Well the signs of spring are here, I went to the first garden show in the Willamette valley of Oregon and it is one of my favorite. The Good Earth Show. I found a Peony I have been looking for, a bush type called Memorial Day, a double bright true red, it's an American heirloom variety grown in pioneer days and often used to decorate Civil War graves. I also found a disturbing practice where some bulb growers were selling (at a high price) tulip, daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs that should have been planted in the fall. I found that most were slightly soft which means they won't grow or bloom, they were obviously left over and decided to sell them to new gardeners who won't know the difference. This can really discourage new gardeners. I also went to my favorite garden/hardware store and they have all of the bare root fruit trees out as well as roses. They carry Weeks and Jackson Perkins roses both are very good grade A roses. I did manage to resist any more roses but I probably won't be able to for long. I did buy some summer blooming bulbs, now if it would only stop raining I will plant them. Ideally I would like two days a week with no rain so I can clean the leaves out of all my beds and begin to plant slowly.