Free Downloads Palm Springs-Style Gardening: The Complete Guide To Plants And Practices For Gorgeous Dryland Gardens
Despite the Coachella Valley's near tropical climate, creating gardens in this desert can be trying. Wind, heat, sand and a dozen other factors must be considered and then solved or mitigated before plants will grow. While milder parts of California grow gardens so easily that books are hardly needed, low desert gardening is a whole new world where residents need help, and lots of it. This book blends numerous areas of interest:First is the basic how-to of desert gardening: heat, soils, water and wind. Second is the exploration of Palm Springs architecture from Spanish to Mid-century modern and how outdoor gardens are made to work with these styles. Third is a detailed presentation of the plants that will thrive here under ordinary care, and are naturally adapted to the dry climates of Australia, Mexico, Africa and South America. Rather than group plants by trees, shrubs and perennials as most books are laid out, Palm Springs Gardening organizes plants according to their botanical associations and their aesthetic ones so readers go straight to the kinds of plants they find most appealing.
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Sunbelt Publications; 1st edition (December 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0932653898
ISBN-13: 978-0932653895
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.6 x 9.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #194,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #15 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > By Climate > Desert #18 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > By Region > Southwest #23 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > By Region > West
Although at first glance this book looks like a pretty coffee table book, it has real substance. Had I had this book when I began landscaping around my new home near Palm Springs 3 years ago, I'd have eliminated a lot of trial and error and my yard would look great today. I came here with 25 years of experience gardening in coastal northern California, I'd read many books on desert gardening, and I felt prepared. How wrong I was! Ms. Gilmer addresses all of the problems I have faced - the fierce, hot wind, the alkaline soil, the brutally dry conditions, and more. She offers hints and tips that I've seen nowhere else. If you are expecting an exhaustive encyclopedia of desert plants, look elsewhere. Ms. Gilmer limits herself to great coverage of the basic workhorse plants for our area. Her advice, though, is invaluable and applies to many plants she does not cover. If you can have only one book in your library on desert gardening, and especially if you live near Palm Springs, do consider this one. It's like having a master gardener looking over your shoulder, guiding you!
This is a GREAT gardening book. If you live in Palm Springs, or Phoenix, or Las Vegas, or Tucson or any other subtropical hot-summer mild-winter climate this is a must-have book. I have a ton of regional gardening books for the desert southwest and this one is really wonderful. Beautiful, evocative photographs and a clear explanation of style, and what makes a Palm Springs style garden a Palm Springs style garden. The author adds colorful, fun commentary and tips and tricks that really show she gardens in a subtropical desert. Little habits of how plants behave, which do well and which don't, plus how to arrange them, and some architecture into a cohesive look. She also does an excellent job of breaking down the components of the climate and how it helps or hinders certain garden styles. I really, really like this book and utterly recommend it for anyone interested in gardening (not just Palm Springs style gardening) in the desert southwest or any subtropical desert.
PALM SPRINGS GARDENING could have been featured in our 'California' section but is reviewed here for its wider-ranging applications to any collection catering to desert gardeners and homeowners. Dryland gardeners receive inspiration from Palm Springs, a tropical climate which also holds extremes of wind, heat, sand and more challenges. Outdoors gardens can be designed to benefit from these challenges and enhance a drylands setting, and discussions of choosing plants naturally adapted to the climate from options world-wide make for an excellent gardener's guide.
As I am soon to become a "snow bird" and live in the Pacific Northwest, gardening in the desert is something completely new. The home we purchased does not have any landscaping at this time other than hardscape. I found this book to be a lifesaver in all the information I will need to put in a dryland garden. The book tells me the plants that will work and why they will work. How to care for them and where to plant them.Without the book I may have run about the nursery buying the wrong plants and wasting money. With the knowledge from this book I feel I now have a head start and just where to begin to create the desert garden I have in mind.The photographs are beautiful and it's a book that looks wonderful to display.
Great plant "Desert Gardening Guru Maureen Gilmer" has written a fantastic book here! A must have especially if you have a home here.This will be your go to landscaping resource.Must have!
This is a so-so. LITTLE book with information about gardening in the desert climate here in Palm Springs. The info is strictly for total beginners. It's basically a picture book,Sad to say the photos used are from the most average gardens in Palm Springs,Ca. We have some spectacular arid gardens in the area-but there are no pictures of them here. There are many better ,more complete books on desert gardens that cost less than this pricey book.
Best all-around plant guide to the desert area. Tells what plants work best and are most reliable for area. Beautifully illustrated with many great photos of successful gardens in various styles. Since this book was written, more plant material has been made available by local nurseries, so take some tours before purchasing and planting
This is a wonderful book that not only provides a wealth of information on gardening in Palm Springs but is a beautiful coffee table addition. Living in Orange County and spending a lot of time in Palm Springs, I found the author's discussion of the varied climates and plant types interesting, and her photos of Palm Springs structures as backdrops for the plantings are excellent. Now I know why some of my plants make it in one place and not the other. Ms. Gilmer has created a beautiful and informative book that makes me consider living in Palm Springs and spending time in Orange County.
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