enough space for them all!

these are all gone. Thanks!