Product Description

Take a few chapters from a John le Carré 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. For decades, Rukans has been scouring remote and dangerous regions of Europe and Asia to bring back 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. Packed with accounts of his extensive travels, Buried Treasures also offers an abundance of trustworthy information about the care and cultivation of every major and minor genus of bulb-forming plant.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #267426 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 524 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.”

From the Inside Flap
Take a few chapters from a John le Carré 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.

Customer Reviews

Great Bulb Book!
As quoted by Chris Brickwell in the forward, "There is much in this book to inform, entertain, and tantalize gardeners whether or not they have a specific interest in bulbs".

Buried Treasures is a unique and very different bulb book; and the best bulb book seen in many years. What makes this book different from all others encountered is the exhaustive amount of research Janis has contributed to the actual location in which these bulbs are found growing in the wild; and then transferring this knowledge into practical garden settings. This includes detailed descriptions of elevation, climate, drainage, and soil structure. This is what is so lacking in many other bulb books that simply march through the species with either superficial descriptions or highly technical DNA counts and other technical information that does not help the average grower.

The book is basically divided into two sections--Bulbs in the Garden and Bulbs in the Wild. In the first section is some of the best information about growing bulbs from seed that is currently available. Janis also includes a lot of other propagation instructions, which have been adopted by growers in Holland, and is also very easy for the average grower to understand. A lot of practical and easy to understand advice about planting bulbs, harvesting bulbs, viral diseases, fertilizing, watering, pollination, and seed harvesting is also included.

In the second part of the book Janis describes his many adventures as a bulb explorer--and these are his treasures! Janis explored and researched in a time that will never be replicated and the stories he tells are simply remarkable. They show his enthusiasm, which as all bulb lovers know is a borderline obsession, on finding and introducing new species. What is particularly intriguing about this second section is his travels and excursions and the subsequent discoveries are all keyed to the spectacular photos of the species found and described with fantastic detail. This is what is so lacking in bulb books today.

Janis Ruksans is a world treasure himself for the collecting, exploring, growing, propagating, hybridizing, researching, and introductions he has contributed to the world of bulbs. Let's all hope Janis Ruksans has more buried treasures of books inside him!

Exciting read
Wonderful book on bulbs in Europe; told in an amazing way. A very enjoyable read and a book to keep referring back to for its excellent information contained within, on your buried treasures.
Great photos showing the bulbs discussed in this book.Easily recommended.

Plant exploration thriller
"Buried Treasures" is an instant classic which combines adventure, personal reflections, and solid information about plants into one hugely enjoyable read. Janis Ruskaranans (evidently the closest we can get to his actual name without using all the slavic diacriticals) has a vivid personality which erupts through his writing. His accounts of his plant-hunting expeditions rush forward with all the excitement of an Indiana Jones film--but without the heavy special effects. The thrills come from his genuine enthusiasm for the quest for new or rare bulbs. His descriptions of the plants and their habitats are so compelling, they put you there. Janis follows up with the fate of the plants he collects, and how they thrived (or failed to) in his garden. The book also describes his methods for growing Central Asian bulbs in northern Europe, where the climate is very different. No "book-learning" here; all was learned by actual experience. Buy this book for its great stories, wonderful descriptions, and solid advice on growing some great plants.