Product Description

A complete and beautifully illustrated guide to creating a garden in the face of water shortages and dry conditions.

A garden that can withstand summer drought and requires little watering is the dream of every gardener who is conscious of the need to conserve water and who wants to create a garden in harmony with the environment. That dream can become a reality with the help of this indispensable new reference book which provides concrete solutions to the questions and hurdles faced by gardeners coping with dry conditions.

Abundantly illustrated with more than 400 original color photographs, this is a vital book for novice and experienced gardeners alike:
• Includes an A—Z list of more than 500 drought-resistant plants with details on the plant's scientific name, geographical origin, height and width, exposure and hardiness, foliage, ideal soil conditions, and related or complementary plants.
• Provides techniques for soil preparation, planting, and maintenance of gardens and landscapes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29584 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

About the Author
Olivier Filippi has been running a nursery in France that specializes in drought-resistant plants for over twenty years.

Customer Reviews

Excellent guide to Mediterranean gardening
It's too bad that the word Mediterranean doesn't appear in the subtitle of this book, because this the best book on Mediterranean-climate gardening that I've found. In the US, that means coastal California. Though this book will also be of some value to those in other dry-climate locations, such as much of the western US and Canada, in those areas I would recommend this book only as a supplement to other books specific to those regions. For instance, some Mediterranean plants don't like summer water, and while places like the Sonaran desert get less rain than coastal California, they get more summer rain.

This book focuses on plants from the world's Mediterranean-climate regions such as southern Europe and north Africa, and some of the western coastal regions of Australia, South Africa, Chile, and California. However, it does describe some plants from other dry-climate areas. It contains very extensive and knowledgeable profiles of a wide range of these plants, many including the author's own experiences in growing them (he runs a nursery in France).

What I like most about this book, however, is that it provides excellent information on matching particular plants to specific Mediterranean sub-climates. The book describes a method of plotting your location's average temperatures and average rainfall (easy to find on weather.com, for example) and then computing a drought index for your area. Plants described in the book are labeled with drought code on the same scale, indicating the limits at which they can survive on natural rainfall. This will allow anyone in a Mediterranean-climate location to select a pallet of plants that will thrive on their own without sprinklers (and in fact, many will not thrive if watered during the summer).

Plant options for San Francisco will differ from those for Los Angeles, but there are many options for both. Anywhere along the California coast, it's possible to have a lush garden that looks good year round without any supplemental irrigation. It takes some planning, and water to get plants established. But as this excellent reference makes clear, there is no shortage of plants to chose from.

Very useful--will be of great help for those interested in dry gardening
There are plants that can survive, and even thrive, on little water. Those who live in the western United States, especially in California, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada, are going to consider this book a treasure.

The author, Filippi, even includes a useful drought resistance code ranging from 1 to 6 which will help you "choose the right plant for the right place" (p 47). Other valuable information is on soil types and when to plant

Best of all is the large section on plants, which is lavish with color photographs. No matter how well informed you are on the subject, you will likely find new plants to use in your garden, and the brilliant, color drenched photographs are simply a treat to leaf through.

Recommended.

Excellent guide with terrific photography
I bought this after reading a glowing LA Times review. The author does a great job moving beyond the plant-by-plant guide to talk about the philosophy of dry-climate gardening, including the somewhat counter-intuitive logic (e.g. when it's really hot, don't water). The photos are compelling, and the gardens are fascinating. This isn't cactus and yucca plants.

Highly recommended for people living in appropriate areas, especially Southern California.