Xeriscaping -what's that?*

If this year's drought has made a shambles of your yard,
consider xeriscaping by planning a new type of garden, with less lawn, and more drought-resistant plants.

Taylor's guide to water-saving gardening This book provides the answers to such questions as, Which plants will thrive without much water? Different varieties of flowers, ground covers, shrubs, and trees are all discussed. Helpful gardening techniques are provided for the 260 plants featured, including effective irrigation and soil improvement.

Waterwise Gardening Describes hundreds of trees, shrubs, vines, and plants that require less water, and shows how to plan cottage, prairie, rock, herb, and desert gardens

Xeriscape Gardening: Water Conservation for the American Landscape Discusses planning and design, soil analysis and improvement, appropriate plant selection, efficient irrigation, mulching, and maintenance

Less Lawn This website provides helpful hints on how to shrink your lawn, low-maintenance lawns, lawnless landscapes and useful plants.

* Definition of Xeriscape

Garden Reads

If gardening and nursery catalogs are some of your favority reading materials,

consider branching out to some tales of fiction, mystery, and real life, about other people and their gardens:


Consider the Lily by Elizabeth Buchan
Wild Designs by Katie Fforde
Night Gardening by E. L. Swann

Garden Club Mystery by Graham Landrum
Garden Club by Muriel Resnick Jackson
Gardening Mystery series by Ann Ripley
English Garden Mysteries by Anthony Eglin
Bretta Solomon mysteries by Janis Harrison

Onward and Upward in the Garden by Katherine White
Around the house and in the garden by Dominique Browning
Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul