Dryland Gardening: Plants that Survive and Thrive in Tough Conditions (Paperback)

by Jennifer Bennett (Author) "The statistics are sobering, the conclusions inescapable..." (more)
Key Phrases: North American, United States, All-America Selection (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
One need not live in the Southwest to welcome information on gardening in dry climates; nearly every region of the country experiences drought conditions from time to time. As seasonal temperatures increase, making weather patterns less predictable and jeopardizing existing freshwater supplies, gardeners everywhere can benefit from discovering the practices and determining the plants that can withstand such harsh conditions. Bennett provides thoughtful instructions on various water-conservation topics, including methods for adapting standard cultural procedures to maximize water retention. Augmented by brilliant color photographs and helpful lists of mail-order and Internet resources, Bennett's encyclopedic listing of annuals, bulbs, grasses, ground covers, herbs, perennials, and shrubs describes how these plants handle dry conditions, and comes with her personal recommendations for preferred cultivars. Global warming is, unfortunately, upon us; Bennett's guide to water-restricted gardening is a timely addition to the garden-resource bookshelf. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
A timely tome for these challenging times. -- Canadian Gardening 01/2006

Packages up a lot of comforting advice for dusty gardeners... choosing the right plant for the right place. -- Kathy Renwald, Toronto Star 03/24/2005

Water saving tips throughout the text and then groups suitable plants... a nice format with text arranged in easy-to-read columns. -- PamWaterman, San Gabriel Valley Tribune 10/15/2005

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (March 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554070317
• ISBN-13: 978-1554070312
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,578 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An overview of low-water gardening. You'll need another manual if you want to overhaul your own landscaping., August 20, 2008

By	Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jennifer Bennett's DRYLAND GARDENING is a well-structured and well-researched guide to plants that survive and thrive in tough conditions. The author describes herbs, ground covers, bulbs, vines, flowers, and shrubs that will withstand the inevitable drought she (and many scientists) believe our world will be facing in a matter of years.

DRYLAND GARDENING is best read as an overview of alternative garden theories. The reader will be introduced to dozens of species and techniques, complete with illustrations. For a major garden overhaul, however, a more detailed climate-specific manual should be purchased. If you read DRYLAND GARDENING and are inspired to modify your landscaping, I recommend picking up Ortho's All About Dry Climate Gardening or a title from the Sunset series.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Slightly misleading title for some, May 1, 2008

By	Steve Wagaman (Sky Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Based on its title, I bought this book, thinking it would be useful in the brutally hot, bone-dry and windy desert southwest, where we average 5" of rain per year. Turns out that "Dryland" and "thrive in tough conditions" means "dryish with cold winters", as this book's focus is on zones 4-7, and it rather pointedly avoids most plants which actually do thrive with little moisture in our hot low desert. I don't mean to come down hard on the author; the book is very nice and well laid out and has great photos, but if you are looking for low desert problem solving, don't let this book's title mislead you as it did me.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real problem-solver for any seeking to produce a beautiful garden under today's drier conditions, August 6, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

As the planetary weather patterns and overall environment warms, so garden plants which typically did well in prior decades are now suffering from hotter summers, requiring even the most experienced gardener to try new plants which have a greater range of tolerance to warmer conditions. Gardening writer Jennifer Bennett has already produced several award-winning titles, but Dryland Gardening: Plants That Survive And Thrive In Tough Conditions is broader-based than most, and provides alternative plant choices for all kinds of dry conditions. Organized by type of plant: bulbs, grasses, groundcovers and vines, and even herbs, Dryland Gardening is a real problem-solver for any seeking to produce a beautiful garden under today's drier conditions.