Main Menu

Bulb Exchange - Seed Exchange - EU-Exchange

PBS Functions

Do you know...

The Bulb Garden is the newsletter of the Pacific Bulb Society (PBS). It is published about the third week of each quarter and is available to PBS members. This newsletter provides gardening or bulb related articles, news of interest to members, and announcements of the PBS.


Listed below are the contents of many past issues. Clicking on the associated links (under the volume/issue numbers) will let you download most of them. A complete set of downloadable issues is available here .

Anyone interested in writing for the newsletter should contact the editor, to inquire. We need articles ranging from garden design and personal experiences growing bulbs, to discussions of specific genera and families. Articles are accompanied by color photos, either from the authors or from our archive. Lead articles usually have 1200 to 1400 words; we also accept shorter pieces.


Business The Bulb Garden also publishes advertisements; please contact the PBS treasurer about rates.

Volume 18, issue 4 (sent June 2021)
  • CAMASSIA in the North American Pacific Northwest
    Molly Carney, PhD
  • JIM McKENNEY— A Generous Plant-filled Life
    Sally Bourrie and Chris Herbstritt
  • Camas Species for the Garden
    Robin Hansen
  • Mary Sue Ittner Bulb Grant Awards
  • PBS Board Meeting—Minutes, February 28, 2021
Volume 18, issue 3 (sent March 2021)
  • COLCHICACEAE: Cultivated COLCHICUM Species
    with selected photos covering Europe, Mediterranean east to Western and Central Asia, Western Himalaya, including Caucasus
    Dr. Dimitri Zubov
  • PBS Board Meeting—Minutes, November 8, 2020
Volume 18, issue 2 (received 16th December 2020)
  • Geophyte Tours in Chile Part 1: The North
    Jane McGary
  • Iris laevigata , the Water Iris
    Dan Fetty
  • Geophyte Tours in Chile Part 2: The Central Region
    Jane McGary
  • PBS Board Meeting - Minutes, August 23, 2020
Volume 18, issue 1 (received 30th September 2020)
  • The Art of Hand Watering
    Robin Hansen
  • Bessera Elegans
    Erika Schroedersecker
  • Long-time (Plant) Companions
    Johannes Ulrich Urban
  • New Board Members - An Introduction
  • Mary Sue Ittner Bulb Grants
  • NEW - EU Seed and Bulb Exchange
  • PBS Board Meeting - Minutes, May 17, 2020
Volume 17, issue 4 (online distribution 11th May 2020)
  • Getting from Seedlings to Flowering Bulbs in the Garden
    Kathleen Sayce
  • Scadoxus in Zimbabwe
    Jonathan Hutchinson
  • Bulb and Seed Exchange
  • Treasurer's Report for Fiscal Year 2019
  • PBS Board Meeting—Minutes , July 21, 2019
Volume 17, issue 3 (received 14th January 2020)
  • Raising a Bulb Collection from Seed
    Jane McGary
  • Growing Bulbs Successfully from Seed
    Johannes-Ulrich Urban
  • Propagating Rain Lily Seeds in Water
    Rimmer deVries et al
  • Treasurer's Report for 2019
  • Board Nominating Committee Report
Volume 17, issue 2 (received 19th November 2019)
  • Oxalis - Not your ordinary geophytes
    Robin Hansen
  • Importing seed - Small lots of seed permits
    Lee Poulsen
  • Small showy alliums
    Robin Hansen
  • Treasurer's Report Fiscal Year 2019
  • Board Minutes - July 21, 2019
Volume 17, issue 1 (received 20th July 2019)
  • The Mexican Rain Lilies
    Christian Omar Valdes Ibarra
  • Encountering the Chilean Nasturtiums
    Anikka Smith
  • Treasurer's Report first quarter 2019
Volume 16, issue 4 - Fall 2018 (received 12th April 2019)(Membership Directory 2019 enclosed with this issue)
  • Bomaria Edulis
    Carrie Tribble
  • Western Trilliums
    Robin Hansen and Russell Graham
  • Saunders Field Guide to Gladioli - update
  • Board Minutes - October 28, 2018
  • Treasurer's Report for Fiscal Year 2018
Volume 16, issue 3 - Summer 2018 (received 14th December 2018)
  • Cyrtanthus falcatus, Culture and Propagation
    Keith Fey
  • Doing Science with Ornamental Bulbs
    Samantha Rose Hartogs
  • Polination of Cyrtanthus falcatus
    Keith Fey
  • Board Minutes - July 29, 2018
  • Treasurer's Report for First Quarter 2018
Volume 16, issue 2 - Spring 2018 (received 14th September 2018)
  • In Memoriam Rachel and Rod Saunders
  • Treasurer's Report
  • Board Minutes
Volume 16, issue 1 - Winter 2017-18 (received 15th May 2018)
  • April Bulb Displays - Vancouver, Canada and Beyond
    Jo Canning
  • About Snowdrops
    Judy Glattstein
  • Growing Cyclamen in Denver, CO
    Robert Nold
  • Book announcement The Tian Shan and its Flowers
  • New Bookmark Designs
  • Treasurer's Report for Fiscal Year 2017
Volume 15, issue 4 - Fall 2017 (received 30th January 2018)
  • BX/SX Director Dell Sherk Retiring
    Mary Sue Ittner
  • Habranthus sanavirione: Environmental Study of a Rare and Endangered Species
    Mariano Saviello
  • Growing Albuca species: A compendium
    PBS List members
  • Welcome to New BX/SX Director Albert Stella
    Nhu Nguyen
  • Treasurer's Report for 2017
  • Board of Directors Meeting
Volume 15, issue 3 - Summer 2017 (received 8th November 2017)
  • Growing Iris from Seed
    Karl Dan
  • The Magical Fairy Lanterns
    Nhu Nguyen
  • A Bit of Fun with Arum Species
    Angelo Porcelli
  • Book review: The Amaryllidaceae of Southern Africa
    Nicholas W. Plummer
  • Treasurer's Report
  • Board of Directors Meeting
Volume 16 (sic), issue 2 - Spring 2017 (received 25th July 2017)
  • A Whirlwind Tour of Tanzanian Geophytes
    Cody Howard
  • Tropical Blue Waterlilies
    Johannes (Uli) Urban
  • Book review: The World of Crocuses by Janis Ruksans
    Robin Hansen
  • Collecting and Preparing Seed
    Robin Hansen
  • SX/BX Notes
  • Treasurer's Report
Volume 15, issue 1 - Winter 2016 (received 25th April 2017)
  • Geissorhiza
    Evan Eiffler
  • The Four Erythroniums of Vancouver Island
    Paul Spriggs
  • Who Needs Orchids?
    Paul J. Oliver-Smith
  • Treasurer's Report
  • Board of Directors Meeting, January 2017
Volume 14, issue 4 - Fall 2016 (received 10th February 2017)
  • Three Weeks in South Africa
    Michael Mace
  • Treasurer's Report
  • Board Meeting
Volume 14, issue 3 - Summer 2016 (received 11th November 2016)
  • Bulbs in a Bioswale
    Jane McGary
  • Bulb Lawns and Meadows
    Robin Hansen
  • Fuss-Free Lachenalia
    Tom Glavich
  • Treasurer's Report, 2nd Quarter 2016
  • Board Meeting, July 2016
Volume 14, issue 2 - Spring 2016 (received 26th July 2016) (Membership Directory 2016 enclosed with this issue)
  • Exciting South American Bulbs for Summer and Winter Growing
    Nhu Nguyen
  • Treasurer's Report, 1st Quarter 2016
  • Board Meeting, April 2016
Volume 14, issue 1 - Winter 2016 (received 9th March 2016)
  • Scadoxus nutans and Other Epiphytic Plants of Southwestern Ethiopia
    Jonathan Hutchinson
  • Calochortus of Western North America (Part II)
    Kipp McMichael
  • Book Review: Steppes: The Plants and Ecology of the World's Semi-Arid Regions
    Reviewed by Kathleen Sayce
Volume 13, issue 3-4 - Summer-Fall 2015 (received 1st December 2015)
  • Spring Bulbs in Northern Greece
    Tony Willis
  • Calochortus of Western North America
    Kipp McMichael
  • Bulbs after Snowmelt from Baku to Diyarbakir
    Jane McGary
  • Book Announcement: Flora of Oregon
  • Book Review: The Genus Erythronium, Chris Clennett
    Reviewed by Jane McGary
Volume 13, issue 2 - Spring 2015 (received 20th June 2015)
  • Overview of the Species of the Genus Oncostema in Italy
    Angelo Porcelli
  • Narcissus Polination Ecology
    Travis Owen
  • The Unmanicured Lawn
    Robin Hansen
  • Book Review: The Genus Tulipa: Tulips of the World
    Reviewed by Jane McGary
  • Treasurer's Report, Year end 2014
  • Board Meeting, December 2014
Volume 13, issue 1 - Summer/Fall 2014 (received 21st January 2015)
  • Bulbs of the UC Botanical Garden's California Collection
    Ben Anderson
  • Ledebouria scabrida: A Namibian Endemic
    Cody Coyotee Howard
  • Some Amaryllids from the UC Botanical Garden Collections: Boophone, Brunsvigia and Haemanthus
    Meghan Ray
  • Treasurer's Report, 1st and 2nd Quarters 2014
  • Board Meeting, September 2014
Volume 12, issue 3 - Summer/Fall 2013 (received 5th March 2014)
  • Amateur Bulb Adventures
    Tony Peterson
  • The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants
    Tony Peterson
  • The Garden Pot
    Robin Hansen
  • Book Review: Field Guide to Fynbos
    Reviewed by Emilie Pulver
  • Treasurer's Report, Year End 2013
  • Board Meeting, July & November 2013
Volume 12, issue 2 - Spring 2013 (received 5th October 2013) (Membership Directory 2013 enclosed with this issue)
  • Mapping the World's Summer-Dry Climates II
    Mike Mace
Volume 12, issue 1 - Winter 2013 (received 8th May 2013)
  • California Adventures: Yosemite
    Nhu Nguyen
  • Mapping the World's Summer-Dry Climates
    Mike Mace
  • Book Review: Fall and Winter In the Solar Greenhouse
    Reviewed by Jane McGary
  • Naturalizing Bulbs in Turf
    Jane McGary
  • Treasurer's Report, Year End 2012
  • Board Meeting, January 27 2013
Volume 11, issue 4 - Fall 2012 (received 5th January 2013)
  • Coral Gems: Bessera Elegans and Anomatheca Laxa
    Erle Nickel
  • Irises in Apulia
    Angelo Porcelli
  • Summer Bulb Storage: An E-List Discussion
  • Book Review: Glistening Carnivores: The Sticky-Leaved Insect-Eating Plants
    Reviewed by Emilie Pulver
  • Treasurer's Report, Third Quarter 2012
  • Board Meeting, July 29 2012
Volume 11, issue 3 - Summer 2012 (received 12th August 2012)
  • A Bulb Tour in Northern Chile
    Jane McGary
  • Winter Growing Bulbs from Seed in the Sonoran Desert
    Leo Martin
  • Tenth Anniversary Get-Together
    Nhu Nguyen
  • Book Review: Plant Form: An Illustrated Guide to Flowering Plant Morphology
    Emille Pulver
  • Treasurer's Report, Second Quarter 2012
Volume 11, issue 2 - Spring 2012 (received 9th July 2012)
  • My Journey With Scadoxus
    Pieter van der Walt
  • South African Bulbs Under Glass
    Matt Mattus
  • Old Friends Emerging, Giving Refuge
    Mary Rose
  • Book Review: Bulb Forcing for the Beginner and the Seriously Smitten
    Jane McGary
  • Board of Directors Meeting, April 2012
Volume 11, issue 1 - Winter 2012 (received 17th March 2012)
  • Fun with Moraeas
    Mike Mace
  • IBSA Symposium 2011
    Rachel Saunders
  • From My Point of View
    Marguerite English
  • Book Review of The Kew Plant Glossary
    Pamela Slate
  • California Adventures:Geophytic Discoveries of Mount Diablo
    Nhu Nguyen
  • Planned PBS Gathering in Northern California
    Nhu Nguyen
  • Board of Directors Meeting, January 2012
  • Treasurer's Report, Year End 2011
Volume 10, issue 4 - Fall 2011
  • Galanthomania (snowdrop madness)
    Freda Cox
  • Starting a Bulb Collection Part 2
    Alberto Castillo
  • Zephryanthes in the Land of the Long White Cloud (New Zealand)
    Ina Crossley
  • September get-together of PBS members from Northern California
    Nhu Nguyen
  • From My Point of View
    Marguerite English
Volume 10, issue 3 - Summer 2011
  • Pacific Point of View
    Jim Waddick
  • Starting a Bulb Collection
    Alberto Castillo
  • Califorinia Adventures: Ring Mountain's Geophytic Treasures
    Nhu Nguyen
  • From My Point of View
    Marguerite English
  • Board of Directors Meeting, May 2011
  • Treasurer's Report
Volume 10, issue 2 - Spring 2011
  • Denver Botanic Garden:Diversity in the Rocky Mountain Region
    Sarada Krishnan
  • Passing the Torch
    Robert Werra
  • From My Point of View
    Marguerite English
  • Book Review of Graham Duncan's Grow Bulbs
    Jane McGary
  • Board of Directors Meeting, January 2011
  • Treasurer's Report, Year End 2010