Customer Reviews

Western Garden Book

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I AM A CERTIFIED NURSERYMAN AND I USE THIS BOOK ALL THE TIME. I BELIEVE THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY PLANTS TREES OR SHRUBS YOU SHOULD HAVE THIS BOOK!

Denver, Colorado. Besides its other sections (Weeds, Fragrant Plants, How to Prune, etc.) the majority of this book is a catalog of plants, with a small, very helpful drawing of each plant and a description of the plant, its zones, its hardiness and so on. I've learned soooo much from thumbing through this book. I recommend it as a cornerstone book in your gardening library. Mine is full of margin notes, highlighting pen and post-it notes. A great housewarming present

If you only have one book on gardening, this is the one to have. Easy to understand, great cross referencing. Virtually every plant you can buy in a nursery is in the book.

I'm not sure we could get along without the Sunset Western Garden Book: it's the first book in our gardening library that we reach for, and the only one we need 80% of the time. We carry it with us as we shop plant nurseries, and have it along when perusing public gardens and arboretums. The heart of the book is the plant encyclopedia-a truly comprehensive listing including detailed planting and care instructions-which is coordinated with Sunset's 24 climate zones. These map even the microclimates a few miles across that exist in Western US coastal areas. I rather think the plant encyclopedia would be useful for gardeners anywhere, and especially for those who garden in a Mediterranean climate like that of coastal California

This book is full of information, it must be read like a novel. It contains information that is specifically for your area and is unmatched in its detail. The photographs are real and well done. Living in California presents it gardening perks and problems. All of them are covered here.

I have relied on Sunset's Western Garden Book, in its various issues, for many years. From time to time, about every 3-4 years or so, they re-publish it. This particular issue has become my favorite "Working Bible" and I keep one copy in the house for reference and another in my garden/yard supply area. I bought this copy to give to my daughter and her husband, to introduce them to gardening in the Northwest, and to reduce the number of times I have to answer her questions by phone. Now I can simply refer her to the appropriate page of her own "Sunset Garden Book".

The two or three recent re-issues of Sunset's Western Garden Book have become more "posh" and sophisticated, like coffee-table issues, not meant for nitty-gritty work in the yard.

The particular volume I bought on Amazon was in incredibly perfect condition; my guess is that the original owner had never even opened it (it was inscribed as a Christmas gift from his parents!) And the price was amazing.

This book was not described accurately in the reviews nor the product description. It should have stated that this was not the color photo edition. The one I received was not in color and was line drawings which did not look like the flowers nor enable me to ditinguish differences from others - very dissappointing. It disturbs me to have to pay shipping to return an item that was not accurately described on Amazon.com.

First let me say that this is absolutely the best reference guide. A couple of years ago, I would have rated this book a 5 stars.I am in the landscape business.

How ever today I do find myself much more often searching on the internet. They do alphabetize theirs plant by scientific names only, which make sense in some way but when you are constantly looking for plants and forgetting the scientific names, such as (anigozanthos for kangooroo paws) . It just takes way too long to search in this book, have to go to the glossary etc...
If they did a good app or a good online book and reference, I would be the first to buy it.

I'm holding on my lap the 1981 version of this book that my dad gave me. It was an invaluable tool for him for many years and has helped me immensely, but unfortunately it very out of date. I don't think the varieties of Strawberries listed even exist anymore, so I'm shopping for the newest book.

Sunset Western Garden Book is the Bible,Dictionary and Thesaurus of gardening books. The most important part of the modern,updated version is the emphasis on more natural ways to garden,using less pesticides. I felt incomplete without a copy of my own.