Product Description

Drawing upon her vast knowledge of perennials and how they perform in the arid Southwest, Mary Irish has produced the definitive guide for gardeners who want to create lush, colorful gardens while keeping artificial irrigation to a minimum. This book will help Southwest gardeners meet the challenge of growing perennials successfully by providing inspired, practical information on how to design dry-climate gardens and an A–Z guide to 156 proven plants. Each entry includes the plant’s scientific and common names, distribution, cultural needs, drought tolerance, and ornamental characteristics. Written in a clear, reader-friendly style and profusely illustrated with sparkling color photographs, this invaluable volume makes Irish’s expertise available to every gardener.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #269098 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 312 pages

Review
"For southwestern gardeners, this book is indispensible; for the rest of us, it's a vacation to a beautiful and exotic landscape."
—American Gardener, May/June 2006 (American Gardener )

"Full of the kind of seasoned, practical information that comes from two decades of firsthand experience."
—Sharon Cohoon, Sunset, July 2006 (Sunset )

"With her deep Southwestern plant knowledge, personal anecdotes, and wry sense of humor, Irish is becoming the doyenne of Southwest garden writing. Full of both common and rare perennials for our region with photographs, Perennials for the Southwest gives both beginners and seasoned plant geeks reasons to keep reading." Scott Calhoun, Country Gardens, Fall 2006 (Country Gardener )

For southwestern gardeners, this book is indispensible; for the rest of us, it's a vacation to a beautiful and exotic landscape. American Gardener, May/June 2006 (American Gardener )

Full of the kind of seasoned, practical information that comes from two decades of firsthand experience. Sharon Cohoon, Sunset, July 2006 (Sunset )

With her deep Southwestern plant knowledge, personal anecdotes, and wry sense of humor, Irish is becoming the doyenne of Southwest garden writing. Full of both common and rare perennials for our region with photographs, Perennials for the Southwest gives both beginners and seasoned plant geeks reasons to keep reading. Scott Calhoun, Country Gardens, Fall 2006 (Country Gardener )

From the Publisher
A definitive guide for gardeners in arid climates—includes practical information on how to design dry-climate gardens and an A-to-Z guide of the best perennials.

About the Author
Mary Irish is the former director of public horticulture at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. She has written extensively on dry-climate gardening, and is the coauthor (with her husband, Gary Irish) of Agaves, Yuccas, and Related Plants. A Texas native residing in Arizona, Mary received her master's degree in geography from Texas A&M University. She is a regular contributor to several magazines, including Sunset, and teaches classes on the care and culture of agaves, cacti, and other desert shrubs and perennials as well as introductory classes for beginning gardeners. She once hosted a weekly Phoenix-based radio show called The Arizona Gardener, and has also helped produce several television programs about gardening.

Customer Reviews

Whoa, give this book a chance!!!
I feel this book deserves a much higher score for the information it contains about this under-represented area of gardening. I hate to see a book trashed for odd reasons and would like to elaborate on why I value this book.

One reader has a problem with the fact that this book is not for the Four-Corners area. As one who lives in sizzling Phoenix, I can relate to the disappointment of not having books relate to my area. (So few books relate to Phoenix that it's fantastic to find a good one that does.) The description of the book in Amazon and on the cover of the book may not have adequately given away it's low-desert content, but that doesn't make it a bad book. If the book had been flipped through at a book store, the buyer would have known whether the book met their needs. Buying on Amazon is a short-cut. The fact that we are giving up our ability to peruse every page is the down side to the ease of purchase and lower prices we pay.

Another reader didn't like the fact that everyone in their neighborhood had a copy of this book. Sounds like whoever recommended it was being very responsible in urging water conservation and in steering homeowners toward plants that won't die the first season they are planted. The fact that Phoenix nurseries sell plants that won't live here without excessive babying leads many people down the wrong path. Crispy plants are a disappointing phenomenon that plagues gardeners without sufficient knowledge of the locale.

Of all the arguments, the one about the photos being too small is the only one that actually pertains to this book. Yes, the pictures are small. But the book is so good that I'm happy to do a "G00gle Images" search to see what MANY photos of a plant look like before deciding if I want it. To me, detailed information about each plant is of more value than expensive, space-consuming photos. I am a veteran in the publishing business and if the book containing this many plants accompanied by large photos, the expense of the book would be phenomenal.

Buyers, give this book a chance -- and remember G00gle Images for an array of photos that will provide greater knowledge of any plant from ANY book.

Great info, HORRIBLE photos
I own several Mary Irish books and find them immensely useful for those of us who garden in the desert southwest. Since I wanted to brighten up my yard with some perennials, I figured this would be a perfect addition to my library. The information about each plant is great, but the photos are often useless - they are so small that it's often impossible to see what the plant looks like, and some are taken from such a distance that even the form is not evident. The perfect book would have a long view of the plant form, with a closeup of the bloom/foilage.

Wonderful Guide to Perennials!
Another winning book by author Mary Irish! I have several of her books, and the style and information within is wonderful. The first part of the book includes designing your landscape, as well as garden prep, the care of perennials and disease/pests. Much of the information relates to plant care in general, so it's a great benefit for any gardener. Add to that the pages upon pages of recommended perennials, with color photos, and it makes for a great reference book for the arid gardener.