Palm Springs-Style Gardening: The Complete Guide to Plants and Practices for Gorgeous Dryland Gardens

by Maureen Gilmer

Despite the Coachella Valley s near tropical climate, creating gardens in this desert can be trying. Wind, heat, sand and a dozen other factors must be considered and then solved or mitigated before plants will grow. While milder parts of California grow gardens so easily that books are hardly needed, low desert gardening is a whole new world where residents need help, and lots of it.

Genres: Gardening, Plants, Nonfiction

150 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2008

About the author

Maureen Gilmer is the author of more than 15 gardening books. She is host and project designer for the television series, Weekend Gardening, on the DIY Network. Her articles and photography have appeared in national magazines and she frequently appears on numerous television and cable programs.

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book. It's not a coffee-table picture book but one that provides succinct advice on what to grow in the hot California low desert, along with how to grow it. Many people living in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area are snowbirds. They visit when it's cooler and life is easier, living on cocktails by the pool and parties on the patio overlooking the golf course. But for the rest of us, we are year-round residents, so a book that explains the joy of gardening here is essential, especially when it looks so good.

Maureen Gilmer does an excellent job of describing the various landscape options (trees, shrubs, cacti, succulents, vines, flowers) that are available to the desert dweller who truly cares about their garden. Many snowbirds have nothing to do with planting, which is all installed, maintained, and watered by blow-and-go "gardeners". So, they have very little clue what goes on in the summer when the mercury shoots past 120° Fahrenheit and the water restrictions are in place. This book shows what CAN thrive under such conditions and why locals should be involved in their gardens.

The general rule is shade, shade, shade, which is why one sees so many palm trees in the area. But there are also lovely Palo Verde trees, with the distinctive green-blue bark, and the stunning Bougainvillea which make visitors pull over to take pictures. I moved into a place that has nothing, yet I managed to survive the hottest summer on record, so now it's time to get-a-planting, though I will follow her advice and gauge the heat and sun throughout the year and take my time putting the right plant in the right spot. For example, Bougainvillea don't really like hot sun, but the heat stress causes it to produce those sensational bracts that look like flowers. Against a white wall and tan sand....va-va-va-voom!

The local nurseries sell this book and the libraries also have copies on hand, thankfully. At the end, there is a wonderful section showing the distinct garden themes (Mediterranean, Spanish, Desert, Tropical) and the specific plants/trees one can use to get the same effect. Outstanding.

Book Season = Summer (when the weather is hot, touch the sky)

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up thinking it might just be a nice coffee table book since I live in the Coachella Valley. Once I started reading it, however, I found it to be incredibly informative about garden design, native & other plants suited to the climate here, & water conservation.

I highly recommend this book to other desert dwellers for the information, and to everyone else for the beautiful photographs of the gardens.

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive look at plants appropriate to the Coachella Valley, incorporating a section that lists plants that complement specific architectural styles (Spanish, mid-modern, etc.). It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the word “sexy” in a gardening book (“[they] arch in a sexy array that is highly ornamental.”).

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and could never use the plants in Palm Springs-Style Gardening, the book was interesting enough for me to read and taught me a lot about the restrictions of desert gardening.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well-put-together, interesting garden book for dry climates. It could have been better (some sections were kind of random in what they included), but overall it was well-done and valuable.

A LOT of people could benefit from checking out this book to give them ideas and give their gardens a more cohesive style (rather than the slap-dash jumble of plants you see in most Southwest yards).

[David Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book for learning about the plants in Palm Springs and the intricacies of designing a garden with them. Increases my enjoyment of this area.

[JH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a lovely book! I learned so much about environmental concerns of gardens in the Palm Springs area. I especially loved reading about bougainvillea and cacti.

[Becky]

This is a beautiful and informative book even if you don't live in a Desert climate. I