Emailed December 1, 2006. To subscribe, click here.
To reprint any of this material, simply credit www.oldhousegardens.com. © 2006

Friends of Old Bulbs Gazette

Old House Gardens, 536 Third St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103, (734) 995-1486

        "To create a garden is to search for a better world. . . . Whether the result is a horticultural masterpiece or only a modest vegetable patch, it is based on the expectation of a glorious future. This hope for the future is at the heart of all gardening."
        Marina Schinz (Swiss garden writer and photographer)

Price Freeze! Order Now for Next Fall at This Year's Prices

        We're holding the line on fall prices through December! That's right, order online NOW for planting NEXT FALL and we won't charge you a nickel over this fall's prices.
       Maybe the bulb you wanted most this fall was sold out, or you wished you'd ordered more, or you want to be first in line -- or you just want to save some money!
        Think of it as our little holiday gift for you. But don't delay. We'll honor our current fall prices ONLY until we post our new prices in January.

Give the Gift of Spring this Holiday Season!

        What could be more welcome in winter than the promise of spring?
       Gift Certificates: We'll hand-write your personal gift message in our beautiful, bulb-flowered card and include our fabulous, dream-inspiring catalog.
        Antique-Style Forcing Vases: Bloom hyacinths on your winter windowsill! Our glittering, museum-replica vases come complete with bulb and easy instructions.
        Bulb Samplers for Spring Planting: Dahlias for bouquets, fragrant tuberoses, wild glads, a trio of rain lilies, purple elephant ears, and more, all for delivery in April.
        Old House Gardens T-shirts: Our very own, silk-screened with antique flowers.
        Planting Baskets: Fill it with small garden gifts, add a ribbon, and you're done!
        Great Books: Starting at $10, many of them hard to find elsewhere.
        Gift delivery DEADLINE: We'll be closed Dec. 22 through Jan. 7, so if you need your order delivered this year, please make sure it reaches us by midnight Monday, Dec. 18.

Dutch Embassy Celebrates with Our Zomerschoons

        To celebrate Dutch American Heritage Day on November 16, the Dutch ambassador in Washington hosted an intimate VIP luncheon. A curator from the National Gallery lectured on Rembrandt and then each guest was presented with a very special gift from the days of Rembrandt -- a Zomerschoon tulip bulb from Old House Gardens! Julia Koppius of the ambassador's staff reports that the bulbs were "a hit" and the guests "delighted" with this "unique, beautiful, and memorable gift." Needless to say all of us here at Old House Gardens were thrilled to be included in the festivities!

Bulbs in Art at the NYBG

        If you like bulbs, art, and history, here's a December treat you won't want to miss. Thanks to our friends Deirdre Larkin and Bevan Davies for the tip. Bevan writes:
        "I have to tell you about this exhibit I saw yesterday: 'Buried Treasures: The Art and Nature of Bulbs.' Like so many good things in New York, it's hidden in an out-of-the-way place, the Mertz Library at the New York Botanical Garden. It consists of dozens of stunning images of tulips, lilies, gladiolus, and other bulbs selected from three centuries of the library's rare books and artwork. My favorite print depicted 'broken' tulips of an unimaginable beauty, and I came home inspired to grow some of your true broken tulips in my own garden."

Pickled Paperwhites Stand Up Straighter

        To prevent your paperwhites from getting tall and floppy, give them a good stiff drink. It's true! Scientific testing by Professor Bill Miller of Cornell's Flower Bulb Research Program confirmed that paperwhites grown in water with a 5% concentration of alcohol bloomed beautifully on stems one-third shorter than teetotaling paperwhites. Since most liquors are about 40% alcohol, that works out to 1 part booze to 7 parts water. Gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, and tequila all work well, but Miller cautions that, as with humans, too much alcohol is disastrous. To read his entire entertaining report, go to http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/wmiller/bulb/Pickling_your_Paperwhites.pdf.

Colonial Inventories Offer Glimpses of Gardening

        Here's an interesting tidbit from our good friend Wesley Greene of Colonial Williamsburg:
        "We have been looking at probate inventories in an effort to determine how common the urban garden was in 18th century Virginia. These are very accurate inventories that list the possessions of the household right down to the last spoon. We have made the assumption that to keep a garden you must have garden tools, and it has been interesting to discover that less than half of urban households list garden tools. It appears that 18th century urban households, like 21st century urban households, relied on the local market for their produce. (The prevalence of vegetables in the diet is a whole other area of investigation, but it appears to hover around 15% of the diet.) One striking discovery thus far is that taverns are far more likely to list garden tools than are private households. Another surprise has been the number of households that list garden shears as their only garden tool. Maybe the colonial revivalists [Ed.: who have been criticized for over-emphasizing the use of boxwood in colonial gardens] were right after all!"

Pheasant's-eyes Forever

        We were touched by this note from our good customer Clare Miller of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we thought you would be, too, especially in this season of sharing, joy, and family.
        "Last year I ordered some bulbs for my 90-year-old aunt. We were very pleased with them and with your service. Some pheasant's-eye narcissus were in the order. She was especially pleased with them, since they bloomed much later than her other bulbs and because they were so pretty. She died in May, right after they bloomed. I just wanted to let you know how much she enjoyed them and how much they will always remind me of her and her love of gardening."

Did You Miss Our Last Newsletter? Read It Online!

        Last month's articles included flowers against barbarism (circa 1919), mulching with Starbucks, goat-manure memories, and more. You can read all 56 of our back-issues at http://www.oldhousegardens.com/newsArchive.asp.

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