The Water-Saving Garden_ How to Grow a Gorgeous Garden with a Lot Less Water PDF
Preview The Water-Saving Garden_ How to Grow a Gorgeous Garden with a Lot Less Water
1 of 246 2 of 246 Agave colorata and pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) glow at dusk. 3 of 246 Summer perennials and grasses cascade down a gravelly slope. 4 of 246 5 of 246 Copyright © 2016 by Pam Penick All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. www.crownpublishing.com www.tenspeed.com Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. All photographs, except as noted on this page–this page, are copyright to the author. Some photos previously appeared on www.penick.net. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Penick, Pam, author. The water-saving garden / by Pam Penick.—First edition. pages cm 1. Xeriscaping. 2. Water conservation. 3. Drought-tolerant plants. I. Title. SB475.83.P46 2016 635.9—dc23 2015025964 Trade paperback ISBN 9781607747932 eBook ISBN 9781607747949 eBook design adapted from printed book design by Kara Plikaitis v4.1 a 6 of 246 To those who see 7 of 246 contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication introduction part one: DRINK UP the beauty & ingenuity of a water-saving garden + dry-garden journey to a courtyard oasis + zen inspiration for a concrete jungle + embracing the desert for outdoor living + holding on to every drop of rain + painting a dry slope with color + bold foliage takes center stage + evoking water in a dry garden part two: make your garden a WATER SAVER, not a WATER GUZZLER 1 hold that liquid gold 2 think saltines: choose permeable paving 3 irrigation without irritation 4 the nitty-gritty on soil and mulch 5 throw some shade and shoot the breeze part three: PLANTING the water-saving garden 6 lose the lawn 7 grow native—but enjoy well-adapted plants too 8 ripple-zone planting and rethinking lush 9 timing Is everything: when to plant 10 hot pots: saving water in container and balcony gardens part four: oasis or mirage? creating the ILLUSION of water in the garden 11 the water feature as a symbol of abundance 12 water-evoking plants 13 squeezing water from stone 8 of 246 part five: 101 PLANTS for water-saving gardens acknowledgments recommended resources photography and design credits index 9 of 246 Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica) adds color and lushness to a desert garden. 10 of 246 introduction Water is easy to take for granted in our country. Gushing from the faucet at the touch of a lever or twist of a knob, the most precious resource in the world —clean drinking water—gurgles into our homes like magic. Our great-grandparents may have hand- pumped a well, and their ancestors lugged buckets of water from the river. But we’re so accustomed to the convenience and availability of fresh water that we design our homes and grade our property to shed water and then pay to pipe it back in and spray it across our yards when rainfall is scarce—and often even when it isn’t. With a heedlessness born of cheap, plentiful water—a supply many regions can no longer count on —we run our sprinklers automatically and excessively, carpet our yards with thirsty lawn without regard to climate, and let rainwater and irrigation run off our yards and driveways into the street. This is madness. We must stop treating water as a disposable commodity in our landscapes and gardens and conserve it like the precious, limited resource it is. The specter of drought, which has always haunted the American West, Great Plains, and Southwest, has lately spurred widespread interest in removing water-hogging lawns and an acceptance of drier gardens and native plants. Even in the wetter parts of the country, particularly the mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Midwest, water conservation is increasingly popular. Combined with a renewed national interest in living more sustainably with less waste of our natural resources, water conservation—and, more broadly, water management—is now a priority no matter where one lives.
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