Western Garden Book

Rating:
Summary: If you only buy one gardening book, this is it.
Review: Sunset's Western Garden Book can tell you everything you'll ever need to know about plants: distinctions for each variety, where to plant, how to prune, how thirsty each is. It's an invaluable, timeless classic. It's also readable, and interesting, with sections at the front of the book showing plant lists for various types of gardens: Shade, butterfly, etc. Read it and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: If you only buy one gardening book, this is it.
Review: Sunset's Western Garden Book can tell you everything you'll ever need to know about plants: distinctions for each variety, where to plant, how to prune, how thirsty each is. It's an invaluable, timeless classic. It's also readable, and interesting, with sections at the front of the book showing plant lists for various types of gardens: Shade, butterfly, etc. Read it and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Read this book like a novel!
Review: This book is full of information, it must be read like a novel. It contains information that is specifically for your area and is unmatched in its detail. The photographs are real and well done. Living in California presents it gardening perks and problems. All of them are covered here.

Rating:
Summary: All the professionals use it!
Review: This is a book that every nursery person, horiculturalist and landscape designer uses. Four years of Landscape Architecture was great, but I am always using this one! It is outstanding for the novice. I recommend it for my adult education landscape design class. They all say they were nervous about the price, but it has worth every penny. If you still have the old one-get this one. All the things we wish they would change have been done. I have had a design firm in Montana and Washington State. It didn't forget the folks out in the middle of the Washington desert or the mountains of Montana! Most books can't cross those horticultural borders like this one.

Rating:
Summary: The Maps! The Maps!
Review: We have lived in 6 different places in the West over the last 20 years. I wish I'd have had this book on the entire tour. The maps let you know which growing zone you are in and gives advice based on that very acurate assesment of the climate in those locations. Very sound advice and very simple instructions.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic for Western gardeners, but leaves out rest of USA
Review: When I lived in California, this book was fantastic! So thorough and easy to read. I used it all the time. But since I live in Indiana now, I wish it had info about Midwestern climate zones, soil types, and recommended plants.