34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Help in a strange climate, March 4, 2006
This review is from: Month-By-Month Gardening in the Desert Southwest (Paperback)
This is my gardening bible. I read it at the beginning of every month to plan my gardening activity for the next few weeks.
The Arizona desert is like no other climate in the USA. It has low rainfall, concrete-like soil and huge temperature variations. Gardening in this state is very unique and this book tells me what I need to do... so I don't have to remember.
Information from books written by authors without the experience of gardening in Arizona, doesn't work in this state. Mary Irish has spent her life working for a variety of Arizona gardening organizations and is an expert on agaves. She knows the climate so her information works... simple as that
The book is organized by section - trees, shrubs, grass with a chapter for every month in each section. Tasks are outlined so the information you need is easy to find.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gardening book's a keeper, October 16, 2007
I needed a couple books to supplement the gardening books I currently had. After a few searches and questions, I ended up with the "Month-by-Month Gardening in the Desert Southwest" and "Edible Landscaping in the Desert Southwest: Wheelbarrow to Plate."
Both books complimented each other in that the Month-by-Month book was explicit in what to plant as each month of the desert came around, and the Edible book allowed me to work in several edible plants into my yard and garden plans - both of which I wanted. I like plants with duel purposes. I'm glad I went ahead and purchased both.
Specifically to the Month-by-Month book, the only reason I didn't give it a rating of "5" is because I got caught up short by it's page organization. However, after I caught on to how it's arranged - subject matter first, THEN, activities month-by-month - it was easy to reference. I guess I was expecting to pick it up in October and see everything that was available to plant for that month, but that's not how it's arranged. You find the kind of plant you want FIRST, say, TREES, then look up what month you're in. Unlike George Brookbank's book, "Desert Gardening" that is organized by the month. Still, if I had a 4 and 1/2 rating for Month-to-Month, I would have given it that rating.
The pages in Month-to-Month have good pictures and the text and instructions are clear. It has wonderful botanical references with specific names for each plant, so if I went to the garden supply shop, I'd know exactly what plant I was looking for - a great help.
It's starts out with delineations of Regions, USDA Cold Hardiness areas, and Zone Map - a must in knowing what plants are better suited for your own particular area of the SW desert.
The major sections are Basic Horticultural Practices such as getting and maintaining a healthy soil (tough in caliche), How to make compost (something we need so much in the desert), fertilizers, tools, watering (VERY important in the desert), etc.
Chapter One covers Annuals;
Chapter Two is on Bulbs; Corms, Rhizones, and Tubers;
Chapter Three is on Cacti, Succulents and other Desert Perennials;
Chapter Four is on Fruits;
Chapter Five is on Grasses (a nice surprise);
Six is on Perennials;
Seven is on Roses;
Eight- Shrubs;
Nine - Trees;
Ten - Vegetables and Herbs (my main interest);
and the Appendix.
For example, specifically referring to the Annual listing with its common and full botanical name lists over 100 plants, and that's just the Annuals pages; so if you can't find something to plant from this book, you're just not trying.
There are lined spaces in each month of each plant section so you can make your own notes - a great idea. You can use it to keep track of what you planted each year and how it did right there in each month/plant section you used. Great, year-to-year reference.
It seems whenever I flip the pages, I always have to pull up short by a heading, Helpful Hint, etc. that catches my eye. Like on page 113, the Helpful Hint is on Native Fruits - cool - prickly pear, wolfberry, mesquite pods, etc. The book also covers a little bit on interplanting and companion planting.
In a final note, on the plants lists, it also states which plant is Native and which plant isn't. That's a great help on knowing what plant might acclimate better to your desert garden.
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