Product Description

Take a few chapters from a John le Carr spy thriller, add a hefty dose of exotic travelogue, blend with one of the best books on bulb growing ever written, and you've got Buried Treasures. Since launching his first international mail-order catalog in 1991, Latvian nurseryman Janis Ruksans has rapidly gained a reputation as one of the world's foremost experts on rare and unusual bulbs: Juno irises striped like exotic birds; gem-like corydalis; dusky, brooding fritillaries. For decades, Ruksans has been scouring remote and dangerous regions of Europe and Asia to bring back seed of the botanical treasures that he offers through his nursery, often contending with corrupt government agents, armed rebels, drunken drivers, and even (before the fall of the Soviet Union) the KGB. Once you read Ruksans' accounts of his extensive travels, you'll never look at a flowering bulb in the same way again. A crocus will take you to the shores of Lake Abant in northwestern Turkey, a tulip to the mountains of Chimgan in Uzbekistan. Although adventure abounds in Buried Treasures, there's a great deal more for the gardener seeking trustworthy information. As well as being a renowned collector, Ruksans is a grower and propagator of bulbs second to none, and he generously shares his professional knowledge about the care and cultivation of every major and minor genus of bulb-forming plant. As richly diverse as the plants it describes, Buried Treasures will open your eyes to the beauty and fascination of the world of bulbs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #690361 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-15
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .3 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 460 pages

From Booklist
Latvian nurseryman Ruksans illuminates the realm of uncommon, alluring flowering bulbs, while chronicling his uncommon plant-hunting forays throughout what he calls the Soviet Empire. Renowned for these intrepid plant explorations, as well as for his expansive knowledge of breeding and growing bulbous plants, Ruksans offers an entertaining narrative that remains instructive. To begin, Ruksans puts forth a thorough and engaging presentation of cultivating bulbous plants, from the merits of growing bulbs from seeds to the use of tweezers for pollination. Going forward, he recounts adventurous travels in the Crimea, Siberia, and Anatolia in fascinating detail, scouring remote regions to search out and collect rare botanical gems, species of crocus, corydalis, and fritillaria among them. Fairly bursting with vivid descriptions, Ruksans' latest effort rewards plant connoisseurs with authoritative horticultural insights and sheds light on the dedicated enterprise of an impassioned plantsman. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
The book contains well-written accounts of the adventures of a modern plant explorer, gorgeous color plates of the author s discoveries, and perhaps best of all, insider tips on how the grow the plants [Ruksans] worked with for nearly a lifetime. (Munster Times )

From the Inside Flap
Take a few chapters from a John le Carr spy thriller, add a hefty dose of exotic travelogue, blend with one of the best books on bulb growing ever written, and you've got Buried Treasures. Since launching his first international mail-order catalog in 1991, Latvian nurseryman Janis Ruksans has rapidly gained a reputation as one of the world's foremost experts on rare and unusual bulbs: Juno irises striped like exotic birds; gem-like corydalis; dusky, brooding fritillaries. For decades, Ruksans has been scouring remote and dangerous regions of Europe and Asia to bring back the botantical treasures that he offers through his nursery, often contending with corrupt government agents, armed rebels, drunken drivers, and even (before the fall of the Soviet Union) the KGB. Once you read Ruksans's accounts of his extensive travels, you'll never look at a flowering bulb in the same way again. A crocus will take you to the shores of Lake Abant in northwestern Turkey, a tulip to the mountains of Chimgan in Uzbekistan. The flowers meld with the wild and rugged landscapes that nurture them. Although adventure abounds in Buried Treasures, there's a great deal more for the gardener seeking trustworthy information. As well as being a renowned collector, Ruksans is a grower and propagator of bulbs second to none, and he generously shares his professional knowledge about the care and cultivation of every major and minor genus of bulb-forming plant. If you've tried and failed with a choice specimen, Ruksans will arm you with the knowledge to try again and succeed. As richly diverse as the plants it describes, Buried Treasures will open your eyes to the beauty and fascination of the world of bulbs.