The Bottom Line
Pros
- A pretty picture for every flower bulb covered!
- Encyclopedic in nature, covering over 500 types of flower bulbs.
- Learn about flower bulb options for 4 seasons of enjoyment.
- Appendix has helpful information on growing and using flower bulbs.
Cons
- Index uses only Latin names of flower bulbs covered; a parallel common-name index would be useful.
- Companion plants often cited, but rationale for selection rarely supplied.
Description
- Learn why so many flower bulbs need good drainage (their native habitat in the Mediterranean, Africa or Asia being dry).
- Have you had a flower bulb growing out back for years but been unable to identify it? The pics here may solve the mystery!
- Learn about the different "divisions" of lilies, tulips and narcissus.
Guide Review - Flower Bulbs Book
Anna Pavord's Bulb is a book that will serve you in two ways. Initially, this introduction to flower bulbs will give you a sense of the vast number of types of these remarkable plants out there. But long after you've filed the book away in your gardening library, you'll keep coming back to it as a handy reference for information on this or that particular plant covered within its 544 pages. So don't file it too far away in your library: you'll want to reserve a prominent space on the bookshelf for Bulb.
You'll also want to bone up on your flower parts before reading Bulb, as Pavord describes the blooms of the flower bulbs she covers in great detail; so you'll constantly be frustrated if you can't keep your stamina straight from your stigmata. In addition to these descriptions, Pavord relates growing information in the main section of each entry and, where relevant, some historical background. A smaller section accompanies the main one and lists basic facts about the flower bulb in question:
- Blooming season
- Hardiness
- Height
- Habitat (where relevant)
When using Bulb as a reference work, it is this smaller section containing the basic facts that you'll probably find yourself re-visiting. But also useful are the introductory chapter and the appendix. In the latter, you'll find, for example, mention of flower bulbs you can use in plantings under trees (a highly problematic area in the landscape, indeed!).
For some entries, Pavord mentions companion plants that work well with the flower bulbs in question. This information is helpful, but my one regret is that it is not more expansive. For example, we are rarely told why a particular plant was deemed worthy of mention as a companion plant. Such an explanation would be immensely interesting; and having learned the rationale behind the selection, the reader would be better able to make any necessary substitutions. I realize that Bulb is already a large book (544 pages), but I feel that a "Companion Plants" section in the appendix is warranted.
Many of the flower bulbs discussed in Pavord's book hail from warm climates. But don't be discouraged, you northern gardeners! Their inclusion in the book is designed to give you options for flower bulbs you can grow indoors, to achieve winter color in the home. Flower bulbs can be enjoyed year-round. Fall bloomers include certain types of crocus bulbs, while lily blooms (e.g., Stella de Oro) brighten our summers.
For the casual grower, this may be the only book you will ever need on flower bulbs. More serious flower bulb enthusiasts will use the book as a springboard for further research on particular types of flower bulbs that catch their eye in Pavord's chef d'oeuvre.
