I hope this hasn't been covered before -- just did a search and didn't come up with anything -- but I'd like to find a book or two on lilies. Something beautiful to add to the library would be great, as would something practical to help with my new lily garden. Are there any books that are "must-haves" for a lily enthusiast? I'd be grateful for your suggestions. Thanks!
books on lilies
Where have you searched to date?
I did a search on "books" in the Lilies forum.
Ed McRae wrote a book "Lilies A guide for Growers and Collectors" published by Timber Press.
I suggest you check your used book stores first. I have picked up several for just a few bucks. McRae's book is usually considered the best for comprehensive information.
There are a few reviews of books about 'Lilies' hidden among the "Daylily" books listed in the Garden Bookworm.
http://davesgarden.com/gbw/advanced.php?category=38&submit=Go
I always check the used book search on amazon, too. Some very nice deals. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/102-4639395-4795304?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dstripbooks%3Arelevance-above&keywords=Lilies+A+guide+for+Growers+and+Collectors&Go.x=4&Go.y=9
This message was edited Sep 24, 2006 1:09 PM
i think the best one for 'newbie' lily people is
'Lets Grow Lilies", by Virginia Howie. A PB . Check Abe
http://www.ABE.COM
Don't know if there are any copies there. Otherwise your local lily society would be ableto send you one.
Go check http://www.lily.org I think
or
http://www.lilies.org
inanda
Thanks very much for the input. I actually hadn't noticed the Bookworm feature of DG. Yet another useful resource here.
If you can't find "Let's Grow Lilies" locally, let us know and we'll get you one. I know our society usually has a few on hand and the fall sale is just 4 weeks away.
Let's Grow Lilies was my first book. Really good for the new lily gardener, but not a "beautiful" book in that it is not hard cover, and no color pics.
Thanks again -- I did find a used copy of Let's Grow Lilies through Amazon. Am also intrigued by a couple of the books reviewed in Bookworm. I think I'll also have to get one with nice pics to get me through the winter.
In addition to Ed McRae's book, Derek Fox's "Growing Lilies" (1985) and "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Lilies" (Jefferson-Brown, Howland 1995) are pretty nice. My favorite place to search is on abebooks.com. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of used book dealers have their inventory listed there to be searched. I have been able to find out-of-print books such as George L. Slate's "Lilies for American Gardens" (1939); Stearn and Woodcock's "Lilies of the World" (London 1950); and a little book put out around 1930 by W. E. Marshall & Co., Inc., "Consider the Lilies." Then there are always the yearbooks of the North American Lily Society. I don't know whether they still print those in hardback, but I have some old ones.
Do any of the books go into more sophisticated techniques such as TC/Embryo rescue?
Ed McRae's book has some material on advanced breeding, more of an FYI than a how-to. Mostly I am interested in species lilies and preserving antique hybrids, so that is why I look for the older books. The North American Lily Society has hybridizing information on its website, including "A First Experience with Embryo Culture at Home" from the 1982 NALS yearbook. In addition, if you do a Yahoo search on "lily embryo rescue" you will get a number of interesting hits.
I 'spoke' to grandson of Mr. Marshall from Marshall Fields a few years ago when I was busily buying books for our NALS bookstore. He wondered why I was buying so may copies of his Grandpas book. I was told that Consider the Lilies was actually a catalogue of the lilies they were selling in any given year. Thought that was interesting. He really wanted one of the ones I had bought so I sent it to him. In return he sent me an autographed copy of another year.
edited to add this.
BTW tiy can go to http://www,hortnet.net (think that is it) . Look at the lilium list and scroll through the emails. You will find lots of ER &TC info there.
inanda
This message was edited Oct 22, 2006 8:56 AM
the NARGS Book Services Book List has one that sounds interesting...Plants from Test Tubes by L. Kyte and J. Kleyn.....Doesn't show the publisher, but I bet you could check it out on amazon.
I checked McRae's book out of the library 2 weeks ago and have really enjoyed it so far. It's not been a quick read for me, but it has been interesting.
I purchased the book "Plants from Test Tubes" earlier this summer. Although there are some interesting parts, it mostly covers media ingredients & contaminants, equipment, history and the transfer room. Embryo rescue is only briefly mentioned as are lilies. So I suppose I should have checked the book out if it was available, instead of buying it.
What I am interested in is the information regarding hybridizing and how the inter-divisional lily species are created. Whether that is from embryo rescue or some other esoteric procedure. I will try Google again and check in on the Yahoo group.
Good day
Have you tried Google Scholar? http://scholar.google.com/scholar?num=20&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&newwindow=1&q=lily+%2B+embryo+rescue
Inanda - yes, tucked inside my copy of Consider the Lilies was an order form, a trifold of "Prices of Lilies for Fall 1930" and a bifold "1930 supplement" with four good-sized color plates--Ward's Lily, Lilium sulphureum, Lilium centifolium and Lilium giganteum himalaicum (Cardiocrinum). I didn't realize the connection between W. E. Marshall and Marshall Fields. That was interesting to me since I am a transplanted Chicagoan.