Fantastic Flowering Bulbs for Every Season: First Book Giveaway!
Hello readers! I’m excited to share a new gardening book with you, A Year in Bloom by Lucy Bellamy. I’m giving away a copy of this beautiful book about flowering bulbs to one lucky reader. All you need to do to be entered to win is leave a comment at the end of this post. I’ll draw a winner at random and announce who it is here on the blog next Saturday, November 2nd. All photography is by Jason Ingram.
October is typically the time we plant bulbs here in Zone 5, so this book about bulbs is perfectly timed for the season. Thumb through its 216 pages for inspiration and ideas to keep your garden blooming all year long. The book is divided into seasons making it easy to plan next year’s flower beds.
Following are some of the images of the flowering bulbs found in A Year in Bloom so you can get an idea of the beauty of 150 bulbs included throughout. The author is the former editor of Gardens Illustrated. Each of the flowers seen in the book is accompanied by informative copy about the bulb. You’ll find planting tips and more.
Spring
Iris lovers will love beautiful Iris ‘Harmony’ with its shades of blue and intricate yellow accent on the outer petals. This is a dwarf iris that grows about two to three inches tall.
Tulipa sprengeri, or Sprenger tulip, is a wild tulip from the coast of Turkey that adds a vivid shot of deep bronze-orange in the garden. It can re-seed and populate your garden quite beautifully. It’s no wonder it was crowned with the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society. It’s one of the last tulips to bloom in spring.
Leucojum aestivum ‘Gravetye Giant’ bears dainty bell-shaped, scalloped flowers and makes its appearance in late spring. It’s a robust bloomer making it a good choice for all levels of gardeners.
Another late spring bloomer with unique flowers is Tropaeolum tricolor. This three-colored nasturtium is a good climber and adds fun color to the yard.
Here’s an inside view of the book where you can see that there’s plenty of helpful information to go along with the amazing photography of flowering bulbs by Jason Ingram.
Summer
Gladiolus papilio, Butterfly Gladiolus, makes its appearance in flower beds during the summer months. The graceful, arching stems bear around 10 flowers. It can multiply and form dense clumps in the garden.
Lilium martagon ‘Album’ is useful for illuminating dappled shade. This photo was taken in a Swedish garden.
Lily lovers like me will enjoy adding Lilium regale, Trumpet lily, to their flower beds. You’ll enjoy its grace and charm.
The white spired-flowers you see in this summer garden are Ornithogalum magnum, also known as ‘Moskou.’ You’ll find this flower bed at the Hepworth Wakefield Garden in Yorkshire.
Autumn/Winter
Nerine bowdenii, better known as the Guernsey Lily, grow 18 inches tall and are quite attractive with its curled-back petals. This flowering bulb is easy to grow and makes a great choice for beginner gardeners that blooms in fall.
Hippeastrum (Colibri Group) ‘Rapido is an excellent choice for amaryllis lovers. Grow this bulb in a pot indoors to enjoy its beauty in the house during the Christmas season.
You’ll learn a wealth of information in Lucy Bellamy’s book about flowering bulbs.
If you’d like to enter for a chance to win a free copy of A Year in Bloom, simply leave a comment below. I’ll announce the winner on November 2nd.
Jennifer, are you still at aquascape? Our running days were so much fun. Wiuld live to get together with you.
Love the book! Looks like something to dream over all winter!
We’re developing the landscaping around our new home in zone 7B. This book would be a HUGE help to us!
Ruth in VA
Thanks for sharing this beautiful and informative new book!
I want to start planting all kinds of bulbs. This book would be very appreciated. Thank you. P.S. Pick me! 🌷
Paulette – I’m happy to announce that you’re the winner! I sent you an email with details. Congratulations!
I love this book. I’ve been gardening for over 50 years and love all the pictures and advice. I’ll be looking for it at my local bookstore and also to share with my four daughters who are also avid gardeners.
Beautiful flowers…..would love to see the rest of the book for ideas to add to my gardens
Hi Jennifer. Thank you so much for sharing ” A Year in Bloom” .
I Love the Guernsey Lily that’s my favorite! I just joined our local “Lewes in Bloom” garden club and I have a lot of reading to do.
Thanks again for sharing. Cathy
Lovely pictures! Thank you for sharing!
I saved your post from the burial plots in the trees….my husband and I are at that place to be thinking of that…
I love the idea of a bulb book! My garden beds are mostly clay and I’ve not planted any bulbs in the soil due to the possibility of them rotting…..I have just placed a pot into the ground as to provide best drainage and giving them a go this year…plus 2 pots I’m leaving on the porch over the winter then placing in the sun after winter has passed….fingers crossed!
I’m still trying to get a fountain…hubby dragging his feet…your guidance on that was saved as well.
Thank you for the beautiful bulbs shown….I’m already antsy for spring:0)
Book looks wonderful, what a great reference
I’ve moved to lower Georgia from Florida this year and am building a new home. My planting zone is now different as is the soil. I now have clay. very different from Floridas sandy soil. I will be landscaping my yard and also want to naturalize my 8 piney woods acreage and am looking for recommendations for both. The yard will have about 7 hours of direct sun, except for the edges which adjoins the pines. The pines provide dappled sunshine. I have daffodils and tulip bulbs waiting to be planted in the woods and some in the yard. Thanks. Patricia Chance-Cox
I planted a few bulbs yesterday. So many roots were in the soil, that they maybe strangled if they try to come up!
Thank you for sharing this book with us. It looks like a wonderful gardening book for reference and has gorgeous photos.
Jennifer,
I ordered my bulbs early this year and they have all been arriving this week. Now I just need the perfect day for planting. The planters where I put my Tulips are still filled with healthy summer plantings and the ground is too hard for planting my daffodils. So they will be stored in an old fridge in the barn till conditions are right. I am planting my Christmas Amaryllis next week so that will satisfy my itch to plant bulbs.
The book giveaway looks like a great book for bulb lovers. Thankyou for such a generous offer.
What a beautiful book! I don’t really think of bulbs in other seasons so I’m very curious how I can add more bulbs to my garden. Thank you Jennifer for this opportunity.