Gardening in the Desert: A Guide to Plant Selection & Care

You can be living in the Phoenix area and realize how hard it is just to dig a hole in your backyard to plant a one-gallon desert plant. There's nothing unusual about finding seven or eight inch rocks as you dig that hole. Then, you water the hole hoping that you can break the layer of caliche you've undoubtedly struck by now. That's when you can reach for Mary Irish's book, Gardening in the Desert, and a glass of Arizona Iced Tea (no plug intended). You don't dig that hole until you finish reading the book and a couple of glasses of tea. Why? Because I said so!

I would have liked more pictures of the desert plants which Irish recommends. The text is valuable and you start wishing this desert plant expert and author, Mary Irish, was your next door neighbor. However, to find these desert plants in most plant nurseries is like finding a needle in a haystack. Maybe a future edition will have color pictures. I'd even settle for more black and white photos but you want to know what the plant looks like to when you go shopping!

Eleven chapters include:

• Conditions of Desert Gardening
• Trees
• Desert Palms
• Shrubs
• Perennials
• Wildflowers and Other Annuals
• Vines
• Cacti
• Agaves
• Other Succulents
• Distinctive Desert Plants
• and a handy dandy Index!

Like Irish, I truly believe that desert landscaping should be natural, not groomed for success. To hell with lollipop bushes! Whether you live in the deserts of southern California, southern Arizona or southern New Mexico or El Paso, Texas, we could all stand to learn from this common sense book which is definitely not a coffee table book. My book is tattered and dog-eared, but still a reference book I search for when contemplating my next plant project!

For all of you who are blessed with highly alkaline soils and little rainfall, this book is for you. If you're living in Oregon, go away!

This book is proof that you can raise a successful garden in the desert. It will take a considerable amount of work. Hats off to desert dwellers who commit themselves to raising plants in the desert. You can do it without a work crew and your yard will appreciate the care. After all, gas trimmers are simply bad for our environment (shameless plug). This book, loaded with practical advice and years of experience, is a welcome addition to my growing library of garden books.