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Hot Color, Dry Garden: Inspiring Designs and Vibrant Plants for the Waterwise Gardener Paperback – April 26, 2018
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Dry weather defines the southwest, and it's getting dryer. As water becomes more precious, our gardens suffer. If we want to keep gardening, we must revolutionize our plant choices and garden practices. Hot Color, Dry Garden provides home gardeners with a joyful, color-filled way to exuberantly garden in low-water conditions. Garden expert Nan Sterman highlights inspiring examples of brilliant gardens filled with water-smart plants. Gardeners will find advice for adding color to the garden, information about designing for structure and texture, and a plant directory that features drought-tolerant plants that dazzle. Hot Color, Dry Garden is a must-have guide for gardeners in the Southwest and other areas affected by drought and low-water conditions.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTimber Press
- Publication dateApril 26, 2018
- Dimensions7.75 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-101604694572
- ISBN-13978-1604694574
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From the brand
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Founded in 1978, Timber Press is internationally recognized as the leading gardening publisher.
Dedicated to sharing the wonders of the natural world, we publish books from experts in the fields of gardening, horticulture, and natural history.
Our books and authors have received awards from the American Horticultural Society, the Garden Writers of America, the Garden Media Guild, and the National Garden Club of America.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Profusion of design ideas. . . . Strongly recommended for the southwestern, dry-zone gardener.” —Booklist
“This book is full of plant ideas for the Southwest—and designs that gardeners everywhere will appreciate.” —Better Homes and Gardens
“The book is strong on design—what about plant IQ? This is that rare book that is comfortably fluent in both areas.” —A Growing Obsession
“A visually-appealing compendium of resources meant to inspire gardeners to think differently about color, contrast, and texture in water-wise gardens. . . . Hot Color, Dry Garden is a fun and vibrant book.” —NYBG’s Plant Talk
“The book shows that you need not sacrifice color, excitement, and beauty as you create a garden that’s a responsible drinker.” —Digging
“I've been wishing for this kind of book for a long time. . . a smart combination of inspiring photos and nuts-and-bolts details—and here it finally is.” —Succulents and More
“Eye-popping proof that water-wise gardens are bold, beautiful and brilliantly hued.” —San Diego Home and Garden
“If you want to have the colorful, vibrant, low-water gardens that are teaming with birds, butterflies and wildlife. . . . This book provides good info and photos to get you going.” —Mercury News
“An excellent resource for both novice and experienced gardeners who live in southwestern desert climates.” —The American Gardener
“Provides home gardeners with a color-filled way to garden in areas affected with drought and low-water conditions. Garden expert Nan Sterman highlights inspiring examples of brilliant gardens filled with water-smart plants.” —Waco Today
“A go-to guide for gardeners in the Southwest.” —La Jolla Light
“Waterwise gardens definitely don't have to be dull or boring. Garden expert Nan Sterman introduces us to 150 bold and bright drought-tolerant plants, along with dozens of design ideas and dry gardening how-to's.” —Garden Design Magazine
“Includes tips for how to pick the best plants for dry conditions and design a garden that’s better for the environment." —Insider
From the Back Cover
About the Author
California native Nan Sterman is an author, botanist, garden designer, consultant, and award-winning garden communicator. She speaks, teaches, and writes about low-water, sustainable, and edible gardening, all of which she designs for client’s homes, school gardens, and landscaped public spaces. Her articles appear in the Los Angeles Times, Sunset, Organic Gardening, and other major publications. She has a monthly garden column in the San Diego Union Tribune and is the gardening expert for San Diego public radio’s Midday Edition talk show. Sterman also hosts A Growing Passion, a television program that takes viewers into their own backyards to create beautiful, welcoming spaces using plants and products that are achievable, affordable, attractive, and in tune with the natural environment. The show has earned a GWA Gold Award for electronic media, and a 2010 regional Emmy.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Drought, drought, and more drought—dry weather, of course, is to be expected in most of California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico, but it is only getting worse. Recent years have brought the worst drought California has ever experienced, and along with it a wide array of mandatory water cutbacks. Arizona and California seem perpetually mired in battles over the water of the Colorado River. That water will diminish as climate change promises hotter temperatures and reduced water supplies across the West.
Drought has been an issue in the Southwest for a long time, but increasingly across North America and around the globe, population growth and global warming are making water more and more a focus of sustainability. And as water becomes more precious, gardens suffer. We need to make significant changes in our aesthetics, our attitudes, our plant choices, and our gardening practices.
This is what I’ve spoken, taught, and written about for decades. And throughout that time, I’ve found that gardeners’ biggest fear of waterwise gardens is the misconception that these are brown, lifeless, and colorless gardens—but nothing could be further from the truth.
Low-water gardens buzz with life. They are bright, brilliant, colorful gardens with as much interest and variety—and in some ways more—than any other gardens. In fact, color and low water go hand in hand. This is something I’ve known intuitively for many years. I trace it back to a trip my husband and I took to Santa Fe, New Mexico, long ago. We walked up Canyon Road (a street now infamous for its profusion of artist studios), and as we strolled, I kept noticing the gardens. They were modest, some simple, narrow planting beds tucked up against adobe walls and holding just a few plants: a red- or pink-flowering penstemon perhaps, with a blue-flowering cornflower and a trio of royal purple bearded irises. There weren’t many flowers, but they stood out as brightly and distinctly as if there were an entire mass of color. The bright greens, silvers, purples, blues, pinks, and yellows that filled those beds lit up in the desert sun.
In the years since, I’ve thought often about those tiny, dry gardens and the huge visual impact that resulted from the combination of three factors: the flowers and leaves were deep, intense, saturated colors, while the background earth tones were equally rich, and the sky was a clear, bright, intense blue. Together, the effect was dazzling.
Common Misconceptions About Low-Water Gardens
In my travels throughout the Southwest, I’ve visited countless color-filled, low-water gardens. It is high time that we set the record straight about what can be achieved, even with increasing water constraints. Three central myths about waterwise gardening need to be corrected straight away.
Myth #1: Low-water landscapes are brown, lifeless, and colorless
Low-water gardens are anything but brown, lifeless, and colorless! In fact, plants from dry regions of the world seem to evolve the most colorful and interesting flowers, the most varied and colorful leaves, and attract an amazing array of wildlife.
My own garden and those I design for clients are filled with riotous color—hot colors—alive with butterflies, lizards, rabbits (though I wish we could get rid of them), and birds, including the ever-present hummingbirds whose iridescent throats glisten garnet and emerald as they dart about the garden.
People are amazed to see the color and variety. Not long ago, I appeared on a local television program to talk about waterwise gardening. I arrived at the studio with my truck full of plants, and assembled the display to demonstrate several color themes. The public relations person who arranged my appearance had a decent grasp on the concept of a low-water landscape, but wasn’t herself a gardener. She was absolutely amazed by the rainbow of colors in my show display.
I’m not the only designer who creates colorful, active, low-water gardens, of course. There is a group of professionals, mostly in the West, who have been leading the way. Their gardens, along with some wonderful homeowner-designed gardens, are featured in these pages.
Myth #2: Low-water gardens are scrubby and scrappy rather than lush and plant filled
This is just entirely wrong. There are native low-water habitats that, to the uneducated eye, might look scrubby and scrappy in the dry heat, but gardeners can create lush, vibrant gardens by selecting plants carefully, by balancing shades of green, and by massing plants and placing them closely enough to cover the ground, but not so close to require constant pruning to separate them. “Lush” is an effect, not a plant type. “Lush” does not require water.
Myth #3: Low-water gardens are all rocks and desert
I often hear gardeners complain, “low water is okay, but I don’t want my garden to look like the desert!” This image hearkens back to the so-called Palm Springs–and Las Vegas–style landscapes of the 1950s and 1960s. Those front yards were done up in sharp gravel, laid out in swirls or other geometric patterns, and edged in red scallop brick. The gravel color palette was eye-blinding white with bright teal, or muddy coral, typically accented with a single saguaro cactus or tall yucca. In short, it was yucky.
In a low-water garden, rocks—real rocks, not faux dyed ones—become architecture that balances plants. Large boulders define contours and demark dry streambeds filled with gradations of cobble. These streambeds collect and hold water, so it has time to percolate into the soil where it is banked for access by plant roots. Rocks that appear to emerge from the earth serve as places to sit and rest for a moment, or to separate one area of the garden from another.
A few years ago, I designed a garden for a couple with very different ideas about what they wanted. They agreed on low water, but while the husband wanted a tapestry of succulents and unusual plants, the wife wanted what she called “frou-frou.” I put on my marriage counselor hat, and negotiated an eclectic front garden for him, with a “frou-frou” rear garden for her. Both were to be colorful, textural, and low water. Six months later, the wife gushed over how much she loved the front garden (the one I designed for her the husband). She had no idea, she said, that a low-water garden could look like that. And, she insisted I add some of those same plants to her back yard. Now, several years later, both front and back gardens are waterwise and wonderful. They are both pleased.
It’s not hard to explode these myths; it takes some really great examples and good information shared with homeowners, professionals, landscape designers, landscape architects, contractors, installers, and maintenance people. That is what I have set out to accomplish with this book.
Product details
- Publisher : Timber Press (April 26, 2018)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1604694572
- ISBN-13 : 978-1604694574
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.75 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #340,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Desert Climate Gardening
- #27 in Southwest Region Gardening
- #35 in West Region Gardening (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customers find the book exquisite, informative, and full of great examples from a variety of styles. They also appreciate the beautiful photos of plants, gardens, and landscapes.
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Customers find the book excellent, informative, and useful. They mention it's full of great examples from a variety of styles. Readers also appreciate the great photos.
"Great pics, info and ideas for a desert garden. Nice quality book." Read more
"This book is informative and isa wonderful coffee table addition." Read more
"...Lots of good ideas for plant selection and garden design in semi-desert areas such as San Diego, Orange, and LA counties...." Read more
"...The project is in progress, I will try to add photos when finished. Great book!" Read more
Customers find the pictures in the book beautiful, striking, and reliable. They say they provide inspiration for vibrant, lush, yet water-wise landscapes.
"Great pics, info and ideas for a desert garden. Nice quality book." Read more
"...I bought the Kindle edition and the photos are great." Read more
"...drought tolerant plants for my front yard that also add color and look great. The project is in progress, I will try to add photos when finished...." Read more
"...succulents or agaves, this book provides real inspiration for vibrant, lush, yet waterwise landscapes...." Read more
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Who knew drought tolerant plants were so colorful?!
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I’m excited to get started on our new project, this book at hand. Well done!
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Reviewed in Spain on October 22, 2024
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