Books you may like to hear about

[Pascal B]

Giles, don't forget the wild Japanese Viola species:

http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~flower_world/Violaceae/

PS. If you ever find a good key for the Taiwanese species, please let me know, their identificication give me a headache....

[arisaema]

If you do plan on ordering from Amazon Japan you should consider picking up a copy of "Himalayan Plants Illustrated" by Toshio Yoshida as well, a fantastic book that I'd love to see being translated into English. ISBN 4635580318

[Giles]

Hello,
The first of the violet books has arrived.
This is 'The Handbook of Japanese Violets' by Yamada Takahiko.
Available from Amazon in Japan.
About 120 x 180 cm, 100+ pages, in glossy full colour.
Works out quite expensive as they ship internationally via DHL Express as standard (the book arrived in 4 days).
I never realised there were so many crazy violets.

[mark smyth]

Giles can you read Japanese?

[David Nicholson]

...... is the Pope a Catholic!

[Giles]

..only if I'm a Dutchman..

[Maggi Young]

A new book, "Alpines - an essential guide" by Michael Mitchell of Slack Top Alpine Nurseries, is due out in October.
A review copy is being sent, I believe, so you will hear more later.


In the meantime, here are some details.....

 Alpines by Michael Mitchell.pdf (262.87 kB - downloaded 555 times.)

[Tim Ingram]

Moving up on the scale of plants (!), has anyone been reading 'The Secret Life of Trees' by Colin Tudge? I started this enthusiastically because he has an extraordinary and wide grasp of his subject. I then found it hard to keep up as he worked through the different families and genera of trees and their uses. Funny how a whole host of unfamiliar latin names can send you into a quandary (so now I know what it must be like for those outside the alpine world too!). And now the final section of the book is about physiology and 'how trees live' and it is thoroughly fascinating. The idea that mycorrhiza actually connect different trees in a woodland together is something that had not properly occurred to me. On trees that can accumulate toxic metals here is an extraordinary fact - Sebertia acuminata from New Caledonia grows in soils rich in nickel and accumulates it to such an extent that its rubbery sap can run blue! It is hard to believe but the sap can apparently contain up to 11% nickel by weight (though nickel is quite heavy). As you might expect with the affinity we have with woodlands and forests, Colin Tudge has things to say throughout about the importance and value of such ecosystems. For one brought up on science but turned gardener it makes a fascinating if slightly exhausting read.

[FrazerHenderson]

Thought you might be interested in
http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5434.msg217143#msg217143
which gives some details on the archiving project being undertaken by the W&NETS.

As I say in that note, perhaps that is something the SRGC should consider (that is in having an archive and making an application to HLF for funding).

[FrazerHenderson]

The Flora of Taiwan is available as a free ebook resource at

http://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/ebook/ebookcontent.php?book=Fl.%20Taiwan%202nd%20edit.&volume=2

The flora also contains thousands of photographs as well as complete descriptions and illustrations. A truly good resource

[David Shaw]

Michael Mitchell's book "Alpines, An Essential Guide" is now available and I am just looking through my first copies. Well written, it is in the standard format of covering how to do it followed by a selective, list of suitable plants including information on how to grow them. It is probably a book for a keen gardener wanting to try their hand at growing alpines. In this it fills a niche and is one of the best of its type to be published in recent years. At £19.95 it is good value and would be worth giving as a Christmas present to someone you might want to encourage into alpines.

[Maggi Young]

Since David mentions the Christmas word(!!) ........New book for Tulip Lovers
 I was very happy to find information  about this book on the VRV forum...
http://www.vrvforum.be/forum/index.php?topic=565.0


Followers of Luit's  superb thread, the "Connoiseur Collection"  ..... 
     (  http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1331.0  )
will know of the remakable Dutch grower Kees (Cees)  Breed. This man has one of the most astonishing private collections of bulbs imaginable. A particular favourite of his are the tulips and he has a world class collection  made since the 1950s of old and special rare tulips...around 1900 varieties ... many of them historical types, most lost to general cultivation many years ago. Some date back to the time of Clusius and Tulipomania!

A new book is available, price 19 euros... with 100 photographs of lost or forgotten tulip varieties from the collection of Mr Breed.
The book has been produced by his son, Eric Breed.
The book may be ordered by email  :
 info@tulippictures.eu
More information is here :
http://www.tulippictures.eu/LOST+TULIPS/

[Lvandelft]

I do have this nice book since some weeks on my desk and must say that here tulip flowers are shown in their full beauty!
There are pictures of tulips in there where only a very few plants still exist. The breeders, as far as known, are added to the names and the year of originating.
There is not so much text in the book but is in English and Dutch and with such pictures not really necessary.
But I am sure Eric is always willing to help with more information. Just mail him!

[Lina Hesseling]

I can only agree with you, Luit. Today I received my book and I love it. It must be great for Eric to make such a book with this beautifull pictures about the passion of his father. Another very nice book.

[majallison]

Here's a book that people interested in South African bulbs or specifically nerines might be interested in:


http://www.nerineandamaryllidsociety.co.uk/52589.html

It's largely about growing nerine species & hybrids in Britain & is authored by a number of members of the Nerine & Amaryllid Society (I should declare an interest).

It would make a cracking Xmas present for any nerine-lovers in your life...