Xeriscape Gardening: Water Conservation for the American Landscape
by By Ellefson, Connie Lockhart, Stephens, Thomas L., and Welsh, Douglas F.
Category: Gardening , Techniques

Have you experienced repeated droughts, and either bans on, or stringent scheduling of, landscape watering? Have your water bills gone through the roof during summertime watering? Are you battling a constantly browning lawn? Do you want to have a beautiful, quality landscape?If any of this rings true, then Xeriscape Gardening will be your gardening bible. Endorsed by the National Xeriscape Council, this comprehensive primer thoroughly explains the concept of Xeriscape gardening, or quality water-efficient landscaping. It dispels the common "zero-scape" image of Xeriscape gardens, namely seas of gravel surrounding a few cacti, and the belief that water-thriftiness in the garden is an issue only in California and the Southwest. The goal of Xeriscape gardening is a landscape indistinguishable in its beauty from one that is water-greedy.The first part of the book is devoted to the seven Xeriscape principles: planning and design, soil analysis and improvement, practical turf areas, appropriate plant selection (both native and non-native), efficient irrigation, mulching, and maintenance. This part - covering a wide range of topics, from planning wildflower and prairie gardens to methods of harvesting water from nature - gives you the tools you need to either plan a Xeriscape garden from scratch or modify an existing landscape. There are valuable tips throughout from Xeriscape gardeners across the country, and useful lists of such things as vegetables and herbs.The second part of the book consists of extensive region-specific plant lists, divided into Natural Rainfall, Occasional Watering, and Regular Watering categories, invaluable when making plant selections for your Xeriscape garden. In addition, the appendixes include literally hundreds of plants that will make their home almost anywhere in the country, again listed according to water needs. There are also lists of plants for dry shade and the seashore.Xeriscape Gardening is a one-of-a-kind reference on a topic no gardener can afford to ignore.