ABOUT US
Hill View is a small specialist mail order nursery offering a wide range of rare and unusual bulbs for those gardening in cool to Mediterranean type climates. We have extensive listings of crocus, cyclamen, calochortus, fritillaries, snowdrops, iris and much more - many not available anywhere else. These bulbs are from a high quality collection derived mostly from worldwide seed exchanges, and, our own seed gathering expeditions, and so a high degree of confidence is placed on their identification and provenance. Our catalogue is issued in December and runs till the end of April and we have accreditation for all Australian states and for export overseas.
SUMMER CATALOGUE 2009/10
Welcome to our 2009/2010 summer catalogue. We have never had so many problems in fitting
the range of plants we have "on our books" into the available space! We always try and keep our
lists "democratic" and balanced although at times our prejudices show and one or two groups
rise to the top. This year we are offering an unprecedented range of tulips in a multiplicity of
sizes, colours and flower shapes. Counterpoised to these flashy dandies we have an assortment
of choice muscari whose quiet charm, softer colours and persistent flowering make them no less
effective in the winter and spring garden. While it has its devotees, many gardeners are unaware of
the qualities of the large and diverse tribe known as allium. We have fallen in love with these and
list a handsome set of contenders, from the spectacular, brilliantly surreal, Allium schubertii down to
the metallic-starred, blue-green beauty of the much stouter, but equally surprising, A. karataviense.
It's a feast of fancy and we reckon, dear customer, you have never had it so good!
All bulbs are subject to crop and are mainly in small numbers - very few means less than 20. We
have many bulbs too few in numbers to list so it's always worth an inquiry - there may be one or
two available.
NOTES AND RAMBLINGS 2009
One of the pure pleasures of growing bulbs is to observe their transmutation from an ugly duckling
non-entity to a glorious swan of a flower. In this way each species and variety marks the progression
of time and transformation through a garden year. Bulbs by definition have a dormant period and,
apart from the cheap shot about them being a lazy gardener's plant because there is not much to
do most of the year, I think its their ability to resurrect that has us transfixed.
Their yearly cycle of death and rebirth bespeaks of much deeper things than just the delight of
flowers. Each one of us will have our own ways of understanding and responding to this but I feel
sure that at its heart those powerful forces of hope, belief and wonder are at work.
Very few garden writers have managed to capture these elusive qualities on paper, save say, Beth
Chatto in her many books and Hugh Johnson in his "Principles of Gardening" and specialists
are usually too obsessed with their subject to allow themselves philosophy or art. I don't include
here writing that directly addresses these qualities, these are either scholarly, and thus often
impenetrable, or at the other end of the scale, too mawkish and self conscious, enough to make
one squirm. Currently I think one writer who is best able to imbue their work with a sense of wonder
is Anna Pavord. Her latest book, simply called, Bulb, is, as we have come to expect, full of carefully
drawn descriptive, anecdotal and historical detail, but it is her ability to express delight and whimsy
that will beguile her readers. The photographs are magnificent and imaginative and the book's
design and production second to none.
Bulb / Anna Pavord (Michell Beazley, 2009)
Available through Florilegium Bookstore in the Glebe, Sydney, http://www.florilegium.com.au
Also from Florilegium's shelves is the most comprehensive photo identification guide available for
Turkish and Iranian bulbous flora, including many from the Greek islands of the Mediterranean.
Turkey is one of the richest sources of bulbs in the world and this is a must for those interested in
such things.
Bulbous plants of Turkey and Iran / Peter Sheasby (AGS, 2007)
And for those who really feel like lashing out, the following is an incomparably beautiful major
reference work on the flora of Crete. Check out the white-flowered Dracunculus vulgaris -
awesome!
Flowers of Crete / John Fielding & Nicholas Turland (Kew, 2005)
I hope there might be a Xmas gift idea in there for that gardener whose got everything or who
nowadays does most of their "gardening" from the comfort of favourite chair.
Take a look at these websites and be surprised:
Scottish Rock Garden Club
www.srgc.org.uk
Alpine Garden Society
www.alpinegardensociety.net
North American Rock Garden Society
www.nargs.org
Victoria has its very own local chapter of the Alpine Garden Society hosting meetings, presentations, rare plant and seed exchanges and much more. Membership of the parent body is required but inquiries from anyone interested in rock gardening are always welcome. Contact can be made through Fermi de Sousa on (03) 54253114 or emailing him at Fermi.DeSousa@cobaw.vic.gov.au
A couple of recently published books that have taken my eye this year.
Janis Ruksans’ Buried Treasures – Finding and Growing the World’s Choicest Bulbs : Timber Press, 2007 has to be the best of its kind, combining high adventure, travel log and bulb growing all between the same covers!
Richard Wilford’s Tulips – species and hybrids for the gardener : Timber Press, 2006 is informative and well organised, has great photos and is the best book around on this genus.
Mr M Harvey
400 Huon Road
South Hobart, Tas. 7004
Ph: (03) 6224 0770 or
(03) 6223 1608
email: hillview400@hotmail.com
