The Little Bulbs: A Tale of Two Gardens [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 1986

“A beautifully written book.”—The Garden Journal

“A few garden writers offer prose that goes beyond how to spade and spray to convey the experience and pleasures of gardening. The late Elizabeth Lawrence was such a writer.”—Southern Living

“First published in 1957 and out-of-print for many years, this is a delightfully written and enormously informative introduction to the fascinating variety of little bulbs available to the gardener. The author discusses a wide variety of plants, both familiar and little-known, including crocuses, species daffodils, hardy cyclamen and lily-family members such as Brodiaea, Bessera, and Calochortus.”—American Horticulturist

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lawrence is one of those garden writers who bring literature, philosophy, landscape design, dirt gardening, and the voices of her friends and neighbors into the garden. Her books--"A Southern Garden," "The Little Bulb"s, "Gardens in Winter"--are enlivened by her genius for trading both plants and stories, but this one is particularly enriched by the lively notices from the "Mississippi Market Bulletin," a biweekly published by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture that advertised everything from hogs to the bulbs and plants that hard-working farm women hoped to sell for 'mad' money."
--"Natural History"

Product Details

• Hardcover: 261 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books (March 25, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822306719
• ISBN-13: 978-0822306719
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,014,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little bulbs for little gardens, May 7, 2000

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Little Bulbs: A Tale of Two Gardens (Paperback)

Don't be put off by the fact this book was written a few years ago, it's still quite newsworthy. I've been gardening for many years -- everything from a two-acre spread to a small urban garden but I never had to "think small" until I moved to the big city. This book has proved very helpful for resizing thoughts.

In "The Little Bulbs," Miss Lawrence covers everything from miniature daffodils to sqill, from crocuses to irises. Did you know there were miniature irises? Most if not all of the bulbs she describes are still around, and many more varieties exist besides, but this book will get you started and keep you going awhile. I haven't found anything newer with better practical knowledge.

Even if you own an estate, this book can help you. Miss Lawrence has a nice section on container planting which the British have done for years, and we are just beginning to do really well. Remember, bulbs exist for every climate. You can grow the tropical kind in-doors in colder areas (amaryllids), and grow those that require cold outside if you have freezing weather in winter. I like this book so much, I am ordered the hardcover to replace my old paperback which I'm giving to my daughter who is just beginning to garden.