Timber Press published a landmark new book, Bulbs of North America edited by Jane McGary from the North American Rock Garden Society. North American gardeners will find this book to be an eye-opening revelation of the bulbs native to our own lands." />

Bulbs of North America


Fall and spring are peak bulb planting times for gardeners worldwide. Tulips, crocus, daffodils, and hyacinth, the most commonly used bulbs, all originate in the Holy Lands. This year Timber Press published a landmark new book, Bulbs of North America edited by Jane McGary from the North American Rock Garden Society. North American gardeners will find this book to be an eye-opening revelation of the bulbs native to our own lands. Perhaps the day will come when we plant more "native bulbs" than we do "foreign bulbs" in our gardens.

The goal of the book was to create one that would enable avid gardeners to identify the many bulbous plants native to North America. It is important that gardeners learn to identify the different species accurately so they don't contribute to spreading seeds through the gardening world with incorrect names attached to them. Information about geographical distribution, a detailed description of the plant, and cultivation methods are presented for each type of bulbous plant discussed. Each chapter presents a comprehensive bibliography for further study of the plants.

The chapters cover: (1) The Genus Allium; (2) Amaryllidaceae of North America; (3) The Brodiaea Alliance: Bloomeria, Brodiaea, Dichelostemma, and Triteleia; (4) The Genus Calochortus; (5) The Genus Erythronium; (6) Genus Fritillaria; (7) Irids of the Southeast; (8) The Genus Lilium; (9) Bulbs of the Northwest; (10) Bulbs of the Southwest; and (11) Bulbs of Eastern North America.

Bulbs of North America is a collection of chapters on specific plant genera, plant family, or general geographical region. A different author or group of authors wrote each chapter. In spite of this fact, the book reads as though only one person had written the text. I view this as a major tribute to writers who focused on presenting a reliable text rather than emphasizing their individual writing styles.

The center of the book includes colored photographs of many of the species discussed in the text. In my opinion, this is the only weakness of this book. It would be more useful for the average gardener if each species had been illustrated on the same page it was discussed on. I fear that far too many gardeners will be unable to accurately identify these plants just from their written descriptions.

Should You Buy This Book?

If you understand taxonomy and can identify plants just from written descriptions, this book is definitely for you. I question whether the average home gardener fits in this category. As a member of the North American Rock Garden Society, I have learned that these particular gardeners tend to be quite sophisticated in their understanding of taxonomical information and will greatly enjoy the depth of this book.

The copyright of the article Bulbs of North America in Gardening Techniques is owned by Diana Pederson. Permission to republish Bulbs of North America in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic