February 14, 2023

I’ve been following Noelle Johnson’s informative and entertaining backyard weblog, AZ Plant Woman: Ramblings From a Desert Backyard, for greater than a decade. As a horticulturist and panorama advisor in Phoenix, Noelle is an authority on native and desert-adapted vegetation suited to her scorching, arid local weather. Her web site engages with beautiful photographs of her personal colourful backyard in addition to others round city, and he or she’s beneficiant with upkeep ideas. I think about these are particularly helpful to individuals who’ve relocated to the Desert Southwest and are questioning how within the heck to create a climate-resilient backyard.

And now Noelle has packaged her huge expertise and information about desert gardening into e book type! Dry Local weather Gardening: Rising Lovely, Sustainable Gardens in Low-Water Circumstances comes out in March and is out there for pre-order now. I acquired an advance copy for evaluate and was happy to jot down an endorsement for it:

Noelle’s e book uproots all of the stereotypes of gardening in an arid or semi-arid area. As a substitute of expanses of rock and cactus with a number of boring clipped shrubs, she reveals simply how colourful and plant-rich — but waterwise — a dry backyard may be, whereas strolling the reader by the practicalities of good plant choice and upkeep. Everybody who relocates to the Desert Southwest, or who desires to refresh their yard to fulfill the challenges of local weather change, ought to get this e book and browse it cowl to cowl.

I’m particularly excited for Noelle’s e book as a result of her area, like my very own right here in Texas, is sorely underrepresented in magazines, books, and on-line. Not solely that, gardening in a desert local weather is a totally totally different expertise than gardening someplace extra temperate. The vegetation are totally different. The seasons are totally different. The soil and even the daylight are totally different. Noelle proves to be a wonderful information in serving to any dry-climate gardener determine all of it out.

Whereas the e book isn’t geared toward a Central Texas viewers (we’re not a desert local weather), there’s some overlap when it comes to sure vegetation, just like the purple trailing lantana and Delight of Barbados pictured above. And as our local weather grows hotter, we might do nicely to look westward for planting methods and species tolerant of each warmth and drought, whereas being aware of our doable deep freezes and drought-busting floods. West Texans, in the meantime, will discover a lot of the e book straight related to their low-water gardens.

Picture credit score: All photographs by Noelle Johnson from Dry Local weather Gardening

Disclosure: Cool Springs Press despatched me a duplicate of Dry Local weather Gardening, and I reviewed it at my very own discretion and with none compensation. This publish, as with every little thing at Digging, is my private opinion.

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Digging Deeper

Come find out about backyard design from the specialists at Backyard Spark! I set up in-person talks by inspiring designers, panorama architects, and authors a number of instances a 12 months in Austin. These are limited-attendance occasions that promote out rapidly, so be a part of the Backyard Spark electronic mail listing to be notified prematurely. Merely click on this hyperlink and ask to be added. You could find this 12 months’s speaker lineup right here.

Make plans to attend the Budding Out Plant Sale & Pageant on March 18 on the John Fairey Backyard in Hempstead, TX. Uncommon and distinctive vegetation will probably be provided, in addition to artwork, ceramics, jewellery, meals, drink, music, and different leisure for the entire household. Members have early entry and get in free. Non-member admission is $5. Youngsters 12 and underneath are free.

Expertise the Surreal Backyard at Zilker Botanical Backyard, a fascinating neon-art show all through the gardens, with food and drinks, music and dancing, surreal performers, and interactive artwork sculptures. Surreal costumes inspired! 25% of occasion proceeds profit the Zilker Botanical Backyard Conservancy. Runs April 6 (VIP Night time), April 7-8, and April 13-15, from 6:30 pm to 11 pm.

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