Adonis amurensis...boy there are a lot of yellow ranunculaceae with radially symmetical flowers that bloom before everything else

This one is the best though. Actually I'm beginning to regret planting Winter Aconite, Eranthis hyemalis, and whatever other Eranthis I've planted. They do flower early, but they don't have the wonderful dicentra-like foliage of Adonis. Actually they feel a bit weedy.I don't know.  Even more confusing to me is the fact that I'm pretty fond of just the plain old Common Buttercup, Ranunculus acris ? It's a bit weedy but cheerful.

Plants in the ranunculaceae, buttercup family, are pretty generally unpalatable to deer so that's a plus. Since 1992, the Adonis pictured, in the Asian Collections, has gone from, as I recall, three small plants to a few large clumps, a handful of small plants, and, dozens of seedlings. It seems to me that most of the seedlings are last year's. We had abundant moisture all last season so it was a good year for germination. Pheasant's Eye is easily grown in decent soil in the dappled shade of an open woodland. The foliage does go dormant with the advent of warm weather, but if sited carefully, this can almost be a god thing.

On tour at the US Botanic Garden...In the middle picture: Pat, Amanda, Chris Carley, and Clive Atyeo

If you are familiar with the layout of the Botanic Garden, you will recall that there are two exhibit rooms, at the east and west end of the Atrium, that normally house non-living exhibits. Currently one of those spaces is dedicated to "orchid materials". These are ties that belonged to Merritt Huntington. Apparently Merritt had an extensive collection of orchid theme ties that began with a gift from Clive's wife. I liked the ties because they reminded me of my own closet; my ties actually trend towards the conservative, but I have a lot of shirts made from similar print fabrics!