As we come to the end of another record hot summer, there's little doubt left that we need to think and rethink our plantings for every season.  We have had a most timely volume on our book shelf for several years and I recently took a closer look at it.  The book is “Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of the Bay Region”, and it is exquisite and spot on.

Published by the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the book is written by the water conservation staff and edited by Nora Harlow in 2004.  The first impression upon opening the book is made by the most sumptuous, full-color photographs and illustrations splashed across every page.  And, the content resonates with everything we need to create a beautiful and sustainable garden and landscape in the Bay Area.

The book begins with a section called, “Gardening Where You Are” which includes chapters on Bay Region Plant Communities, and Plant Adaptations in the Summer.  Other chapters cover, “Notes on Design”, and an all- encompassing chapter titled “Plant Catalog”.  This section takes plants one-by-one with outstanding photographs and detailed descriptions of hundreds of plants, shrubs, vines and trees appropriate for our area.

One of the most useful sections is a large survey of “plants for special places”.  Who doesn't need to know the best perennials, shrubs, annuals, trees, vines, grasses or palms for those tricky, hard-to-cultivate sites?  The final chapter, “The Landscape Over Time”, is a compendium of knowledge regarding  soils, roots, and “gardens as ecosystems”.  The book ends with an extensive survey telling how to successfully plant, water, fertilize and mulch plants for our specific area.  Even the Resources section leads one to other books, periodicals, display gardens, and technical know-how for the novice and the most experienced gardener amongst us.

This is a wonderful companion to so many of our basic gardening books, including Sunset Western Garden Book because it goes so far beyond most volumes concerned with seasonal patterns of winter rain and dry summers.  As Katherine Grace Endicott of the San Francisco Chronicle and author of Northern California Gardening reviewed--“A truly fine book.  It's hard to imagine how anyone would want an English garden after seeing the beautiful gardens featured here.  This book is off the charts.  Highest recommendations.”