We have been receiving a lot of rain and our crinum lilies love it. First let me mention the crinum ‘Carroll Abbott.’ For one thing, I always remember how to spell it because all of the consonants are doubled. Another characteristic that will forever remain with me is that it is one of the darkest, almost burgundy striped Crinum x herbertii crosses (C. scabrum X C. bulbispermum). Might I a also remind the reader that the last time I wrote about this, I mentioned that my blooming bulbs had been dug and left in a garage bare root for over three weeks before I was able to put them in the ground. They still bloomed marvelously, but their foliage is taking a while to look as nice! Like a lot of Crinum x herbertii crosses, it bloomed in the early summer for us. I don’t think we will have another bloom for the season, but I will definitely post one if it does. Our other "Milk and Wine" crinum bulbs continue to hold on.

There is a white Crinum x powellii that I have been enjoying. Jenks Farmer with Lushlife Nurseries talks about this Crinum as one of the “early Victorians” from around the 1830’s. That would fit with the story behind ours. It was given to us from a lady near El Campo Texas, and she received it from the granddaughter of the Texas Revolutionary fighter, A.C. Horton, and she had it from the Horton’s days in Alabama. One of the large bulbs has now sent up four blooming stalks. We have another little row of Crinum x powellii ‘Album’ that were produced in Holland, and we will let you know how they compare.

I looked through my notes to find my earlier references to the native Hymenocallis found in Texas. The reference to Hymenocallis liriosme can be found in “Journey to Mexico During the Years 1826 to 1834: Vol II” by Jean Louis Berlandier. This is another picture of Hymenocallis ‘Tropical Giant’ from our stock. More to come on the Parrot gladiolus (now Gladiolus dalenii), and our two forms of Crinum jagus that have filled the office with their subtle but full vanilla fragrance.

A quick note on Brad. We helped him move in, but it was not his weekend! Once finished with unloading, he left to take the u-haul back, but after his 22 point turn to drive out of his back entry, he clipped the gas meter opening up the gas line that could be heard half a block away. After calling 911 twice (the first time they referred him to the gas company that didn’t come out), the fire department came and plugged the hole. They are going to bill him later-not going to be small. We cancelled our board game and called it an early evening. Yesterday morning, as Brad was heading back out here, I had a call about 4:30AM. “No, I don’t see your computer here,” was my response. Yes, his second night in his new home and somebody had broken into his truck and stolen his computer (and a few of his pain pills). He filed the police reports and insurance reports and then kept working.

On that note, if you or anyone you know has filled out a customer referral form over the last 6 weeks, they are now lost. That would include garden centers that have filled out request forms—we will not be able to mail you your packets unless you resubmit the information. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.

Yesterday John and Brad cleaned out the pole barn while I spent the day catching up on paperwork, bills, filing, etc. Always puts me in a bad mood, but Fischer brought me a present to cheer me up. How ironic, after a day of cleaning, to conclude with removing the dead rabbit from the floor with all of it hair spread in a nice pile. It involved a lot of vacuuming and carpet cleaner. Brad made fun of me when I lightly coated the carpet cleaning filter in a spray of bleach, but it is sometimes a battle against the wild out here and I don’t want a colony of fleas living in the office.

Had some visitors yesterday. "Chris, do you hear women laughing?" Brad asked me. I looked out the window and there they were! We're not open to the public for several reasons, mainly that Brad and I don't shave or dress up nice, and that we have a little lake that forms when it rains which our UPS driver calls Lake Golden (I think he likes coming here). We don't post our physical location, but this crew went to the local domino hall and asked about the crazy guys farming flowerbulbs. All the old farmers (who play dominoes everyday) told them to call another lady who knows about us and somehow they found us! They were a nice crowd, but we had the barn laid out across the field, a trash pile burning, and I had bank statements, bills, etc. strewn across the office. Best right now to keep the browsing on the internet, and we will let you know when we open up because we definitely plan to do so!