I picked up a few Primulas at a big-box garden center in February, desperate for some color to fend off the late winter (nay, almost constant) Edinburgh grey. Many people, especially in the horticultural circles in which I now run, disparage these commonly available modern Primula cultivars as vulgar and common, but I love them because in the U.K. there are so many more colors and forms available than in the U.S. This makes them novel and exciting to me. And, at a few quid, they've been pumping out color in my window box for months. That's a darn good value for the brightest spot in my Scottish winter garden.