Customer Reviews

52 Weeks in the California Garden

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an invaluable guide for gardeners in So. California. Since we are in a very unique area there is much about gardening everywhere else that does not apply here. For instance, this is the first time I ever heard that the primary time to plant in So Ca is not in the spring, but in the fall! This guide tells you exactly what you can plant, when it is best planted, and what really grows and what doesn't do well. It's essential to my favorite pastime, flower gardening!

If you live in Los Angeles, you need this book. Smaus is the garden writer for the excretal Los Angeles Times and one of its sole redeeming virtues. Smaus covers a range of topics, including plantings suggested for our area and timing of various tasks. Unlike most gardening books, which are written for East Coast or Mid-West audiences, and which are generally unhelpful for our unique climate, Smaus' advice has proven consistently accurate. The book's sole flaw is the lack of an index. Because the articles are short and there is a detailed table of contents, this is not a major problem. Highly recommended.

The combination of this book plus Sunset's Western Garden Book will arm the southern California garden enthusiast with all the tools and experience necessary to give a green thumb's up. A true plant geek will find validation and a friend in Smaus' and will read the book saying "been there, loved that". Activities like hoarding plants bought from the Huntington Garden's May plant sale struck a familiar chord.

A transplant to Southern Cal. will quickly gain the inside track to where to go and what to plant to make the best of this unique climate.

Coming from New England I needed a lot of advice on what to do with the clay soil and arid climate in Southern California. The Sunset Western Garden Book along with this selection is a great combination for those new to gardening in Southern California. (Try the soil amendment recipe, it worked wonders form me!)

If you are tired of gardening advice that's good on the East Coast, but doesn't work in Southern California, this is the book for you. It provides real solutions for our unique climate, advice from local professionals, and a reliable planting schedule. This book and Sunset Magazine's Western Garden Book are all you need for successful gardening in Southern California. And in spite of the tone of this review, I have no affiliation whatsoever with the author or publisher :)

Thank You Mr. Smaus ! Finally a book that talks directly to the Southern California gardener. If you live and garden in the So. CA area this is the book you need. Maybe I won't have so many failures in the coming year. This book opened my eyes wide.

I am a new gardener that grew up here in Southern California. Being an avid reader, I read books and books about gardening and was left partly confused. Most of the books are written for gardening east of the Rockies. The words didn't even make since to a new gardener like me. "10 days before last frost" - I live at the coast. We don't have frost. "As soon as the ground can be worked" - When can it not be worked?

I found this book and have checked it out of the library four to five times within the last year. Time to actually buy it.

i had purchased several gardening books over the past 2 years and was finally turned to this book after attending a gardening class (through U.C. extension). it was totally different than any of the books i read in that it was MEANT for our special (and amazing) Los Angeles climate. in the first chapter alone i was shocked to see how different our planting season was as compared to the rest of the U.S. yes, yes, i knew that our mild climate allowed for a different timeline of gardening, but as a novice i had continued to follow the information on seed packets and general gardening books for our zone (and ended up with a lot of bolting plants!!!). it may not be as detailed and specific as other gardening books (i.e. the vegetable gardener's bible), but the overall layout (follows the entire year beginning with the fall) is great for a newer gardener in the l.a. area. i've been using the more detailed information on each plant from other gardening books, but following the "schedule" of this book. the entire book is in black/white with no color images. it includes input/advice from reader's of the author's column and i love knowing that these master gardeners in my "neighborhood" have to share.