Price : $18.78

Product Description

Inspirational, practical, and easy to use, this book was created with the aim of conveying the awesome diversity and beauty of California’s native plants and demonstrating how they can be brought into ecologically sound, attractive, workable, and artful gardens. Structured around major California plant communities–bluffs, redwoods, the Channel Islands, coastal scrub, grasslands, deserts, oak woodlands, mixed evergreen woodlands, riparian, chaparral, mountain meadows, and wetlands–the book’s twelve chapters each include sample plans for a native garden design accompanied by original drawings, color photographs, a plant list, tips on successful gardening with individual species, and more. Both residential and professional gardeners will learn the benefits of going native with gardens that require less water and fewer fertilizers, attract wildlife, engage the senses, create a sense of place, and, at the same time, preserve our rich natural heritage.
Designing Native California Gardens includes:
* More than 600 selected native species recommended for the garden
* More than 300 photographs of native plants, natural plant communities, and residential native gardens
* Recommended places to visit for viewing each plant community

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-06-08
I was looking for a book that would give me a comprehensive guide to xeriscaping with native plants. This book contains one section that approaches my needs but is more of an overview over the native plants of the many diverse vegetation zones of the states. For what it is, it is a nice book. Just not a match for me.

Review date : 2007-11-18
This book is a must have for the California native gardener. I’d say the book’s biggest strength is in its’ inspiration- contains nice photographs of natural landscapes and gardens modeled after them. It groups plants by communities which is nice, though maybe hard to do. I know I live in an area which doesn’t fit exactly into of any of the communities they list, but I can still get the idea they are trying to convey, and look around at what is in my community. California is so diverse you almost want a bunch of more specific and in-depth books for different areas inside California, but I guess maybe those areas of interest are too small to sell enough books to make it worth the while.

It does a good job listing different kinds of plants, my only complaint with this book is that I would have liked more pictures accompanying each plant for which information is given- because you really can’t tell from the brief physical description what the plant looks like. As someone else has mentioned, this book is best paired with California Native Plants For The Garden. However, this complaint should be taken with a grain of salt, for designing a California native garden I think this book is the best on the market. Together, these two books provide the backbone to build your California native plant book collection around.

Review date : 2007-11-14
Love this book, gets you to think in terms of plant groupings & not just on a singular level.

Review date : 2007-10-10
-We need more books like this to make Native Gardening more amenable. What "Landscapers’ Challenge" did for Landscaping, this book will hopefully start to do to open up the still rather arcane world of Native Plants. It is practical and full of detailed, appropriate, high quality photographs of sample materials. Visually on par with "Landscape Plants for Western Regions" by Perry.

Review date : 2007-09-26
This book is excellent, with many good photographic examples of complete native landscape. It also set for an excellent philosophy for landscape design for the both the use of native and non-native plants. However it really shouldn’t be thought of as a complete source for native gardening. I would also suggest that you pick up ‘California Native Plants for the Garden’ by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O’Brien. Even between these two books all of the possibilities for beautiful California native plants and landscapes created using them have not yet been fully explored, but these books are an excellent start.

It is important to understand that a lawn that is easy to care for and gives you the health and beauty you desire is dependant on several steps including those that occur before you make your first application of fertilizer.

St. Augustinegrass, the type of grass in most Florida homes, comes in many subtypes called varieties and have different characteristics that make them more or less suited for various conditions like shade tolerance and others. The term lawn or turfgrass as found below will be used interchangeably to refer to St. Augustinegrass.

1. Turfgrass Establishment:
Successful turfgrass establishment is important because without it lawns perform poorly and become infested with weeds that later can be difficult or impossible to selectively control. Proper soil preparation followed by the selection of quality sod that is of the appropriate variety (cultivar) for your general shade conditions, combined with properly installed irrigation all contribute to the success of turfgrass establishment.

Neglecting any of these important steps can lead to necessary corrective action in order to maintain a healthy desired lawn. This action can include removing sod from an area that is too shady for grass to grow and replacing it with a more shade tolerant plant material, pruning a tree to allow more sunlight, adding or moving sprinklers, or removing the existing weed infested areas and re-sodding with the appropriate variety following proper soil preparation.

2. Mowing:
St. Augustine grass should be mowed frequently enough to never remove more that one third of the grass blade and always with a sharp mower blade.Mowers should be set on the highest setting for all varieties other than semi-dwarf varieties such as Seville and Delmar, which should be mowed at about two and one half inches high. When mowing once per week, this practice can be easily followed during the slower growing cooler months but becomes more difficult during the fast growing rainy summer months.

A dull mower blade will split and tear the grass blades that will eventually die from their wounds. Split and torn grass blades can thin the grass, encourage weed growth, cause an entry point for fungus and detract from the overall appearance of the lawns color by combining dead grass blades with green healthy ones. Grass clippings should be mulched and returned to the grass to be used as an additional source of nutrients.

3. Irrigation:
Proper irrigation conserves both water and fertilizer and contributes to a healthy lawn by encouraging healthy root growth while discouraging weeds that thrive during constant wet conditions. Irrigation should be performed as needed by recognizing temporary wilt symptoms and then applying three-quarters of an inch of water. If a regular frequency is desired and you are in the St. Johns Water Management District, you must follow the irrigation requirements that allow watering only two times per week and only on specified days that correspond with your street address.You should then apply only three-quarters of an inch of water. Ask your Dr. Jacks horticulturist for a free irrigation gauge to help you determine how long you need to water each area (irrigation zone) and set your timer (controller) up accordingly.

4. Fertilizing:
Fertilizer is a lot like vitamins. There are many different opinions on what fertilizer is the best and what the frequency and rate should be.

Turfgrass experts will all agree that St. Augustinegrass must receive additional fertilizer other than grass clippings in order to be healthy and have a good green appearance. Most turfgrass experts will also tell you that St. Augustinegrass in Central Florida requires 4 to 6 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year. Most will also agree that nitrogen should be applied at 1 pound per 1000 square feet, and that formulations should contain some slow-release fertilizer. We recommend that as much as 50% of the nitrogen applied should be a slow-release form.

Do not be fooled by the term organic! Organic can be an expensive slow release synthetic or natural long feeding product, or it can be a cheap quick release synthetic or natural slow feeding product. The important key word again is slow-release.

Since our soils in Central Florida usually contain adequate amounts of Phosphorus, and because Phosphorus is detrimental to the health of our lakes, it should be applied in smaller amounts than Nitrogen and Potassium or eliminated from the fertilizer completely. Potassium is important for root growth and should be included at rates close to those of Nitrogen. Micronutrients such as Iron and Manganese help with turf color but can cause staining if applied to paved surfaces.

Generally, you get what you pay for when it comes to fertilizer. The cheaper the fertilizer the more you will need to buy and the shorter time it will last. This will ultimately cost you more than if you buy a more expensive fertilizer that requires you to use less but feeds your turf far longer.

Good quality broadcast spreader types are the easiest to use and achieve the best results. Avoid getting any fertilizer on paved surfaces and if you do, blow or sweep the pellets back into the lawn area to avoid potentially staining paved surfaces. It is also important to apply fertilizer in a manner that can be utilized by the grass and not wasted or cause pollution to our lakes. Many of our paved surfaces drain into lakes and can carry misapplied fertilizers into our waterways during rainfall. All fertilizers are harmful to our lakes so you should always follow Floridas Best Management Practices (BMP) when making fertilizer applications. You can learn more about fertilizing and other Best Management Practices by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/eypua
In conclusion, you need to determine several things before you apply fertilizer. Have you purchased the desired blend? Are you going to apply the right rate evenly so that you achieve an even, rich color that you desire while avoiding damage to the lawn from applying too much fertilizer? And most importantly, are you avoiding any detrimental environmental impact?

5. Pest Control:
A certain level of expertise is required to properly identify the different pests that can harm our St. Augustinegrass turf before you decide to use a pesticide. You can view pests that damage St. Augustinegrass by visiting: http://www.pestweb.com
Proper identification of insects, diseases and weeds will help you decide if a pesticide is required and if so which one should be used.

You need to read and understand the label before making any application of pesticides. There are several things you can do to reduce the need for pesticides on your site. These include proper watering, mowing, fertilizing, reducing traffic where possible, and avoiding any other stress to the grass. If you are unsure about what you are attempting to control, you should consult or hire a professional.

Any pesticides that are unused in an application should be stored safely away from children, always kept in their original container with the label attached, and never disposed improperly by pouring them into a sink drain or body of water.

6.Change Your View and Perspective:
If you think your lawn doesnt look as good as you think it should, or it is not as green as your neighbors across the street, try walking across the street to view your lawn.

There is no such thing as the perfect lawn and sometimes we see things up close that arent apparent from further away. You will probably find several things wrong with your neighbors lawn up close that were not apparent from your home across the street. Having a residential St. Augustinegrass lawn that looks like a closely mowed Bermudagrass hybrid that you play golf on is an unrealistic goal. Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side of the street!

For more information, please visit www.greengrassnow.com

Dr. Jack’s, a Central Florida Plant Care & Pest Control company, was founded in 1972 by Dr. Jack Reinhardt (Plant Pathology). The family owned and operated company provides high quality lawn & ornamental lawn care, termite protection, and pest prevention by degreed horticulturists. Jim Reinhardt, Jack’s son, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. Jim’s brother, Rick Reinhardt, president of Dr. Jack’s, obtained a degree in Horticulture. Jim has been a licensed Florida Pest Control Operator since 1985. He has served on the Orange County Agricultural Advisory Board and many tasks committees with the Bureau of Entomology an Pest Control (division of DACS).

Did You Know?

Did you know that there are over 2,000 different varieties of bamboo plant in the world? One of these varieties may be just the right touch to give your home that exotic or unique look that you are searching for. They can be grown in a container garden inside or as a privacy screen outside, or even just as a natural barrier between two different areas of landscaping. It was thought for many years that because bamboo is a grass that it was a fairly simple plant, but it is actually very highly evolved. While one bamboo plant blooms every year, others may bloom only once in a hundred years. It is said that you can even see bamboo growing-some grows at the astonishing rate of 12 inches a day. For gardeners and non-gardeners alike, growing bamboo can be a fun hobby. Did you know that you can get a bamboo plant that comes in colors other than yellow or gold? The stems can be burgundy, blue, and black-even the leaves come in different shades and color variations as well.

Where To Look And What To Look For

If you can find a nursery in your area that has a variety of bamboo plant for sale this is ideal. It means that it will probably grow in your area. If not, you will need to go online and search for sources of bamboo that will grow in your area. Bamboo can grow in all different climates, not just tropical ones. You should pick a bamboo plant that is well-acclimated to your day and night temperatures and your soil type.

As you are looking for bamboo, you will also need to consider where you are going to be planting the bamboo. The varieties that grow to 50 feet in height will not be good for indoor planting. If you are planting indoors the climate is not as much of an issue for which bamboo plant you choose. The varieties that spread across a large area, but only grow a few inches in height will not be suitable for a barrier or privacy screen.

Tips On Caring For Your Bamboo

Bamboo is fairly simple to grow because it is a hardy plant-but you need to know a few basic rules. All varieties of bamboo need a lot of sunshine so positioning is the key. In the beginning the young plants need a lot of water. But, if you water your bamboo plant too much it will begin to yellow and it could die. Those plants that seem to be thriving without any special care probably just have the ideal situation for their survival.

Use the same type of fertilizer for your bamboo plant that you would use for your grass (but not the weed and feed variety.) You can also use natural fertilizers like manure or other animal byproduct fertilizers with success.

Some bamboo is so thin and grows so quickly that it may not be able to support itself very well. In this case you may want to stake your bamboo plant. Tie it very loosely to the stake so that with its rapid growth it will not harm the plant. When the plant is sturdy enough and tall enough, you can remove the stake.

When you are growing your bamboo in a container, you will need to make sure that the container is big enough to contain the roots and plants for the very rapid growth of some varieties-otherwise you will need to change the container rapidly.

Trim off the yellow and dried leaves on your bamboo as they occur. Not only does this make the plant more attractive, it is also healthier for the plant.

By Margarette Tustle. Learn more about bamboo and bamboo resource from msbamboo.com.