Books you may like to hear about

[Giles]

The lily species and their bulbs by Pontus Wallstén
A nice book on species lilies.
Arrived here a couple of days ago, and an instant favourite.
The main section of the book, covers about 60 species in alphabetical order.
A double page spread for each species, giving a photo or two of the flower, and a photo or two of the bulb.
A few brief paragraphs covering the place of origin and the time of discovery of the specie, an idea of the growing conditions and how easy it is to grow. A brief description of the bulb.
The back of the book briefly covers some species which are impossible to find and impossible to grow, and a section on some interviews with current lily enthusiasts.
Its a nicely laid out book, nicely produced.
Details of how to get a copy are on the author's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PontusWallstenPlants/
Accepts payment by Paypal, and arrived within the week.
Is a signed up forum member: pontus

[Giles]

The cover, and a typical spread:

[Maggi Young]

 I have just received a copy of this excellent book by Pontus Wallsten, so Giles has beaten me to the "draw" !

A most excellent book, with immensely useful photos of the bulbs as well as the plants and flowers, which  is  unusual an most informative.   I particularly like the  segments about  various  lily growers in different countries.  Always nice to have a human side to any story, I think.

For members who wish to order the book, you should order from Pontus directly by email:
 pontus.wallsten@bluewin.ch
price is £ 40, or $ 47, or 45 CHF (depending on where people live)
postage costs will also vary depending on country, aproximately £ 10-£ 20

A worthwhile investment for lily  fans.

[Maggi Young]

Todd Boland
27 January 2017

"At last the final book in my trilogy of Atlantic Canada wildflower guides is off to the printers. The last book will be the best as it covers the Wildflowers AND ferns from the Island of Newfoundland. Could be on the shelves by March!"

More good news from Todd Boland ....

 "I just found out that my Wildflowers of Nova Scotia guide made it to the "150 Books of Influence in Nova Scotia". What an honour! Thanks Geoff Framptom for entering this book! And thanks to Gavin Will and Stephanie Porter for making this book a reality."

[Jon Evans]

Anyone with more than a passing interest in Narcissus will remember Mike Salmon, who ran Monocot Nursery, specialising in bulbs of all kinds, for many years, and whose abiding primary interest was the genus Narcissus.  For something like 45 years, Mike has been preparing a book on the genus, “A Survey of the Genus Narcissus”, which has now been published.

Having just returned from holiday, I haven’t had a chance for a detailed examination of my own copy, but I can add the following from a brief skim of the contents.

This is a large format (about A4), hefty volume, packed with useful information very attractively presented. A double page spread is allocated for each subspecies with additional pages as needed especially to show differences between subspecies. The double page includes a detailed botanical description of the species together with a map of where they have been found . He includes his collection numbers which can be matched against material available in cultivation, particularly from Kurt Vickery who took over most of the business.  Most striking of all are the beautiful botanical illustrations all done by Mike himself.

Not everyone will agree with Mike’s conclusions, but regardless of that the information in this volume is invaluable.

If anybody is interested they can obtain a copy direct from the printer : Price £44.99 (there may be additional charges for overseas postage).

Graeme Best
The Somerton Printery Ltd
Canvin Court
Somerton Business Park
Somerton
TA11 6SB

Tel 01458 272368

e-mail info@somertonprintery.com

[Maggi Young]

Jon, thank  you so much for  this post about Mike Salmon's book. I knew it was finally available but   I confess I have yet to order one myself - I will remedy that now.

[Chris Johnson]

What a delightful looking publication with generous proportions. I will order a copy too.

[annew]

Will give some heavy hints re Christmas presents...

[Maggi Young]

Reposting this from the galanthus section. Mention has been made there before of the Bavcon snowdrop books but Ingrid thinks this may be of general interest to  members and I agree!

Christmas List options!

Yesterday, received a delightful parcel from Joze Bavcon, full of excellent books on Slovenian Flora.

In addition to his book on Snowdrops, two on companion plants i.e. Cyclamen and Hellebores. Great data on species, distribution and growing conditions in the wild.

Four other more general books on Slovenian plants. Not had the chance to scan these fully yet but they look of the usual very high standard.

All with superb photos and an English translation.

If you want to obtain any, email Joze on joze.bavcon@guest.arnes.si

[Maggi Young]

Mention has been made before in these pages about the excellent books  written by Cliff Booker and David Charlton, namely,  Mountain Flowers - The Dolomites  and Mountain Flowers - Pyrenees and Picos - truly pocket-sized guides to seeing and identifying  the plants in these wonderful flower-filled places  - at last these books are now available via Amazon - follow these links to  buy the books - and also to benefit the SRGC via the Amazon link!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mountain-Flowers-Dolomites-Cliff-Booker/dp/0957162804/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513612881&sr=1-1&keywords=%27Mountain+Flowers+-+The+Dolomites%27+by+Cliff+Booker+and+David+Charlton



https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mountain-Flowers-Pyrenees-Booker-Charlton/dp/0957162812/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513612109&sr=1-1&keywords=%27Mountain%20Flowers%20-%20Pyrenees%20and%20Picos%27

[Maggi Young]

From Todd Boland :
"My newest book will be out next month! Moving on from Wild Flora guides to Gardening. This is the first of a series of gardening books I have lined up for release over the next few years. All will be released through Boulder Publishing as the Atlantic Botanic Collection (ABC for short!) "


https://boulderbooks.ca/authors/todd-boland/

[Yann]

I was offered in february a book about steppes and didn't read it until mid-may. What a mistake on my part, i litteraly eat the book in 2 weeks, even english is not your first language it can be easily read. Many short paragraphs and beautiful photos of plants and landscapes.

Eurasia, south Africa, central America and north part, Patagonia are covered in the 360 pages of this book.

Steppes: The Plants and Ecology of the World's Semi-Arid Regions



https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steppes-Plants-Ecology-Semi-Arid-Regions/dp/1604694653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528401640&sr=8-1&keywords=Steppes%3A+The+Plants+and+Ecology+of+the+World%27s+Semi-Arid+Regions+Hardcover

Maggi i let you add the affiliate link - I have done that, Yann , M .

[Maggi Young]

The Secrets of  Great Botanists and What They  Teach Us About Gardening - Matthew Biggs



A very pleasant afternoon  has been spent on this new book from gardener Matthew Biggs, well known not only for his books  but also from his TV and Radio work with Gardeners' Question Time.

Of the botanists  featured, I have to mention George Forrest first - because of the Scottish Rock Garden Club connections - GF is  commemorated  in the  premier award at SRGC shows! The book has  portraits of the lives of  35 botanists, "plant collectors and gardening pioneers of the past and present"  who have had a marked influence on the world of botany and  by extension, us all.     Men are in the majority -  there is much mention of  being the "father of....."  but it is good to see women being  given their place too.

The  women included are all pretty amazing - some of whom I knew very little about - so that was probably my best lesson from the book.  It was fascinating  to see Matt's choice of  who was included - after all, it's a pretty big field  of  hardworking  folk to whom we owe so much  if we have any interest in  botany and  plants - whether for eating, medicine or  ornamenting our homes and gardens. I do think the book will be of great interest to those with a plant  addiction who want to found out more about how the world  learned about  plants and their uses - to give readers a more rounded view of the  world of plants from other  directions.    Even for some of those I thought I knew quite a bit about I learned something new. In the  sections about  how  gardeners might be inspired  by the  botanists and their work, the author has an interesting "take"  on what he thinks we can best glean from each person - some handy tips there, for sure.



I read it from cover to cover in one sitting - I'm not one for dipping into a book on first reading - I prefer to get an overview of the whole.  That is not to say the book is not going to be good for some fruitful "dipping", by the way!  A book that will be of interest to any gardener, I think - and  will make a great gift since it is  not too expensive.

 Link to buy it....      https://tinyurl.com/y8rtw8qp   

RHS  The Secrets of  Great Botanists and What They  Teach Us About Gardening - Matthew Biggs

 Hardcover: 224 pages
    Publisher: Mitchell Beazley (4 Oct. 2018) www.octopusbooks.co.uk
    Language: English
    ISBN-10: 9781784724979
    ISBN-13: 978-1784724979
    ASIN: 1784724971

[Yann]

Iridaceae presenti in Italia

http://www.editricesapienza.it/sites/default/files/4679_Colasante_Iridaceae.pdf

a nice book for those italian language isn't a problem...and for the others as second half is in english

[Blonde Ingrid]

Just received two wonderful books from Dr Joze Bavcon at the  University of Ljubljana, Botanical Gardens.

Joze is very well known for his excellent book on snowdrops, well worth adding to your collection, if you have not got it!

These two latest ones are on 'Daffodils in Slovenia' and 'The Flora of Franja', both superb. There are many other books on offer on the following link. The books all have English translations alongside the Slovenian and all funds support his institution!

http://www.botanic-gardens-ljubljana.com/de/

Enjoy!