It’s springtime now — let’s set the scene… for flowers like you’ve never seen. Let’s take a tour of daffodils, a wonderland of yellow thrills! So many kinds, like pink and white, and doubles simply out-of-sight! We’ll check ‘em out — from A to Z, while serving springtime ecstasy. A reference book? Like Botany? No — I think it’s a Fantasy. Or is it History? Or Mystery? It’s everything — just wait and see!
There is no harbinger of spring like a field or garden filled with bright yellow daffodils. But the world of the daffodil is much more than just its place in the march of the seasons. It’s a plant whose history starts with the tombs of the Pharaohs, through pre-Darwin evolutionary theory and Cornwall’s burgeoning bulb business, and leads to the current explosion of varieties from plant breeders seeking new colors, fragrances, and forms. Daffodil reveals a global plant infatuation that has led to more than 25,000 cultivars available in nearly every shade of yellow (and now pink, orange, and white). Noel Kingsbury tells the tale through an engaging narrative history and plant portraits that highlight more than 200 varieties. Jo Whitworth's revealing photography shows a side of the daffodil rarely seen. Plant lovers will relish the stories and gardeners will cherish the cultivation notes, plant descriptions, and recommendations.
The definitive book on America's most popular perennial includes everything you need to know about growing daffodils, from forcing paper-whites in indoor containers to naturalizing masses of daffodils in a woodland glade.In a field long dominated by British horticulturists, this is the first exhaustive text on daffodils written by and for American gardeners. The book has been garnered from the Heaths' decades of experience growing daffodils and helping commercial and home gardeners.An encyclopedic, full-color listing of the 200 best cultivars for North American gardens makes this volume an indispensable guide for daffodil selection. Its thorough yet personable approach, along with the sheer beauty of its color photographs, makes Daffodils for American Gardens a welcome addition to any gardener's bookshelf.
Introduction - flower structure and classification - blubs (storage and growth) - principles of garden cultivation - daffodils for special effects - growing for exhibition - showing daffodils - pests and diseases - breeding and breeders - choice of cultivars - daffodil cycles - appendices (RHS classification of Daffodils - systems for pointing Daffodils - some suppliers).
Cincinnati Magazine taps into the DNA of the city, exploring shopping, dining, living, and culture and giving readers a ringside seat on the issues shaping the region.
Why do you garden? For fun? Work? Food? The reasons to garden are as unique as the gardener. The Roots of My Obsession features thirty essays from the most vital voices in gardening, exploring the myriad motives and impulses that cause a person to become a gardener. For some, it’s the quest to achieve a personal vision of ultimate beauty; for others, it’s a mission to heal the earth, or to grow a perfect peach. The essays are as distinct as their authors, and yet each one is direct, engaging, and from the heart. For Doug Tallamy, a love of plants is rooted first in a love of animals: “animals with two legs (birds), four legs (box turtles, salamanders, and foxes), six legs (butterflies and beetles), eight legs (spiders), dozens of legs (centipedes), hundreds of legs (millipedes), and even animals with no legs (snakes and pollywogs).” For Rosalind Creasy, it’s “not the plant itself; it’s how you use it in the garden.” And for Sydney Eddison, the reason has changed throughout the years. Now, she “gardens for the moment.” As you read, you may find yourself nodding your head in agreement, or gasping in disbelief. What you’re sure to encounter is some of the best writing about the gardener’s soul ever to appear. For anyone who cherishes the miracle of bringing forth life from the soil, The Roots of My Obsession is essential inspiration.
In this "passionate, reflective, inspiring, endlessly quotable" (Allen Lacy, New York Times Book Review) book, two acclaimed landscape designers offer a month-by-month chronicle of their magnificent Vermont garden. "A gold mine of practical advice".--Anne Raver, The New York Times.
Flowering bulbs, the perfect antidote to the winter blahs, can bloom on a windowsill while plants outdoors await the warmth of spring sun to flower. This handy guide tells readers how to force spectacular tulips, fragrant hyacinths, and other hardy bulbs for a head start on spring, and how to grow rare tender bulbs from the tropics and subtropics, which bloom in winter, spring, summer, and fall.
