Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Scoobysue on September 20, 2007, 11:24:06 AM
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HI
As a newbie to growing alpines I've been searching around through the mass of information that is available to try and come up with a newbie reading list /training programme. My local colleges don't provide any form of specialist Alpine training, as a member of a local Alpine group I am picking up things slowly but I would like to learn more quickly.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to good possible reading material for a newbie who wants to get to grips with Growing Alpines, Alpine Houses (i.e. creation, uses etc), Propagation i.e. from seed etc.
Many thanks in advance
Sue
P.S As an aside I have decided to compile a database of the alpines I've got and detail thier propagation and growth history in my garden so that a) I have a constant record of how things have done b) know what to do to propogate and c) help others hopefully who are also starting out in alpines. The main reason for this is that I can then find all the information in one place on a plant rather than searching through dozens of books.
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Sue,
Hi again...and welcome. As in your last question, it's important for us to know where you are. There are dozens of great books (and believe me, you'll start collecting them too). Some of them are more valuable for particular parts of the world (e.g. Lincoln Foster's book, "Rock Gardening" for the northeastern US) because of the experience of the authors.
JOIN YOUR LOCAL ROCK GARDEN SOCIETY wherever you are. Then join the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS), the Alpine Garden Society (AGS), and/or The Scottish Rock Garden Club (SRGC) whose forum you are now enjoying. Each of these large organizations publishes a quarterly journal full of the information you're looking for--and each has done articles aimed at beginning rock gardeners on the best plants to start with and techniques to use in growing and constructing gardens.
Carlo
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Sue,
Actually most of us (me included) wind up accumulating quite a library. You're lucky as a UK'er--many of the best books on rock gardening and alpine plants have from from your misty isles. I'll leave it to other forum members to suggest the best for your area...but I do have many on the shelves in my office. Almost all of them have information that's great for anyone with this interest...but start with what they suggest for YOUR part of the world.
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Hi Sue, as a fellow 'Newbie' I can vouch for what Carlo says. I have learned (and indeed am still learning) a tremendous amount from Membership of this Forum and being able, through it to tap into expertise from all over the World. Information and help is always freely, and very generously, given.
As a result of my enjoyment of the Forum I very quickly joined SRGC and don't regret it for a moment. It does seem to me that SRGC is more 'user friendly' and approachable for a beginner than AGS (very much a personal view) but at the end of the day you must make your own choices.
As to books, well there is a mass of stuff out there, and you may like to access the book page on the SRGC main site. There are a few books that I have found very useful.
The first is 'Collins Guide to Alpines' by Anna N Griffiths. This is quite an old book, published 1964 and some would say it is out of date. But it does have a mass of information on plants in alphabetical format so it is really beginner friendly. You can often pick it up in good second hand bookshops, mine came from such a source and cost me £1.50. You could also try a search for it on Abe Books see http://www.abebooks.co.uk/?cm_ven=ggl&cm_cat=Abebooks%20UK%20-%20corporate&cm_pla=abebooks_corporate&cm_ite=abebooks%5Bexact%5D
sorry about the long Site ID! Other books do exist in a similar format and SRGC and AGS book pages should have information on them.
'Alpine Plants of Europe' by Jim Jermyn published by Timber Press is also a good, and informative read. If I were to have one grouse with it it would be that the author doesn't seem to take into account that most of us have real difficulty getting hold of fresh seed and therefore have to manage with dried.
'The Himalayan Garden' same author, same publisher is also very useful.
Hope this helps a bit.
PS Martin Baxendale is a Gloucestershire resident who is very knowledgeable on a wide range of stuff and particularly on Snowdrops.
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Robert Rolfe wrote a book on The Alpine House - Title is 'The Alpine House' :D Some consider it definitive and as he is an AGS stalwart and UK based it should be good reading for you. Hopefully your local AGS group has a lending library, there should be lots more good books there. Ask other members, someone will take you under their wing!
The best way to learn is to get your hands dirty. Try plants you like the look of, raise lots from seed, the seed exchanges are nearly free so you can experiment with lots of things cheaply. There is a whole world of alpines out there, you should never tire of the quest :)
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Sue,
Another good book if you can find a secondhand one (as I think it is out of print) is
Lawrence D Hills The Propagation of Alpines, it is an old book but for times to sow seed and take cuttings and articles on cold frames it is still very good
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Sue,
Another good book if you can find a secondhand one (as I think it is out of print) is
Lawrence D Hills The Propagation of Alpines, it is an old book but for times to sow seed and take cuttings and articles on cold frames it is still very good
Cheapest one available on Abe Books is £6.00 plus £2.55 p&p see http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=Hills&sortby=3&sts=t&tn=The+Propagation+of+Alpines&x=43&y=12
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I am not aware of any 'good' new books for newcomers to alpines. If any forumists know of any please let me know as I would like to add something to the club book list.
The list has the two new books suggested by David and Sue, if you care to contact the Publications Manager, we will see what we can do to help.
Our copy of the Collins Guide came as a facsimilie edition from Woolies c1970 and is still used. It is often available in secondhand book shops.
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I kept wishing that Phillips & Rix would publish their Alpines book, listed in forthcoming list on the fly cover of their Perennials volumes, but it was not to be. Shame. I've tried getting hold of the two volumes of the AGS books that are out of print, but they are very expensive if you can source them. There is a definite hole in the marketplace for them! Wish they would revise and reprint.... So, sorry Sue, no solutions from me, I just muddle about on Google and so on trying to figure out what I've got lot of the time, but here is a good place to learn lots. Read the BD's Bulb log, that will take you a good distance...
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Hello, Sue, Welcome to the SRGC Forum! The books that have been suggested to you are about as good a selection as I could come up with. You will find all sorts of handy hints and tips by spending hours reading through the pages of both this version of the SRGCV Forum and the older, archived version.....
see here http://www.srgc.org.uk/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi
Over ther years huge amounts of alpine ground have been covered, so to speak, so you will surely find lots of info here. Any questions are always welcomed, of course. A rummage through the Booklists of SRGC and the AGS will show you the pick of what is available... if the thought of building up your own library is terrifying your wallet, then a search of Amazon and Abebooks for secondhand books is never a wasted task! Not that our Book Managers don't have great offers, of course, but for some of the older books mentioned, as has been said, this is the best option.
Above all, it is great to have you join us and the world of alpines... it's a nice place to be!
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And your database is an excellent idea. Wish I'd thought of it 50 (well, only 49 actually) year ago. The biggest thing with it though, is to keep it up to date. Well worth the effort in years to come however. As well as propagation notes, record the plant's family and affiliations, location and habitat, where you obtained it and even, if you are happy to have life-long nightmares, the price. Then when you eventually write the obligatory book on alpines, you'll have all the information there at your fingertips. Keep a photographic record of the plant as well and how it died :'(
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John Good and someone did an excellent book which covered just about everything. What was it? I can't remember and don't unfortunately, have it.
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Well Thank you to everyone who has contributed - I'm going to have a dig around on amazon abe (not come across that before! - so thanks for that).
I have started work on the database - and yes species, family etc are to be recorded inc price and where bought, propagation notes, general notes etc, - already worked out the divisions of my garden and also images library so hopefully as long as I keep it up to date I should build up enough infor to help myself and others - (Well hopefully!!) - I'm already a member of the AGS and my local group (Cotswold & Malvern) are excellant at putting up with my endless questions!! so as you all say membership of the scottish RGC is required also!!
Once again many thanks for all the feedback.!! I'm sure I'll let you all know how I get on via more questions on various alpine plants!!
cheers
sue
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John Good and David Millward's book is "Alpine Plants: Ecology for Gardeners." There's a review of it up on my website (BotanicalGardening.com) and several in other places as well.
http://www.botanicalgardening.com/goodreview.html
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John Good and someone did an excellent book which covered just about everything. What was it? I can't remember and don't unfortunately, have it.
Handbook of Rock Gardening by John Good? It's on the AGS Site Bookshop £2.50 for Members or £5.00 otherwise.
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Handbook of Rock Gardening by John Good? It's on the AGS Site Bookshop £2.50 for Members or £5.00 otherwise.
That is a sensible book for all round advice, David, , Lesley... good call ! "Good" call... get it? :P
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Tony D is right about Hythe Alpines - wide variety of plants, many less common alpines. If you are interested don't leave it too long as they are closing down the Nursery next spring. "Time to catch up on all those missed holidays" ... a nurserymans work is never done, and a good one does not trust the neighbours with the watering :)
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John Good and David Millward's book is "Alpine Plants: Ecology for Gardeners." There's a review of it up on my website (BotanicalGardening.com) and several in other places as well.
Thanks Carlo, but that's not the one. It (the one I can't remember) was published probably 10 years ago, maybe more. I'll look around and see what I can find. If I come across it, I'll be buying it.
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I should have looked at all the replies before replying :) Thanks for the notes Maggi and David. I'll get onto it right away. But surely the price isn't right? I think it was first out at maybe $45NZ or something like that. Maybe I STILL need to be looking.
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I always thought that the 'Handbook of Rock Gardening' was a worthwhile book, but the SRGC stock just would not sell. We inherited about five or six copies when we took over Publications and could not find one buyer at £5. We finally sold the last ones this year for something like a couple of quid.
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Hi Sue
As another 'newbie' to alpines I'd agree that the best way is to listen to what others do and try and find out why they do something, (the bulb log articles are great for this) if you know why you can adapt it to your conditions or choose to ignore it, but above all have a go, somethings will work, some won't. Oh and every so often buy a plant just because you like it so much that you don't care how hard it is to grow!!
One of my favourite alpine books is Farrers 'The Rock Garden' it's out of date, names have changed, new plants have been introduced and all that stuff, but it is also opinionated and passionate. There's also a good second hand gardening book shop in Cumbria whoose name I'll remember shortly - they have an under £5 section which is good for picking up less perfect copies of books - Summerfield Books in Brough http://www.summerfieldbooks.com/ (http://www.summerfieldbooks.com/).
I'm also with David, the SRGC is much friendlier than the AGS which sometimes seems to forget that we grow these plants for enjoyment and you can enjoy the common things just as much as the rare stuff.
Oh and do try and get to any alpine show you can - always remembering that the plants are the equivalent of the beautifully combed and washed dogs you see at Crufts - not like they are in real life ;D ;D ;D
Sue
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beautifully combed and washed dogs you see at Crufts - not like they are in real life
Now, Sue, Lily heard you say that... you have upset her greatly ;)
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Well that's poetic...here they call it "plant porn."
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Argh!! I will be in England again for a week in the second half of October, but Hythe are only open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which are precisely the days I can't get there :'( :'(
I checked my online catalogue and I have the "Collins Guide to Alpines", and from Lawrence Hills I have "Miniature Alpine Gardening". And several other venerable books on alpine and rock gardening - all in boxes, I desperately need some more bookcases!
Chloe
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Well that's poetic...here they call it "plant porn."
I've heard some books called 'soft porn for gardeners' - same thing I guess ;D
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always remembering that the plants are the equivalent of the beautifully combed and washed dogs you see at Crufts - not like they are in real life ;D ;D ;D
Those plants are like the dogs at Crufts all right. We grow the ones you see at Scrufts. ;D
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I've heard some books called 'soft porn for gardeners' - same thing I guess
Isn't that what Alan Titchmarsh writes in his novels?
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We grow the ones you see at Scrufts
Now, here I'm thinking back to your plant of Gentiana depressa with all those flowers on it, Lesley... nothing too scruffy about that , was there? :D
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You wouldn't say so Maggi if you could see it now. ???
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Chloe, if you're going to be in the Cotswolds (Chipping Campden, Hidcote etc) you won't be far from us. If you need somewhere to stay in this area when you're here, Ivi and I would be happy to put you up for a night or two. You probably have accommodation planned, but the offer's there if you need it.
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Martin, I'll be driving up very early to take my sister to the start of the Cotswold Way (pray for vaguely good weather!), then I'll do as much "sightseeing" as I can and drive back down to London at the end of the day to keep an eye on my elderly father. Thank you very kindly for the offer and if you're ever in north Portugal ... :D
Chloë