Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses: Gardening with California Monocots [Paperback]

Nora Harlow (Editor), Kristin Jakob (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0520238494 | ISBN-13: 978-0520238497 | Edition: 1

California boasts one of the richest assemblages of native plant species in the world, and among the state's most beautiful flowering plants are its monocotyledons--a large and varied group including lilies, irises, grasses, orchids, agaves, and even palms. Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses, created under the auspices of the California Native Plant Society, tells how to grow California monocots in the garden. Beautifully illustrated with color photographs and line drawings, the book contains valuable information on exactly which species are best adapted to garden conditions, how to grow them, and where to obtain them from nurseries and mail-order suppliers. Gardeners can be highly successful with many of California's most exquisite native monocots, and propagating these native plants helps ensure their long-term preservation.
Each chapter includes introductory information for gardeners and tips on garden cultivation and propagation, while individual plant descriptions provide greater detail on each species, including its distribution and habitat in the wild, cultural preferences and tolerances in the garden, and features that distinguish the plant from similar species. With its valuable combination of horticultural and botanical information, this book is the perfect introduction to California's monocots. It will inspire gardeners as well as landscape designers, city planners, and others to consider these lovely native species when designing, planting, and approving plans for landscapes in California.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"It would be hard to imagine a more knowledgeable group of writers, illustrators, and photographers than the dream team assembled to create this book. It is truly a celebration of the beauty of our native flora and encourages us to incorporate elements of it in our gardens to establish a firm sense of place. . .. I've waited twenty-five years for this book! It was worth the wait."--Richard G. Turner, Jr., editor, Pacific Horticulture

"With clarity and a deep knowing that could only come from firsthand experiences, the authors share their horticultural wisdom and obvious affection for California's garden-worthy monocots. From Agave to Zigadenus, over 250 species of native grasses, irises, geophytes, and their botanical brethren are described in this long-awaited, beautifully illustrated book."--Carol Bornstein, Director of Horticulture, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

From the Back Cover

"It would be hard to imagine a more knowledgeable group of writers, illustrators, and photographers than the dream team assembled to create this book. It is truly a celebration of the beauty of our native flora and encourages us to incorporate elements of it in our gardens to establish a firm sense of place . . . . I've waited twenty-five years for this book! It was worth the wait."-Richard G. Turner, Jr., editor, Pacific Horticulture "With clarity and a deep knowing that could only come from firsthand experiences, the authors share their horticultural wisdom and obvious affection for California's garden-worthy monocots. From Agave to Zigadenus, over 250 species of native grasses, irises, geophytes, and their botanical brethren are described in this long-awaited, beautifully illustrated book."-Carol Bornstein, Director of Horticulture, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (May 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520238494
• ISBN-13: 978-0520238497
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A New Classic For California Native Plant Enthusiasts, April 27, 2004

By 

Faustito (norcal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses: Gardening with California Monocots (Paperback)

Over a period of almost 20 years, I've read every new and old book on gardening with California Native Plants. For about the last eight of those years, I've been waiting for someone to come out with a worthwhile new book on the subject. I think my waiting is over.

Gardening With California Monocots is a well-written guide to planting native orchids, irises, grasses and other monocots (plants that germinate with a single seed-leaf). The book explains not only where these plants occur in the wild, but also describes the conditions they require to succeed in your garden. The discussion on garden-worthy bunchgrasses is the most valuable and comprehensive I've ever seen. Even the gurus of california native plant authors, Marjorie Schmidt and Glenn Keator, have never covered the subject so thoroughly.

In addition, Gardening with California Monocots has something which most other books on the subject lack: stunning pen and ink drawings of the plants together with equally-beautiful color plates.

The book has one shortcoming. The authors don't go into enough detail about propogation of each specific plant. I wish the authors had provided specific information for the propogation of each plant discussed - explaining what time of year to gather seeds, take cuttings or make divisions, what medium to use to plant the seeds or cuttings, and how to pretreat the seeds, if necessary. I suspect the authors left this information out purposely to discourage readers from gathering seeds and cuttings from wild, often endangered, populations. Someday I'll find a book which provides all that information. In the meantime, however, Gardening With California Monocots is a must-read for native plant gardeners.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars wild lilies, irises,and grasses., October 14, 2010

By 

R. Avery - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses: Gardening with California Monocots (Paperback)

I found this book informative with much information in one book that I would have to go to at least 4 or 5 books for the same info..
A good book on natives. How to plant, what type of area to plant in and how much water they will use. Also tells what elevation is good for these plants,
where they will be found and how to collect the seeds or blubs or the plants themselves.
This book gives a good description of each plant or plant family. they also give the common name and the biotanical name of plant or plant family.
This book is not for the beginner, but if you have been into native gardening then you will easly understand this book..
This book is a good reference book for anyone's library..

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A "New Classic" book for Native Species lovers., January 30, 2008

By 

Shelley "ShellHawk" (Folsom, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses: Gardening with California Monocots (Paperback)

I'm a gardener who loves irises and lilies, and didn't know there were native species I could plant that would thrive in my garden (duh!). I had been buying the usual bearded irises, etc. from local nurseries, but am committed to changing my garden to natives (except for my roses. I am an addict and am not willing to go cold turkey on them unless I find some natives!)
This book has got good pictures, though I wanted more. The authors also very thoughtfully included the conditions most likely to make planting successful. (I live at about 300 feet above sea level, for instance. There would be no point in purchasing a plant that would only thrive in high elevations.) They also did not include plants that are so rare that you could not purchase them legally, or have such stringent requirements that they cannot tolerate home cultivation.
I am looking forward to finishing this book and applying the knowledge to my new garden.