Durham Council of Garden Clubs

 Book Recommendations:

Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart

Did you know what is behind the flowers we see for sale everyday?  Amy Stewart went to the various flower producers throughout the world to show how they reach us.  She takes us from the West Coast to Ecuador to Holland to give us an insight behind this more than 40 billion dollar industry.  She talks about the flower auctions in Holland, the drive for flowers that last longer and the working conditions of many workers.  This is not a strident diatribe about the industry rather it is an insight into a product we take for granted.  It is an older book but still worth reading. Check your local library.


Bulb Forcing by Art Wolk

The author of this handsomely illustrated book has 30+ years of bulb-forcing experience and two Philadelphia International Flower Show Grand Sweepstakes Awards.  Art Wolk shows how to pot  and prepare various types of bulbs for forcing.  His step by step techniques encourage you whether you are a beginner or an advanced forcer.  The pictures of different bulbs and the various stages of  forcing are very informative.  He  shows hydroponic forcing which exhibits not only the beauty of the plant itself but also the intricacy of its root system.  You will discover how to force not just the usual bulbs in this book but also the anemone, the allium, the arisaema and the bulb-garden pot.

We may be busy outdoors now but soon fall and winter flower catalogues will be filling our mailboxes, so check out this book and be prepared to continue the season indoors. 
 

North Carolina Author:

Sarah Addison Allen's books were recommended by a friend. Sarah Addison Allen is from Asheville. Some people call her books Southern fantasy, I call them a good read.   Garden Spells is the story of a Southern garden, its distinctive apple tree and the women who tend it. The Sugar Queen deals with family secrets, hidden passions and knowing yourself.  The Peach Keeper deals with ghosts and small town North Carolina life.  I recommend them when you are relaxing in your lawn chair after a hot day in the garden or when you are relaxing at the beach.