BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING IN A POST-WILD WORLD Though most of their readers might be other designers, Thomas Rainer and Claudia West’s Planting in a Post-Wild World offers plenty of information for non-professionals as well. The book shows how to design and maintain an ecological landscape and does so in a beautifully, clear way. One of…
Books
Book Review: Reimagining the California Lawn
Book Review – Reimagining the California Lawn: Water-conserving Plants, Practices, and Designs Continuing on a road we have just begun to travel, this month’s book, Reimagining the California Lawn: Water-conserving Plants, Practices and Designs gives us another look at drought tolerant plants from around the world and offers design ideas and practical solutions to complement our Mediterranean…
Book Review: The Beekeeper’s Lament
Book Review: The Beekeeper’s Lament On one of Santa Barbara’s warm, almost-Spring days, spending some time in my favorite book store, I noticed a book that fit right in with our newsletter this month. It was The Beekeeper’s Lament, by award winning journalist Hannah Nordhaus. Even if you have never thought about the plight of…
Book Review: The Inspired Landscape
Book Review: The Inspired Landscape: Twenty-one leading landscape architects explore the creative process by Susan Cohen I planned on liking this book before I opened it, but it had me at the dedication: “For landscape architects – whose works, grounded in the practical, are elevated by their imaginations.” Since we opened our business in 1994,…
Book Review: Planting the Dry Shade Garden
IT’S NOT A DARK, DRY BOOK! Apparently, figuring out what to plant in an area of your garden that has shade, but no moisture, is a problem that stymies gardeners everywhere. We have been focused like a laser beam on our lack of water and how to logically use what little we have and Planting…
Book Review: Fountains – Splash and Spectacle
FOUNTAIN AS MUSE Sunday morning. Outside the bank of our bedroom windows, the fountain’s splash and play completely encompass the peacefulness of home. Our shy friend, a tiny iridescent green hummingbird is curiously eyeing the droplets arcing into the air. Especially while we are all thinking about water problems in California, enjoying a few moments…