Books you may like to hear about

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi,

Very wise choice, I believe. I haven't read any of  the book but some of the kids at school are absolutely enthralled by them, something which I am delighted to see as, at least, it will have them reading and enjoying the experience and they may continue with a wonderful lifelong pastime - they may even graduate onto gardening books!

Paddy

[fermi de Sousa]

The (non-commercial) ABC radio had a segment asking listeners what book they "couldn't put down" (about the time of the release of the last HP) and if I'd been near a phone I would've rung up to say "Buried Treasures" by Janis Ruksans!
My nephews are avid readers of HP and I get to read their books when they're done!
One of our local daffodil growers has been naming his new releases with HP inspired names like "Quidditch"!
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

Here's a link to a page of Carlo Balistrieri's website with a review of a book that may be on interest...
http://www.botanicalgardening.com/schenkhardsurfacereview.html

this is the book in question:
 Gardening on pavement, tables, and hard surfaces. By George Schenk. 2003. Timber Press, Portland, OR. 192 pp. ISBN 088192-593-4. Price: US $29.95.


also this:
http://www.botanicalgardening.com/columbinesreview.html

for this book:
Columbines: Aquilegia, Paraquilegia and Semiaquilegia. By Robert Nold. 2003. Timber Press, Portland, OR. 158 pp. ISBN 0-88192-588-8. Price: US $24.95.

and finally this:
 http://www.botanicalgardening.com/reviewsshort.html
 for details of a few design books/

[David Shaw]

Available on SRGC Booklist:

Gardening on Pavement etc.    Schenk      £14.99 + p&p

Columbines etc                      Nold         £17.99 + p&p

enjoy

[Maggi Young]

Excellent, David, reasonable prices, too, eh?!

[David Shaw]

Excellent books, Maggi

[David Shaw]

We have 'Lilies' by Edward McRae on the SRGC book list. Unfortunatly it has not been delivered from Timber Press and we have reason to believe that it is out of print. Pity, as we have already had to disapoint two or three customers.
For those who think Amazon is the best thing since sliced bread - they have one copy in stock at £30 when RRP is £25! They also list two second hand copies at £70 and £170.

[Paddy Tobin]

Comments on 'Buried Treasures' by Janis Ruksans.

Just finishing 'Buried Treasures', last few pages. So,  my opinion?

My first comment is that the writing style is somewhat stilted, written by a non-native English speaker or else poorly translated. As a result I found it an uncomfortable read quite often. However, one could not but admire the degree of interest and commitment to the collection, growing and sale of bulbs which Janis Ruksans has. The general content of the book presents a fund of knowledge and experience from which the avid gardener will certainly benefit. This is definitely a book for the enthusiast, the knowledgeable enthusiast, as it deals in the main with a selection of plants not very common in cultivation with a particular emphasis on juno irises.

I have read several books similar to this one, books which describe the search and location of new plants, the subsequent attempts at growing these, their propagation and distribution and have found that my enjoyment of each book was in proportion to my knowledge of the plants being discussed.

There were large sections of this book where the level of new information overwhelmed my enjoyment of the book. Other sections in which the plants were more familiar were far more enjoyable. With this in mind one might well consider one's own level of expertise before investing in this book as it is quite pricey, £30. (Just in case you now infer that my having the book means I consider myself an expert gardener let me inform you that I received it free gratis directly from the publishers.) On the other hand, this book will certainly broaded and add to most peoples knowledge of plants and gardening, perhaps an opportunity not to be ignored in these days when we have a multitude of magazines and television programmes which add nothing to our knowledge and very little to our enjoyment of gardening.

Lacking in the book, I felt, was more general background information on the places visited during plant collection. I find it interesting to read of the culture, traditions and way of life of the local people where the plant collector is working. There is little of this type of information in this book making it a one dimensional read. An encouragement received from reading the book was to read of the many, many bulbs which had died on the author. It seemed to be the fate of many of the collections. Perhaps the message is to persevere in one's attempts to grow any new plant and, should it fail, to learn the lessons of the failure and avoid these pitfalls on subsequent attempts. 

So, in summary: I found the style of writing quite poor, the syntax awkward and reading uncomfortable. There was considerable information on bulbs though I think the cultural suggestions had little relevance to growers in areas other than Latvia as the climate there is so very different to what pertains here, for example. Good, not great. A big annoyance was the layout of photographs; instead of being positioned near the text which they were meant to illustrate they are gathered into two sections of the book. This results in the reader flicking back and forth regularly to view the plant being described in the text.

In a note on oxalis I noticed that Harold McBride was described as being from Scotland. Now while I have no doubt the Scots would welcome him with open arms I believe there would be strong reluctance to allow him to move.

Hopefully forum members with a greater experience in the growing of the bulbs dealt with in the book  might add their more informed comments on the book. My perspective is one of the general gardener rather than that of a specialist. Ian has some notes on this book in the bulb log.

And most importantly: the best place to buy this book is from the SCGC. Best value.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Janis is on tour in the USA at the moment Here are his upcoming dates and the Chapters he's visiting:
Thur, Oct 18 Sierra, Sacramento, CA
 Oct 20 Great Lakes, Ann Arbor, MI
Oct 21 Adirondack, Ithaca, NY
 Sat, Oct 27 Delaware, Philadelphia, PA
 Sun, Oct 28   Cox arboretum in Dayton Ohio   ***N.B. This is a corrected venue ***
Tues, Oct 30 Columbia-Willamette, Portland,
Wed Oct 31   Emerald, Eugene,
Sat, Nov 3 New England, Boston,
Sun Nov 4   Tri-State, Pelham, NY

See more on www.nargs.org

[Carol Shaw]

Go and check the info out on the book list... several new titles plus lots of discounts Basically any time the books are being sold at a 'members only event' all stock will have a minimum of a 10% discount. Specifically at the AGM there will be a box of bargain books at very low prices - I'd really prefer not to take any of those home

[Paul T]

Apologies if this book as previously been mentioned......

Bulbous Plants of Turkey and Iran .... a photographic guide by Peter Sheasby
- Also includes the adjacent Greek Islands.
(Alpine Garden Society 2007)   

Oh My Gawd!!  The pictures!!  I need a towel to wipe up the drool every time I open the book.  Bought it at a local garden expo thingy at an open garden here 10 days ago.  Was looking at the Janis Ruksan's book and talking to the owner (who I see from time to time on some of the Aussie gardening lists) and he pointed me in the direction of this book.  I had a quick flick through it and couldn't help myself.  Particularly drawn to Iris acutiloba (which I'd never come across before), so was thrilled by Otto's picture of it in the thread Fermi posted.

Everything from Iris, Orchids, Amaryllids, Colchicums, Aroids, Hyacinthacea to name but a few.  Pics of pretty much everything mentioning.  Positively to die for picture-wise.

So can you tell I like it a little!! 

[David Nicholson]

Liliies: A Guide for Growers and Collectors by Edward Austin McRae

I noticed a  couple of weeks ago David Shaw's comments on the Bookpage on the Main SRGC Site about his difficulty in obtaining the above book from Timber Press. Early last week I saw it in a Garden Centre priced at £25 and had a check on the Internet Book Sites to see if it was available. It was available on www.biblio.com and at an English book shop, priced at a laughable £4 plus £4.99 for p&p. It arrived in this mornings post-a brand new copy.

I did another search on the same site this morning but regrettably it is only now available from an American supplier for £16.99 plus p&p but it's well worth keeping an eye open for it.

[David Nicholson]

Re: my previous post, I'm about half way through the book and it's excellent. Very thorough from the points of view of the professional Lily grower and the interested amateur. I can thoroughly recommend it.

[ChrisB]

For this (and your bargains at a local nursery mentioned in another thread), I nominate you for the 'Gardener's Shopper of the Year' Award.  Anyone second this?

[Maggi Young]

Yes, Chris, I am inclined to agree with you..... David has my nomination for Tightwad of the Year er, sorry, that should be 'Gardener's Shopper of the Year' Award