The not so miserable Bulbmeister

Cyclamen coum

I have grown Cyclamen coum for many years and have a thrifty little colony. I knew my dear friend Bob Nold had done pretty well by them, and I made the mistake on Friday of dropping by and finding out just how well he did. This specimen, by the way, was a random self-sown seedling. If you look carefully you may see my drool marks all over it...

MORE Cyclamen coum

You may want to scroll quickly through the next half dozen or more images; I should have taken a movie--they are my attempt at capturing the enormous extent of this colony: there are hundreds and possibly THOUSANDS of these little rascals.

Even MORE Cyclamen coum

He obtained his original starts from Nina Lambert--a great rock gardener who lived in Ithaca, New York. I visited Nina and Jack (he was a professor of Landscape Design at Cornell University) where Nina had grown these with similar abundance. There are multitudinous gardens in Great Britain, Western Europe and on our West Coast (especially in Victoria, British Columbia) where this late winter cyclamen proliferates. I think Nina's forms are better than most--you can see how many are beautifully marbled. [By the way, notice the white flowered variant on the right side of this photo).

and even MORE Cyclamen coum

Cyclamen coum GALORE!

I doubt you will find a display that come close to Bob's anywhere within a thousand mile radius--and likely more.

Yes, Cyclamen coum

Mani master of the house

If you haven't met Mani, you are missing out. Not only is Mani a purebred Australian shepherd who is currently the principal publicist for Bob and this garden: if you haven't sampled Mani's prose, you must do so: here's the latest one: The Miserable Gardener

Fritillaria pyreneica

I am chagrined as I look back over my Blog Post log: I apparently have never blogged about Bob Nold, or his garden. I have a horrible backlog of things to share--which I can't begin to do. By the way, I have this Fritillaria blooming too--mine isn't as fetching!

Fritillaria pyreneica closer up

Bob retired some time ago from the Telephone company (under several names--but basically variations on old Ma Bell): He worked in the field and has a vast store of stories I wish he'd write up (or dictate to Mani--who seems to be the principal scribe of the house lately). He has uncanny and vast knowledge about a surprising range of subjects--telecommunications is just one. Obviously gardening. But he has an extraordinary ear for an eclectic range of music from popular to classical music (of which he is an amazing connoisseur). He's well read in literature, languages and philosophy--and more. He has been an inspiration and boon companion of mine, and I think it's about time I let you know about him (if you didn't already that is)...By the way, I'm a "frit freak' and I grow quite a few species. Bob grows more. Both quantitatively and qualitatively! 

Colchicum soboliferum

I grow this too: we got it from the same talented grower in Kansas: John Baumfalk.

Iris nicolai

I have obtained and grew this and its close cousin Iris reichenbachii several times. I have even seen it in seed in the wild (Uzbekistan). Mine are long gone. Bob's is clumping up. Perhaps you can hear my somewhat suppressed groans in the background?

Iris aucheri

Another Juno he had blooming during my visit. There were many choice plants--some delectable Corydalis for instance--my camera did not do justice to. And I forgot to photograph his big, happy clump of Adonis amurensis that was in full bloom (mine are all done)...Bob has wave upon wave of flowers blooming through the season--which is especially impressive when you realize that he essentially doesn't water his garden at all (or very much at any rate). It's incredibly inspiring for me to visit Bob: his garden is chockablock full of rare plants grown incredibly well--many of which are gaining wider currency thanks to his generosity...such as Asphodeline damascena
 

Asphodeline damascena

I believe Jim Archibald collected this in Turkey years ago--there may have even been some other collections by various Czechs as well.  I remember obtaininig this and losing it. It is monocarpic, and if you don't either collect seed or have it naturalize, it disappears. This photo was taken in my home garden.

This one too: I believe I lost it several times before I finally got it to self sow--having watched how Bob grew it. I think mine came from Perennial Favorites in Rye, and I can almost guarantee they got theirs from Bob. He's been sharing this for decades--and if one could examine the DNA of the plants of this in cultivation, I have a hunch they'd probably all trace to Bob. Incidentally, Chatfield Farms (of Denver Botanic Gardens) has a spectacular display of these--last year there had to be dozens blooming. I was just informed they'd be "thinning them out" which chilled my heart. I am sure this is the only public display of this species at a botanic garden anywhere. The spectacle of their mass bloom is off the charts. Modesty be damned...(Incidentally I finally have a couple dozen on my crevice garden: I will be sure the spectacle lives on!). Bob has a spectacle of these every year, btw.

Bob Nold and Galanthus bounty

Here is the man, with one of several flats full of treasures he was sharing with me (something he has done systematically with me, Denver Botanic Gardens and some other lucky souls for decades, incidentally. Last month he brought a groaning flat of his special "weedy" strain of giant snowdrops--a hundred or more--to the meeting of our Rocky Mountain Chapter which were given away--willy nilly. Alas, the recipients didn't know how special it was (the organizers forgot to give Bob 30 seconds to tell the crowd). I hope he writes up a short note for Saximontana so those who got them know how special they were. Bob showed me a 4" pot brimming with a snowdrop that only sells for three figures a bulb: he reckoned the pot contained multi-thousands of dollars of bulbs. Pretty cool, eh?

Bob has written three books. They are all classics, and (miraculously) they are still available for sale. While not in print, you can obtain these from Abebooks. There is even one paperback copy available for only $16.64 (plus free postage!). There are a few other copies [some hardbacks!] available for roughly twice that price, then the price skyrockets. I'd pick it up soon if I were you (I have one already:  I did write the foreword after all).

Miraculously, his two other gardening monographs are available at absurdly low prices (they are not likely to be superseded any time soon: they are pretty much the last word on both genera). Click here to check out Penstemons.

Check out the prices on this Columbine book; absurd!

Mani again

I admit Mani is quite charming. I harbor a LITTLE annoyance with him for consistently garnering dozens of  comments on ever Blog Post, where I'm lucky to get one sometimes. He got 18 on that last post. But I forgive him only because I know that because of him (and a bounty of plants--and some other special people), Bob Nold isn't nearly as miserable as he makes himself out to be!