Oh, but it's going to be fabulous in the spring. I got all kinds of things. I tried to adhere to my color scheme of gradually heating up over the season from white to yellow to orange to deep, rich hues in all shades. First up in the spring will be the white, nodding Ice Wings and golden, fragrant Trevithian narcissi. Surrounding them will be dark blue Siberian Squill because they look so good next to gold.

Next comes the stately pale lemon Mt. Hood daffodils, the creamy yellow Sapporo tulips, and the delicate orange and cream William & Mary tulips. A month later should bring on the pure white Easter Moon daffodils with their pretty light green centers, and the warm peach and deep rose of the Apricot Beauty tulips. As they finish, the English Iris will be ready to blossom in shades ranging from white to lavender to deep purple. And about the time they start going off, the checkered lilies and ixia will be setting blooms in similar shades of purple and white.

That gets me to June. By June I can start in on the annuals and seedlings. I plan to work from seeds next year instead of buying more mature plants. It lets me try out a lot of things inexpensively, so if the colors don't suit me, or the catepillars get them, I won't feel so bad about yanking them out.

By the way, there was a reason Dixie got into my built-in containers last week. She had a vicious bout of diarrhea, and she absolutely had to poop in the middle of the day. It's unusual, to say the least. Like most dogs, she won't soil her own sleeping area no matter how large or small her yard. She gets walked three times a day so this isn't normally a problem. And she's always had tummy trouble; she often has a problem with loose stools or indigestion for a day or two, especially after she's snorked up some foul piece of leftover food on one of our walks. But this time she really had to go, and she couldn't use her dirt, and she knows she's not supposed to go on the pavement, and so she had no choice. She tried to get in among my plants as a last resort. I found a lot of evidence of her distress. Poor old thing. We took her to the vet, and she's now on some mild antibiotics, and a very bland diet of rice and cottage cheese. She thinks this is great. Cheese is her favorite food.

And you know, in comparison to losing a beloved pet, the destruction of a few plants is really not that important. I'm sorry about Lillith, Pamie. I'll plant a little catnip in her honor.

If I can find room among all those bulbs.

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