Olga, if you're willing to expand the list to include unusual forms, then I'll second the suggestion of RUBY SPIDER (which is registered as an unusual form, not a spider). Mine's been going strong since forever, and almost every bloom has been perfect.... Perfect and huge. Others of mine that have impressed me to no end include a new-to-me last year, Jamie Gossard's HEAVENLY ORANGE BLAZE. The FFO was a somewhat bricky reddish-orange that I didn't particularly care for, but every subsequent bloom has been a bright, glowing, vibrant orange. I don't recall how many fans I planted last year, but suffice to say that I'm looking out the window at a clump right this very moment, and each fan has a scape. His VIVA PINATA, also wonderful. Then there are two that have not yet bloomed this year, but that have been standouts in previous years: Margo Reed's BROWN WITCH and Ned Roberts's IKTOMI. Both are spiders, and both might please you if you like darker colors. I just got back from the Region 3 summer meeting, superbly hosted by the National Capital Daylily Club. I'm still mentally processing all the fabulous daylilies I was so lucky to have seen grown beautifully in the tour and open gardens. But, since you want prolific and eye-catching spideries, I must mention one I saw and loved. A real oldie, but what a spectacle at clump strength! It was Connell's FOL DE ROL, from way back in 1953. White/near-white spiders or UFs to consider (and that I've seen in zone 6 gardens) include Jamie Gossard's HEAVENLY CURLS, HEAVENLY ANGEL ICE, and POLAR BEAR EXPRESS. And I can't leave out one that always knocks my socks off: MOUNT ECHO SUNRISE, a tall, large (7") cream polychrome unusual form by Ned Roberts. Another wonderful one I've seen in a zone 6 garden and am DEFINITELY getting this year! Jamie Gossard's RADIATION BIOHAZARD. Too new to me to discuss prolific, but takes the prize on beauty: Karol Emmerich's ENTWINED IN THE VINE. Put this one on your wish list! I'm going to mention one that's new to me and has totally impressed me, even though it's neither a spider nor a UF, but rather, registered as a large flower: Darlyn Wilkinson's GREYWOODS SPIRIT HAWK. It's new to me last year, so I don't think it's yet reached its registered height of 40". But wow on everything else: huge flowers, perfect, clear color. Not only that, it was one of the first things to open here (it's an EM), and early season here was chilly, wet, and grey. Didn't matter one whit to this daylily -- every single bloom opened perfectly, and, despite the disgusting amount of slug and thrips damage I've seen from one end of the garden to another, these blooms were unaffected by anything. This was a gift plant, BTW, and not one I'd have necessarily ordered for myself. I am SO glad I have this one! Others I've seen within the past two weeks in zone 6 gardens or that I grow and that wowed me: Margo Reed's TIGEREYE SPIDER, her BAT SIGNAL, her EGGPLANT ELECTRICITY, her SKY OVER SCHUYLER. Jim Murphy's WASN'T BORN YESTERDAY and his DON'T KNOW JACK. The late and wonderful Katiesue Herrington's STAR OVER OZ and RETURN TO OZ. And really, far too many of the late Ned Roberts's to list here. But I don't think I've seen one of his in a zone 6 garden that I wouldn't want to grow.

Hi Have some further ?? Can anyone tell for sure the cutting is actually Epidendrum radicans?? Like all orchids there are dozens of kinds within the family and the major difference seems to be flower color?? They range from white to purple to bicolors but the yellow orange is runaway the most common and by far the hardiest IME. So can anyone actually identify the cuttings without flowers?? Often see the different colors in the box stores but I can't tell the difference when out of flower?? I have not found any situation where the yellow orange will not grow the big difference is the amount of flowers and the duration of flowering. The best IME is in a trough with a a mixture of peat, perlite and tree fern in full blazing sun. Another is growing on compressed tree fern through the roof of the shadehouse where I mix them with Catts and and terete Vandas. .In both situations I get alot more flowers but a lot less growth as opposed to full shade where the growth is far superior. I do find that when grown as an epiphyte they will not support themselves like the various Vandas. So require constant relocating the offsets. So anybody know the trick to the ID of the family?? Thanks gary

They are really good. My favorite though is this one: My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind. Albert Einstein When my son and I sit down and dissect the now dead sand dollar (bleached white by the sun) and its amazing detailed way of being built, to imagine it was living at some point!, and how delicate it is, that is the most humbling of experiences.

About being in Havana, Dad wrote: "This was October 1958, only a few short weeks until Castro's tanks drove into metropolitan Havana. Members of our tour group were told not to leave the hotel after dark unless we were with the group. Since the distant sounds of gunfire could be heard every evening, this warning was certainly wise. However, [name redacted] had friends who lived in Havana, and those friends were eager to show us 'their' Havana. So a couple of nights, her friends came by the Havana Riviera and took us to their favorite places. This was exciting - and a wee bit scary - stuff for me. The sound of gunfire sometimes seemed so close. The Revolution was now in Havana. So was I."