{"id":6361,"date":"2022-08-30T15:10:47","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T22:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/?post_type=book&p=6361"},"modified":"2024-02-14T11:45:52","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T19:45:52","slug":"the-adventurous-gardeners-sourcebook-of-rare-and-unusual-plants","status":"publish","type":"book","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/book\/the-adventurous-gardeners-sourcebook-of-rare-and-unusual-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"The Adventurous Gardener\u2019s Sourcebook of Rare and Unusual Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Elvin McDonald was a precocious horticulturist.\u00a0 In order to learn more about growing gloxinias, he started what is now the Gesneriad Society and its journal \u201cGesneriads\u201d<\/em> when he was only 14, while still working on his family\u2019s farm in Oklahoma.\u00a0 After studying opera performance at Mannes School of Music in New York City, he embarked on a long career in horticulture as a writer and a photographer.\u00a0 He has authored or contributed to upwards of 100 books.<\/p>\n

In a 1978 column of Plant Talk published in the Chicago Tribune, McDonald tells of an adventure with his friend William Mulligan, visiting orchid greenhouses.\u00a0 Mulligan was also an accomplished author of horticulture books, best known for his writing on lattices and trellises, and on prominent North American gardens.\u00a0 In Mulligan\u2019s 1995 obituary in the New York Times, after dying from complications of AIDS at age 52, he is described as being survived \u201cby his companion and frequent writing collaborator, Elvin McDonald.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most notable of these collaborations is \u201cThe Adventurous Gardener’s Sourcebook of Rare and Unusual Plants,\u201d written by Mulligan with photographs by McDonald and published in 1992.\u00a0 One of the treasures of my personal library is a copy of this book inscribed by both men.<\/p>\n

As the title promises, this book is a source for both viewing and purchasing remarkable plants.\u00a0 Unfortunately, 30 years later, these resources are often out of date, but this is still a book I recommend.<\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0 For the many great ideas of new plants to try!\u00a0 While some have become commonplace in subsequent years, many have not and are worth seeking out.\u00a0 Mulligan addresses any concerns you might have about this habit.\u00a0 \u201cBy only pursuing esoteric species is the adventurous gardener a snob?\u00a0 Not at all.\u00a0 Just curious, opinionated, and appreciative of details.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDonald was profiled in the March\/April 2022 issue of \u201cThe American Gardener\u201d by Kelly D. Norris.\u00a0 Now 85, he has continued an active career in horticulture, including work that was instrumental in the development of the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden in Iowa, where he lives with his husband, John Zickefoose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Fall 2022 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elvin McDonald was a precocious horticulturist.\u00a0 In order to learn more about growing gloxinias, he started what is now the Gesneriad Society and its journal \u201cGesneriads\u201d when he was only 14, while still working on his family\u2019s farm in Oklahoma.\u00a0 After studying opera performance at Mannes School of Music in New York City, he embarked on a long career in horticulture as a writer and a photographer.\u00a0 He has authored or contributed to upwards of 100 books. In a 1978…<\/p>\n

Continue reading The Adventurous Gardener\u2019s Sourcebook of Rare and Unusual Plants<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[1130,22],"class_list":["post-6361","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","keyword-rare-plants","keyword-reviews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book\/6361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/book"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=6361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}