Arizona Gardener's Guide

by Mary Irish

Gardening is now the favorite outdoor leisure activity in America. Homeowners realize the health benefits available from gardening and the potential increase in their home's property value. Regional gardening titles offer the most useful advice because they provide credible information on the plants that perform best in specific states. Gardeners want information they can trust and use successfully in their own gardens. The Arizona Gardener's Guide is a full-color plant selection resource guide written especially for Arizona gardeners. It includes the top 175 landscape plants as recommended by one of Arizona's most respected horticultural experts.

Genres: Gardening, Reference, Nonfiction, Plants

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The color pictures of plants are helping to motivate me to become a better desert gardener!

[Echo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will admit that I have not read the book cover to cover, as it is essentially a list (and planting guide) for plants that grow well in Arizona, not all of which are to my interest. But I have cast my eyes over every page and I think that counts.

From the start, the scope of this is necessarily limited as there are too many plants that could possibly fit this profile. I will go into my criticism on this later because it got sort of out of hand. Mostly I am glad to read a book that actually guides me on plant care. I can read about plants on the internet all day, but that doesn't usually provide information relevant to their care in my particular environment.

What follows is an absolutely pedantic rant on species choice, naming, and listing:

I will admit some frustration that there were so many non-native plants included. One could certainly make a book of this scope using entirely native plants. Also there was no definition of what "native" means in this context and many native plants were not listed as such. (To name a few: Mount lemmon marigold/Tagetes lemmonii, Yarrow/Achillea millefolium, and arguably Hesperaloe parviflorus since it's native to the Chihuahuan desert, which I think is good enough.)

And then! For flowers such as Cosmos, the featured species was Cosmos bipinnatus (a nonnative) when there's a perfectly good native (Cosmos parviflorus) of the same genus. Same with tidy tips: Layia platyglossa could be replaced with Layia glandulosa Also wish there were listed literally any native bulbs, such as Sisyrinchium demissum/Blue eyed grass.

Additionally "Mexican oregano" was listed as the plant Poliomintha maderensis when the species that "Mexican oregano" usually refers to is Lippa graveolens (the former is most often known as "Lavender spice").

Finally, each section was sorted alphabetically by common name, which imo is the worst way to sort plants ever. (Better choices: genus, family (but that wasn't even included?), or flower color.)

[Evan Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference that covers a lot of common Phoenix plants. I've followed its watering and care tips and found good results in my yard (but it's still too early to tell). Instructions are pretty explicit, which I appreciate, and there were helpful gardening tips throughout. I wish this book had 2-3 pictures per plant instead of just one to help identify plants I see and visualize their full form and lifecycle (e.g., flower/leaf structure close-up and shot of full plant shape, photos of the plants in and out of bloom, fall color, etc.). Perhaps repeated planting/care information on each page (dig a hole 3-4 times wider than the container, mulch but don't allow it to touch the trunk, press the soil to remove air pockets,...) could be combined to a single section to make room for more pictures on each page.

[Michelle Becerril · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way she laid out the book. SHe gives a lot of information about growing in Arizona. I checked this book out at the library and I will buy a copy for myself.

[L B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent practical guide. Toto, we're not in Seattle anymore.

[Becomingme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have given this book to many of my friends as well as having a copy myself. I find it an invaluable reference guide that I keep near me when planting time comes, or I'm looking for another plant to add some colour. It gives directions on how to grow plants for the unique environment of Arizona, especially the lower deserts. Ms. Irish gives good directions on the needs of a plant, as some that may be "full sun" in other parts of the country will require a LOT of shade here. Plants are indexed nicely and easily with lot of pictures to help in identification and figure out if this plant or tree is right for you. I strongly suggest this book for all lower desert gardeners as a good reference for you plants needs.