Dear Michelle, the french work by fashion and not passion so everything goes to the side and is swept away in the tide of the latest fad. They are not big on heritage! No garden restorations have ever been done here with french money.Versailles and Giverny were all done through heavy american funding.Even then the expertise is just not there as no one is interested! The plant collections network is a private joke! I don't mean that those that hold them lack commitment! But we get zero support!! I am trying to interest people here in rarer galanthus but is is such hard work! And I just can't see them keeping cultivars going for over a hundred years as in Britain. All the old french roses were refound abroad! Hydrangea cultivars are the same story. I have a great friend who works for the town of Nacy which was the horticultural hub about a hundred years ago. He is trying to find some of the old Primula sinensis cultivars of Lemoine. I think that he is dreaming! Old Gladiolus cultivars are surely the same story. I have old gardening magazines from the heyday of horticulture here and they are fantastic! kind regards, Mark > Message du 25/01/12 11:42 > De : "michelle pierce" > A : "Pacific Bulb Society" > Copie à : > Objet : Re: [pbs] What's blooming Jan 21, 2012 > > Hello > I naively made a new year's resolution to educate myself about french > gardening history. What a can of worms, since it seems very difficult to > find anything out easily.!!!! Disheartening to feel that so much has been > let go of, and lost - at least to the mildly interested amateur. > Does anyone know about past bulb growers or nurseries in france? I'd be > especially interested in the history of gladioli, but anything concerning > french garden history would be interesting. > Thanks > Michelle Pierce > > 2012/1/23 Randall P. Linke > > > On Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 7:46 AM, Gastil wrote: > > > > > > > > Not all my bulbs are special. In fact, most of my bulb garden is legacy > > > bulbs. > > > > > > I for one, and I am sure there are many here, love the old favorites. > > They are special, to us. Thank you for sharing your pictures. > > > > Randy > > > > -- > > * * > > A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial > > appearance of being right. - Thomas Paine --- > > * > > * > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/