Have you seen the latest edition of the Sunset Western Garden Book? This is just the latest in a series of “new” books.  Remember when the Lane Publishing Company published the “Sunset” franchise?  Back then, the “gardeners’ bible” was reprinted often, but not revised.  Now that Time Home Entertainment has taken over, this book has been redone a minimum of 3 times.

It used to be that a copy of this book was handed down from one family member to the next, but no more.  At the local library book sales, one can now find a good half-dozen copies available for sale.  I know – I buy them!  Right now on my desk, I have 6 copies from various years and reprints: from 1973 which advised that the alphabetical plant listings and descriptions are on pages 167-445 to the newest, just out, which gives more than 2,000 full-color photos and no-fail tips for flowers, vegetables, natives and more(!).  Between my 6 copies, I can probably find out more than I wanted to about plantings for my area.  And yet, can there be too much information?  Not really as more and more varieties of plants are bred or discovered each year!

The Sunset Western Garden Book started out in 1947 in the form of the Sunset Western Flower Book of which my mother bought a copy of the “revised and enlarged” Seventh printing in 1951.  All of 252 pages including the index, this book was strictly a “how to” book: how to care for plants; how to grow annuals; when and how to water; etc.    In the notes section, my mother wrote:” Sulphate of ammonia – rapid growth and rich green color” as well as how, what, and when fertilize a Meyer lemon tree. It appears that the queries about plants are the same as then. 

Forwarding to the 1970’s, we began to use the West’s climate zone information when choosing plants for our own areas – not so much hit and miss with a plant’s growing habits and needs.  Back then, the climate zones included California to Washington and over to Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada.  With the newest volume, “the West” has grown to include up into Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan) and down into Mexico ( Baja California, Baja California Sur, and the States of Sonora and Chihuahua).  Also now included are Alaska, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana.  Hawaii is represented as well!  Would you believe that this book is sold throughout the United States?  I was in a bookstore in Delaware, Ohio, which is a suburb of Columbus, several years ago and there it was – right next to a version of the Sunset Western Garden Book for the rest of the country.  Thumbing through it, I asked the clerk if he sold many copies.  He admitted that they never sold a copy, but that every year the  6 shelf copies were returned to the home office for credit and without fail, 6 more copies showed up for sale.  We both agreed that it didn’t make sense, but sometimes with chain-stores things were nonsensical!

I must confess that there are several things that I don’t like about this newest version: the 1^st is the shiny paper.  All the papers are printed on this paper, unlike the previous which reserved the shiny paper for photos only.  This shinier paper is lighter weight which wrinkles when damp or wet – not to great for a book which goes outside!  The 2^nd thing which caught my attention (and fingers) is the lighter weight cover – good for a tour guide but too easily bent in regular use – my cover bent at the corners just getting it home from Costco.  I fear for its “shelf” life as I use it in my weekly gardening activities.  The 3^rd disappointment is the lack of illustrations for each plant listing – now there is just a small photo showing what the writers thought to be important to show for each plant listing.  For instance with Gentiana, there is a small, rather close-up photo of purple flowers amid foliage with no distinct flower shape; whereas in the previous edition, the drawing very clearly shows the flower shape and its position upon the stems.

Yes, I have purchased the new Sunset, but as usual, I will continue to hold onto my other copies for reference.