I was at Rich's on Wed. May 23, & the big leaf magnolia was starting to bloom. Did you see it? I'd never seen 1 in person b4 in bloom. It was amazing. It didn't matter that I didn't bring my camera; photos could never do it justice. I was also ogling the tree peonies.

I always look forward to your photos. Such beautiful photos and flowers. I am guilty of lurking on the gallery side. I hope it continues. Thank you for the thrill, Jane

I saw a curious Optimara NOID grown locally. On each stem were three different blossom types and colors. One is single white cupped. Another few are not quite semi-double white with light periwinkle blue edging and occasional blue centers. The petals do not quite form a sem-double. The third and largest blossom has a shorter petiole, is solid periwinkle single blue star. The plant did not have the usual heavy bloom count. The overall impression was busy, more like wildflowers than a cultivated plant. Nothing on the Optimara website matches it. I suspect that if it was grown at Optimara headquarters, it would not pass quality control as not being anything identifiable. The plants were sent in an attractive display. There are in a new style of Optimara pot that is 1/2" shorter. They are wicked and inserted into decorative tin planters. They look great in the planters. The price was also reduced from the usual price. Must be a Mother's Day special promotion. Aside from the odd-looking one, the others offered are all recognizable and harder to find Optimara Rhapsodies. Usually, that local grower sends a lot of solid colors in very common varieties--reds, a garish salmon pink, and deep purples. Sometimes some red and white bicolors. This time, they made an effort to raise some unique ones. A different local grower supplies to a different local chain of stores and has a more appealing selection. Because they grow their own plants, they don't have a huge selection. So if they offer one of the newer ones, it is rare. Like looking for a needle in a haystack. They also don't offer the more expensive, larger "Ever" series or the variegated series. Joanne

Put these pics in the original post. Don't scatter this project over multiple threads.