Texas a&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service Series – serie

Dubbed the Bulb Hunter in a 2006 New York Times feature story, Chris Wiesinger took his passion for bulbs to vacant lots, abandoned houses, cemeteries, and construction sites throughout the South in search of botanical survivors whose descendants had never seen the inside of a big-box chain store. The vintage specimens Wiesinger sought came from hardy, historic stock, adapted to human neglect and hot climates, reappearing faithfully over decades without care or cultivation. Traveling back roads, speaking to strangers, looking for the telltale colour of a remnant iris or lily, Wiesinger started digging, then began trying to grow and share the bulbs he collected. From its humble beginnings on an East Texas sweet potato farm, his Southern Bulb Company has now grown into a full-fledged business known throughout the world, propagating and selling the rare, tough, heritage plants Wiesinger still seeks out and champions. Nicknamed “Flower” by his fellow cadets at Texas A&M University, Wiesinger relates his adventures in bulb hunting, telling stories of the bulbs he has discovered and weaving in his own life story as a student, plantsman, and small business owner. He then teams with veteran horticulturist William C. Welch to provide advice on how to grow and appreciate the bulbs that have been rescued and reintroduced. This “primer” gives gardeners information on what bulbs to grow where, when to plant them and when they bloom, and how to incorporate them with other plants in the landscape. Finally, Welch describes how bulbs have enhanced his personal gardens and brought him and Wiesinger together in the common cause of heirloom gardening. Entertaining, informative, and loaded with beautiful photographs, The Bulb Hunter is sure to be a favourite of gardeners and plant lovers everywhere.

In a world facing chronic and increasing shortages in food crops and natural resources, visionary leadership in agriculture becomes more and more critical for building and maintaining a sustainable future. The authors of this book, veteran agricultural educators and administrators, assert the primacy of character in leadership. It is of paramount importance that the dynamic and challenging evolution in agriculture over the last century and a half be met today with imaginative leadership in virtually all aspects of activities and organisations involved.Leadership in Agriculture: Case Studies for a New Generation opens with narrative chapters focusing on key characteristics and elements of leadership. Next, using case studies from research, industry, education, administration, and extension services, the authors present real-world circumstances ranging from natural disasters to major restructuring that demanded problem solving, new initiatives, consensus, and organisational commitment. Drawing on their own experiences and covering topics as diverse as closing facilities, mounting a national research initiative, reinventing a major corporation, and dealing with invasive termites, the studies contain examples of both good and bad outcomes and refer back to the leadership principles and qualities outlined in the opening chapters.

The astounding success of agricultural research has enabledfarmers to produce increasingly more—and more kinds—offood throughout the world. But with a projected 9 billion peopleto feed by 2050, veteran researcher Gale Buchanan fears thathuman confidence in this ample supply, especially in the US, hascreated unrealistic expectations for the future. Without a workingknowledge of what types and amounts of research producedthe bounty we enjoy today, we will not be prepared to supportthe research necessary to face the challenges ahead, includingpopulation growth, climate change, and water and energy scarcity.In this book, Buchanan describes the historical commitment toresearch and the phenomenal changes it brought to our ability tofeed ourselves. He also prescribes a path for the future, pointingthe way toward an adequately funded, more creative agriculturalresearch system that involves scientists, administrators, educators,farmers, politicians, and consumers; resides in one “standalone” agency; enjoys a consistent funding stream; and operatesinternationally.

In The Rose Rustlers, Greg Grant and William C. Welch offer a personal, in-depth, and entertaining account of some of the great stories gathered during their years as participants in one of the most important plant-hunting efforts of the twentieth century—the quest to save antique roses that disappeared from the market in a notoriously trend-driven business.By the 1950s, almost exclusively, modern roses (those with one compact bloom at the top of a large stem) were grown for the cut-flower market. The large rounded shrubs and billowy fence climbers known to our grandparents and great-grandparents in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had been reduced to this rather monotonous single style of plant.Yet those roses of old still grew, tough and persistent, in farmyards, cemeteries, vacant lots, and abandoned fields. The rediscovery of these antiques and the subsequent movement to conserve them became the mission of “rose rustlers,” dedicated rosarians who studied, sought, cut, and cultivated these hardy survivors.Here, the authors chronicle their own origins, adventures, and discoveries as part of a group dubbed the Texas Rose Rustlers. They present tales of the many efforts that have helped restore lost roses not only to residential gardens, but also to commercial and church landscapes in Texas. Their experiences and friendships with other figures in the heirloom rose world bring an insider’s perspective to the lore of “rustling,” the art of propagation, and the continued fascination with the world’s favorite flower.