Gardening with a Wild Heart
Restoring California's Native Landscapes at Home
by Judith Larner Lowry
Lowry has written a thoughtful combination of philosophical treatise and how-to guide in this very readable book, aimed at promoting the use of native plants in the home landscape and garden. She commences with an intriguing chapter and concept, called 'gardening at the seam' which is an apt metaphor for the conjunction of the native landscape and the backyard garden. She says "The kind of gardening I have become interested in appears at a place where my plant choices and the and the general direction of the wild landscape meet . . . . at the seam between the wild and the cultivated, where they merge and mingle, the shape of one giving shape to the other"
She acknowledges that native plants are drought tolerant and water-wise, but believes that "The reasons to garden with locally occuring plants have more to do with joining in, with setting in motion interrupted processes that are unique to each place. It has to do with recreating a garden that connects the gardener with that larger garden beyond the fence."
As well as her gentle philosophy, the book is filled with anecdotes of her life and work in Bolinas, where she operates as a landscape and garden consultant, and runs a native seed business. Interesting local characters and denizens populate her stories, from part-time city folk who unwittingly or even knowingly plant invasive exotic plants which push out natives, to indigenous Californians from whom she has learned much about native plants.
The practical components of the book include chapters called things like Planning Backyard Restoration Gardens, Design Thoughts, Principles and Guidelines, The Challenge of our Native Bunchgrasses, and Seed Progatation and Planting Techniques. This section of the book is filled with practical information and sound advice, and exemplified with case studies: "Thumbnail sketches of several California back-yard restoration gardens show how these gardens have been or could be realized by gardeners in different regions of Califonia."
There is much to like about, and much to learn from this small paperback volume, which I therefore recommend heartily if you have any interest at all in California native plants.
