Book Resources for the Western Gardener

Book Resources for the Western Gardener

  • Topic: Gifts for Gardeners
  • Author: By Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: Literature,Gardening guides, Garden Design, books, gardens, gardeners
  • Date: January 2004

© All articles are copyrighted by High Country Gardens. Republication is prohibited without Permission.

Ever feel at a loss when you’re looking for a certain plant or figuring out what to do with that one spot in the garden? And then there’s all those neat ornamental grasses that are coming into their own now. How can you even begin to choose what’s right? Especially if you live in the West.

For too many years gardening literature mainly featured plants and design concerns for the moister climates east of the Mississippi. But in the past 15 years publishers have come out with an abundance of books for the Western Region, and with our prevailing Western drought conditions these books are proving invaluable. Following is a partial list of titles we recommend. The highlighted ones can be ordered directly from us. Just click on the book to go to the catalog. The other can be easily ordered from local bookstores.

Design

  • Waterwise Landscaping with Trees, Shrubs and Vines by Jim Knopf (Chamisa Books, 1999)
  • Southwestern Landscaping with Native Plants by Judith Phillips (Museum of New Mexico Press, 1987)
  • Natural By Design by Judith Phillips (Museum of New Mexico Press, 1995)

Grasses

  • The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses by Rick Darke (Timber Press, 1999)
  • Grasses by Nancy J. Ondra, (Storey Books, 2002)

Plant Guides

  • The Undaunted Garden by Lauren Springer (Fulcrum Publishing, 1994)
  • Plants for Natural Gardens by Judith Phillips (Museum of New Mexico Press, 1995)
  • New Mexico Gardener’s Guide by Judith Phillips (Cool Springs Press, 1998)
  • Native Plants for High-Elevation Western Gardens by Janie Busco and Nancy R. Morin, (Fulcrum Publishing, 2003)
  • The Rocky Mountain Plant Guide by the Colorado Nursery Association; (303) 758-6672
  • Best Plants for New Mexico Gardens and Landscape by Baker H. Morrow, (UNM Press, 1995)
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Gardens published by the Native Plant Society of New Mexico; http://npsnm.unm.edu

Planting Narratives

  • Passionate Gardening by Lauren Springer (Fulcrum Publishing, 2000)
  • The Zen of Gardening In the High and Arid West by David Wann, (Fulcrum Publishing, 2003)

Xeriscape

  • Xeriscape Color Guide by Denver Water Association (Fulcrum Publishing, 1998)
  • Xeriscape Plant Guide by Denver Water Association (Fulcrum Publishing, 1996)
  • Xeriscape Handbook by Gayle Weinstein (Fulcrum Publishing, 1999)
  • The Xeriscape Flower Gardener by Jim Knopf (Johnson Books, 1991)