Product Description

This title provides topical advice on drought-tolerant plants.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35651 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 115 pages

Review
Heidi Gildemeister, long-term Mediterranean gardener and contributor to the RHS Dictionary of Gardening, the gardener's bible, shares her 20 years experience of gardening in drought-ridden areas of the world. Learning through trial and error she has today managed to perfect the ideal cultivation methods for growing over 1000 differing plants in this specific climate. Being dry and hot and receiving only variable amounts of winter rain, the method of planting and correct siting becomes all-important. Mulches, initial watering, dappled shade and shelter-belts all help in settling in the vast range of plants that are happy in these situations. Familiar plants such as clematis, paeonia and helianthus mingle with the more exotic passiflora, neriums and hedychiums, all thriving in these harsh conditions and enduring lower than expected temperatures. Pertinent more than ever today in this age of global warming, this is an invaluable guide to all those longing to have a watering-free garden. And with water meters now becoming the norm, Heidi's advice will save you money too. Written in an affable, assured manner, she willingly admits her failures, teaching gardeners in the UK, Mediterranean and Mediterranean-type climates around the world how to make the most of their specific situation. - Lucy Watson

Customer Reviews

A must for gardeners in Spain
I consult this book (the Spanish version) constantly, as it not only gives you great ideas for planning your garden but also has a very user-friendly index of plants, with advice on propogation and lots of photos. Highly recommended.

a fundamental guide for starting a mediterranean garden
It would have been really a difficult task for me to cope with my 1000 sqm bare land to convert them in a garden without the help and the useful advises of this book, since the lack of water and the heat of the summer are not easy problems to solve for an absent gardener on the Italian Riviera. And the wide list of plants suitable for this climate permits you to avoid expensive mistakes on the basis of the not always honest suggestions of garden centres.

A real eye opener
"Traditional", i.e. northern European, gardening just doesn't work in countries with long dry summers. The author does a great job in explaining the principles and constraints applicable to dry climate gardening in the first half of the book. Lots of practical detail shows that she has done it all herself, many times over. The second half is a nice compendium of plants from Mediterranean climates from all over the world. Highly recommended.