Forcing, Etc: The Indoor Gardener's Guide to Bringing Builbs, Branches & Houseplants Into Bloom [Hardcover]

Richard Felber (Author), Katherine Whiteside (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1999

Imagine it: the glorious color and fragrance of a garden in bloom, brought indoors. Paperwhites at Thanksgiving. Crocus, amaryllis, and tulips for the holidays. Great vases of flowing forsythia filling rooms with spring---in the dead of February. It's all the magic of forcing bulbs, branches, and blossoms, and here's the book that shows how.

Written by award-winning author Katherine Whiteside and drawing on the plant- and bulb-purveying expertise of Smith & Hawken, Forcing, Etc. combines hands-on-how-to with an artist's passion for detail to show how to grow dozens of common and exotic plants, including hardy bulbs--crocus, narcissus, muscari, and iris; tender bulbs--oxalis, calla lily, clivia; branches--apple and apricot to bittersweet, moosewood, and quince; and tender plants--fuchsia, coleus, clematis, lemongrass, and scented geraniums. In addition, the author focuses on presentation and display: choosing unexpected containers; creating tripods, trellises, and tuteurs; and orchestrating an indoor garden for balance of bloom and color.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What's a dyed-in-the-wool gardener to do when faced with stubborn Old Man Winter's downright refusal to let much of anything grow? Force it, that's what. Forcing is the art of convincing a bulb, branch, houseplant, or cutting to flower when it would otherwise be dormant. So when the drabness of winter and its attendant exorbitant price for cut flowers hits you, try forcing.

It's not difficult, but it does take some planning and foresight. If you want to force bulbs to flower in February, for instance, you have to order them in late summer so that you can pot them up in the fall. Twigs, on the other hand, are much easier to force: just cut them after six weeks of cold weather, put them in some water, and watch the virtual spring of your warm rooms transform them into leggy, flowering spirea, corylopsis, forsythia, or catkins, for instance. Author Katherine Whiteside explores associated topics such as choosing the best container and presentation within the home, as well as topics only an expert could love ("the narcissus question").

Forcing, Etc. is a good read. It's not a reference book in the truest sense of the word; the lack of an index is at fault there. This doesn't mean that there's not an awful lot of good information here for beginners and adepts, well and entertainingly written. But when you want to check on the fertilizer ratio for your calla lilies, you'll have to page through the entire book to find it (in a very small typeface, too). But with Richard Felber's gorgeous photos on every page, maybe that's not such a bad thing to have to do. --Stefanie Durbin

Review

"After perusing Forcing, Etc. even those with the blackest of thumbs will want to try forcing bulbs and spring branches" -- Rebecca's Garden, January 2000

"Award winning author, Katherine Whiteside brings the glorious color and scent of flower gardens indoors in this beautifully photographed book." -- Dig, November 1999

"Bulbs, branches and plants will thrive indoors thanks to these how-tos" -- American HomeStyle & Gardening, October 1999

"For more inspiration...Katherine Whiteside's Forcing, Etc. will open up a whole new world beyond paper-whites." -- Town & Country, Jane Garmey, March 2000

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 154 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; First Edition edition (January 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761115129
• ISBN-13: 978-0761115120
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #884,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great photographs, but limited information, January 28, 2000

By 

Tom Krischan (Big Bend, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forcing, Etc: The Indoor Gardener's Guide to Bringing Builbs, Branches & Houseplants Into Bloom (Hardcover)

It's a nice coffee table book. Something you look at once, then never touch again. Clearly not a reference book.

The first 85 pages discuss forcing hardy and tender bulbs. The remaining 68 pages talk about house plants, twigs, and cuttings. About half of the book is pictures, and much of the text from the other half is double spaced. There is not alot of information about forcing in this book.

Another problem, the book has no index. So when you wish to find information on forcing Amaryllis, you must page through it manually. No appendix in the back, no tables, no charts, and no reference section at all (except for a meager list of two dozen garden catalog companies).

There are pockets of detailed and interesting facts. But the poorly organized format makes it a chore to find this info.

On the plus side, the plant photography is great. It is the most worthwhile part of the book. Hundreds of photos of interesting, clear, crisp, and properly identified plants populate this book (unfortunately, since there is no index, you'll never find the picture you want - when you want it).

Nice coffee table book, but not much more.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty to look at, but not alot of substance, August 7, 2000

By 

K. Jackson "jacksonkdrdr" (Denver, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forcing, Etc: The Indoor Gardener's Guide to Bringing Builbs, Branches & Houseplants Into Bloom (Hardcover)

I absolutely agree with the review given by Tom Krischan on 1/28/2000. This book is beautiful to look at, with lots of photographs that are well-taken and gorgeously displayed. That's the good part.... Unfortunately there isn't a lot of information in here that even the most basic gardener wouldn't already know from other sources. Bulbs are the primary area of discussion, with houseplants and cuttings from trees and shrubs also being discussed sparingly. It's not the best book for in-depth answers to your other forcing needs. It is nice to look at, though. A definite fixture for aesthetics on my coffee table at home, if nothing else.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expert gardening advice blends with floral styling, October 10, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forcing, Etc: The Indoor Gardener's Guide to Bringing Builbs, Branches & Houseplants Into Bloom (Hardcover)

Expert gardening advice blends with floral styling techniques as Katherine Whtieside offers an introduction to the finer art of forcing bulbs, branches, and other flowers in Forcing, Etc. Plant features include the most common flowers which are grown through forcing, offering tips for plant pairing and arranging. With Richard Felber's lush photos throughout, Forcing, Etc. makes an exceptional visual display in addition to a practical guide.