The Plant Community Approach to Artful, Ecological Gardens

The latest in a recent spate of wonderful books on California native plants is Designing California Native Gardens, the Plant Community Approach to Artful, Ecological Gardens, by local botanist and teacher Glenn Keator and designer and artist Alrie Middlebrook, published by the University of California Press. This book represents at least 20 years of the authors‘ combined experience teaching about California native garden design. Their aim is to encourage California gardeners to consider (and imitate to some extent) the original natural ecosystems wherever they garden: “These gardens use less water, fertilizers, and soil amendments, and they attract and support local wildlife, most notably hummingbirds and native bees. But just as important, they engage our senses and help reconnect us with our own local landscape and beauty as nature defines it.” At the core of the book are twelve chapters that discuss the development of garden plans based on twelve specific natural plant communities that now exist mostly in fragments in our urban and suburban areas: bluffs and cliffs, redwood forest, coastal sage scrub, channel islands, desert gardens, mountain wildflowers, mixed evergreen forest, oak woodland, grasslands, chaparral, riparian woodland and wetlands. Several very useful appendices include sources of native plants, native plant gardens, websites, books, a glossary and a calendar for managing native gardens.

A great bargain at $27.95 (paper).

We offer a 10% discount to card-carrying members of The UC Botanical Garden, The SF Botanical Garden and the Tilden Botanical Garden.