Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates ; East Bay Municipal Utility District, 2004; Photographs by Saxon Holt
This book has been a bible of low-water Bay Area gardening since the publication of the first edition in 1986. With this year again a full-blown drought, it makes sense to get out the newest edition (which won the American Horticultural Society's 2005 Book Award) and either remind ourselves of or introduce ourselves to this wonderful resource. While there is no dearth of material available on low-water gardening, this one's focus on the San Francisco Bay Area makes it especially useful.
The book begins with a good overview of the Bay Area microclimates, with a nod to Sunset's widely used classifications. In reviewing the issues of gardening in dry summers, those of the accompanying wet winters is also addressed, something that gets short shrift or even ignored in most such books. The opening chapters on climate and design (another topic often given scant coverage in books on natives or low-water plants) are followed by a huge plant catalog - over 650 plants - illustrated by almost 550 glorious color photographs by Saxon Holt, most of which he took in the Bay Area and many of which show the plants in garden settings. I have few books on my shelves that serve both as such a thorough reference and such a design inspiration.
The book ends with a good discussion of maintaining the landscape over time, using little water, no chemical fertilizers or pesticides and with a focus on building healthy soil. The entire book is 'attuned to local climate, microclimate, topography and soils and responsive to the reality of limited resources'. It is a book that no Bay Area gardener should be without.
The book is widely available at booksellers or directly from East Bay Municipal Utility District at www.ebmud.com.