Customer Reviews

Passionate Gardening: Good Advice for Challenging Climates

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Passionate Gardening, specifically the photos and text contributed by Lauren Springer, is the best single source of inspiration for gardeners in the Rocky Mountain states. Though Lauren's solo work, Undaunted Garden, is perhaps more comprehensive and detailed, Passionate Gardening has dazzling photos of her current garden and is a blueprint for a spectacular success in difficult climates.

I own a nursery and I am a garden designer. I see many projects that are appropriate for xeric or rock garden applications. Whenever I show the customer Passionate Gardening, the response is universally, "I want to make my garden as beautiful as that one." Lauren introduces us to plants that are hardly household names (yet), and teaches us specifically, practically and clearly how to use them. Lonicera korolkowiii 'Floribunda'
may not be known to you, but you will have no doubt how to use it when you finish this book. And since that is one of the few blue leaved deciduous shrubs, you may very well have the perfect place for it in your landscape.

There is no better read than her books for those of us in cold and dry climates, and even a southern Florida subtropical gardener could glean important ideas about approaching design and color/texture combinations. Enjoy!

This book contains short, well written and inspirational gardening essays. The brevity of the essays makes it easy to pick up and read a section whenever you have a few extra minutes. 'Tho it is written more for a western audience, the passion for gardening, good advice, and beauty of the book is transferrable to any region. I appreciated Lauren Springer's more relaxed emphasis on gardening, and got some smiles from Rob Proctors's humor: On slugs: "I gave up saucers of beer [for slug control] fearing that slugs from miles around would spread the word that I threw a nightly kegger." On variegated leaves: "It's been creeping up on me, over the years, like crow's feet and love handles. At first I was in denial but it's time to face facts: I've succumbed to variegated madness." On vines: "Some gardeners look upon vines with distrust; perhaps their twining, creeping, twisting ways unleash something subconscious, something Freudian." On advice: "There's not much point in saying 'Holy cow, that Artemisia 'Valerie Finnis' has choked out half your herb garden,' when the gardener is painfully aware of the problem. It's all in the approach: a better one might be, 'Can I lend you a goat?'" On learning Latin names: "One shy exchange student from Switzerland had finally come up with the nerve to identify a particular pine he recognized: 'Pinus rigida,' he said confidently, with a completely different pronunciation of the first word than any of us Americans had heard except in human-anatomy class."

A gardening book which can be read on many levels. There is an incredible amount of information, but it can be digested in manageable bites. Short essays on many subjects. But. . best of all, the book gives you hope that you, too, can create and maintain a wonderful, yet personal garden. This one spent the winter on my night stand!

While I agree that specifics in the book are geared for western climates, the ideas and humor will appeal to most gardeners. Don't buy it as a "how-to" book, there are plenty of those around. Buy it for inspiration a la (the late)Henry Mitchell and Anne Lovejoy. The book has excellent examples of unusual color palettes for the gardener ready to venture beyond "pink, blue and white".

Excellent advice for the western gardiner, especially those of us used to conditions in the midwest and learning to work with the challenging (and rewarding) climate of the high plains!

Although this book has beautiful photos and snappy dialogue, realize that it is a collection of essays. This book does not have chapters, per se, and not exhaustive discussions, but the essays are by two very experienced gardeners. Gardening advice is charmingly presented, but in a piecemeal fashion. It makes for entertaining and enjoyable winter reading but for more practical advice in dry climates with hot summers and cold winters, I find Lauren Springer's book The Undaunted Garden, to be much more helpful. It has plant lists that Passionate Gardening doesn't have. I read Passionate Gardening for inspiration and for vicarious gardening experience, but when it comes down to doing things, I use other books. Realize also, that Passionate Gardening isn't necessarily Xeriscape oriented, featuring at least a few essays where plants require regular moisture(e.g. the essay on lilies, and one on roses).

I'm a beginning gardener and live in Colorado. Springer and Proctor's book has inspired me and given me reams of useful information to improve my garden. I may not be ready to plant thousands of plants a year as they do, but their short essays have given me the ideas and information to focus on bit by bit. The photos, mostly of Springer's foothills garden and Proctor's city garden, are beautiful and excellent as plant combination possibilities. I can't recommend this book enough, particularly for Western gardeners.

While this gardening book is lovely to look at and has some very good essays, it needs to be pointed out that the information is basically geared toward Western gardeners. Much of it can be adapted, but many of the plants pictured won't grow in my "difficult" climate, the South.

Passionate Gardening: Good Advice for Challenging Climates

Authors: Lauren Springer and Rob Procter

Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing

ISBN 1-55591-348-2

The concept of the Westerner in American culture, conjures up the image of a friendly and unpretentious person. That explains the feeling one gets when reading this book. Not only is the style of writing informal but also, the gardens illustrated are bereft of the formality we often see and read about in British garden books. More than just a book about gardening, this publication is a window into the unabashed joy of getting down and dirty in the garden and the sheer pleasure of the physical energy expended in doing related chores.

The authors' respective gardens are located in a challenging locale. Gardening in Colorado forced them to adjust their expectations and needs to the extremes of the Western climate. They share with us their experiences and the advice that grew out of dealing with a harsh climate. To understand the authors' take on gardening, one needs to understand the obstacles they tried to overcome. These challenges included heat, drought, hail, blizzards, clay, sand, weeds, slugs, grasshoppers and raccoons.

. This book is a collection of no less than one hundred and sixteen short essays, or mini topics. It is not a "how to" book. Each essay covers a different aspect of gardening in a challenging climate and is dedicated to discussing the topic from the point of view of two friendly Western gardeners. It is the charm of the authors that makes this book such an enjoyable read; they have a lot of fun doing what they love.
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I was pleasantly astonished to discover that the authors chose to address the eternal problem of the rude visitor. Gardeners who visit the homes of their peers are prone to making inappropriate comments related to the host's garden. The authors' treatment of this topic is serious stuff and forced me to reconsider every comment I have ever made to owners of gardens I have visited

Studying the many photographs of the authors' terrains, it is clear that Ms. Springer gardens on a large tract of land. Because her home is situated on one hundred and fifteen acres, she has the luxury of allowing her gardens to grow exponentially with a total disregard for boundaries. Mr. Proctor's home is located on one acre of land, and the floral compositions on his property are more disciplined. While Ms. Springer's garden is devoid of any straight lines, Mr. Proctor's gardens are defined by them. Photos of their respective lands indicate that despite the differences in their size, both gardens are in harmony with the rugged nature of Colorado

In reading the essays, I discovered several bits of information that I found to be helpful. Here are a few; some in the authors' own words.

* Local variations in temperature and rainfall will sometimes allow us to grow plants not recommended for our growing zone.
* Garden one up man ship is a pervasive problem everywhere. There ought to be a book of etiquette on how to behave when visiting other people's garden.
* Clay can be useful, if properly used. Several perennials thrive in clay. These include sedum, coreopsis, perovskia, veronica, and the list goes on.
* There is no such thing as an instant garden. A perennial garden takes time to develop and knit together.
* Geography matters. Most perennials come from climates different than our own; zone hardiness alone will not determine the success of growing a plant. The more we know about a plant's native habitat, the better we can adapt it to our garden
* Flower borders can thrive in hot dry summers. All borders need to be stuffed with plants and all of the plants in one border need to share the same cultural requirements. Furthermore, borders need depth to create drama.
* Some herbs make excellent growing companions for roses because of their insect repellent properties
* In a vast meadow garden, plants chosen for their untamed appeal make the transition from flower bed to the surrounding countryside a more graceful one
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And finally, my favorite essay is titled `The Summertime Blues" and discusses the invaluable contribution that blue foliage and flowers make to any garden. Once again, in the authors own words, because they say it better than I have ever seen it said before: - "Blue is an amazing color, seemingly effective with every other hue. It's elegant with white, pale pink and cream. It shimmers with silver and chartreuse leaves. It glows with fiery orange or scarlet and smolders with maroon and blood red."

Other essays that fill this book deal with diverse garden related topics as hand care, essential garden tools, what to wear when getting dirty, gardening when pregnant, pets in the garden, and plants that make the land look awesome in winter.

Reading this publication has been more than an informational exercise. I am happy to have met two new friends who have invited me into their gardens and made me feel welcome with their proverbial warm Western hospitality.

This book is chock full of information for challenging climates and written with a wonderful sense of humor. I've read my copy again and again! Although not written for gardeners in the OH area, there are useful ideas and plant combinations that I have used successfully in my own garden. I LOVE this book - I wish they would write more.