The Bulb Hunter

6. Our Most Valuable Bulbs: Roman Hyacinths, Byzantine Gladiolus, and Hardy Amaryllis

CHA PT ER 6 Our Most Valuable Bulbs: Roman Hyacinths, Byzantine Gladiolus, and Hardy Amaryllis A fter the New York Times article, dozens of publishing companies contacted me. I even signed on with one agent to write a major national book about my adventures . Nothing happened because I did not write anything ! I focused on growing the business, speaking to garden clubs as the Bulb Hunter, collecting bulbs, and turning the farm into a successful growing operation. As this opportunity to grow the business leveled off and all of my employees had left, it became quite apparent that I had neglected to write anything. Perhaps deep down I wasn’t ready for a book; there was so much more that still needed to happen with my story. Furthermore, with the pressures of running the business resting solely on me, there was simply no time to write. Bill and John felt that writing a book was something that had to happen. Bill Welch came into the area for a speaking engagement and brought to John’s home some rain lilies and crinums. We all met the next morning, when they announced that various bulb collectors across the South who had generously shared their bulb collections and stories with me accused me of “nonwriting performance .” Some of these “friends” approached Bill and asked him to convey their disappointment to me. In the beginning of 2005, I had begun blogging and people were hooked into following my our most valuable bulbs 99 life. When I stopped blogging, those people had become upset with me. Clearly, Bill, John, and their supporters wanted me to start writing that very moment. John and Bill decided only they were allowed to determine when I had produced sufficient written material to be released from writing. Thinking to myself that this was silly and that I had other things needing to be done, I indicated that I didn’t write well under such forced conditions, but they responded, “Take as long as you wish.” Escape was hopeless , and after I had completed a couple of hours of serious writing, they reviewed the stories on bulb hunting and agreed to release me “on probation ” until further notice. Their serious condemnation awakened in me the sense that the business would always be here, needing my attention. It would not magically turn into a self-running machine operating without me, and if not careful, I would neglect the more important areas of my life. Nothing about starting or growing a business is quick— no silver bullet that will allow you to say, “Aha, I’ve made it! I can rest now.” No, this bulb Gladiolus byzantinus, the Byzantine gladiolus, by British artist Ann Swan. 100 chris wiesinger business, I realized, was going to be a long, steady row to hoe, and one that might continue throughout my whole life. Even though my schedule continued to grow busier and busier, with numerous garden clubs wanting to hear about bulbs, I found time to regularly sit down and write on my blog. I am now also keenly observant when my brother and Bill are together and make a point of being involved in all their plans and conversations! This encounter with Bill and John was a turning point, and my writing improved and became more consistent. The blog was revamped by a third party, now that Brad was no longer around to help handle such projects. We set up another blog URL under the name www.bulbhunter.com and separated it from www.southernbulbs .com. I would use the blog to pass on horticulture information and tell stories about my triumphs and failures. It was through this blog that I was able to pass on my frustrations and successes with some of our most valuable bulbs. Do you remember the old cartoons, where a rabbit mound is seen growing and moving in a line across a field until it hits Farmer Dale’s line of carrots? All at once, the crisscross and swerving stops and the line becomes straight as it goes right down the middle of the row. From above the ground, we simply see carrots disappearing one after the other. That’s what the gophers did to my Byzantine gladiolus. After much collecting and growing, I had a pretty healthy stand of Byzantines growing in the field, and Southern Living magazine wanted to run a story on this prized...