Synopses & Reviews
Where most bulbs books repeat the seasonal approach to bulb gardening by bloom time, assuming the usual fall ritual of mass planting bulbs by the bushel, this book advocates more careful study of natural habitats and cultural needs before planting. All gardeners have experienced the frustration of having a bulb flower in the first year after planting, but poorly or never again thereafter. Judy Glattstein shows how a more naturalistic style of planting can pay greater dividends over time from healthy and thriving populations of bulbs. She uses a broad definition of bulbs, including a wide diversity of bulbs, corms, and tubers. By grouping them together with other plants that excel in similar conditions, she shows how all styles of gardens can prove more durable and require less maintenance in the long term. Perhaps most importantly, she emphasizes that choices based on climate and local ecology will yield a garden that truly "belongs" where it has been sited. Following her extensive research and travel throughout North America to visit hundreds of gardens, Glattstein offers detailed, regionally appropriate suggestions for gardeners everywhere.
Review
"From outsmarting deer to planting in naturalistic patterns, the topics in this book aim for year-round bulb displays that will truly be perennial."— Valerie Easton, Seattle Times, September 16, 2005 Valerie Easton
Review
"Drawing not only on her extensive personal experience, Glattstein also enthusiastically relates those of accomplished amateur as well as professional geophyte horticulturists, thus enriching her comprehensive guide with both a conversational and authoritative tone that balances its user-friendly approach with practical expertise."—Carol Haggas, Booklist, May 17, 2005
Review
"Bulbs for Garden Habitats will inspire anyone who has an appreciation for beauty and a mind for ecology."—C. Colston Burrell, American Gardener, September/October 2005 Seattle Times
Review
"Bulbs for Garden Habitats is informative and quite detailed. All gardeners, despite their level of experience or garden habitat, will be inspired.."
Review
"She shares her experience, philosophy, and vast plant knowledge in an entertaining way while helping you learn more about the climate you live in."
Synopsis
All gardeners have experienced the frustration of having a bulb flower in the first year after planting, but poorly or never again thereafter. Judy Glattstein shows how a more naturalistic style of planting can produce healthy and thriving populations of bulbs.
About the Author
Judy Glattstein is a garden consultant and the author of several gardening books—Bulbs for Garden Habitats is her third book on bulbs—and numerous magazine and newspaper articles. She is a popular instructor at the New York Botanical Garden and the Cook College Office of Continuing Professional Education at Rutgers University and lectures widely both in the United States and abroad. An enthusiastic gardener, she finds less time available for her own garden in western New Jersey than she would like; nonetheless, the tens of thousands of bulbs she's planted return year after year whether or not she finishes all her garden chores.