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The New Sunset Western Gardening Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide
As surely as gardens change with the seasons, gardening is ever changing. New plants, techniques, materials, and lifestyles are constantly broadening the choices you have and reshaping the way you garden in the West. In response to this natural evolution, the editors of Sunset-the West's most trusted source of gardening information for more than 80 years-have completely redesigned and updated The Western Garden Book in this new 2012 Ninth Edition. Following the best-selling success of the previous editions of The Western Garden Book, this edition includes a fresh new look, thousands of color photographs, fresh illustrations, and an easy-to-follow format. Written by experts for gardeners in the West, this book is an indispensable reference for beginning and expert gardeners alike.
The New Western Garden Book features include:
A photo gallery shows the West's most innovative gardens, from all-edibles front yards to stylish water-wise and fire-wise gardens to living walls and green roofs-all with ideas you can use.
Climate Zone Maps and growing-season graphs for all regions of the West including Alaska and Hawaii.
A new "Plant Finder" section helps you choose plants for their garden's problem areas or for special effects.
"A to Z Plant Encyclopedia" lists some 8,000 plants that thrive in the West, including more than 500 new ones. Gorgeous color photographs illustrate all plant entries-for the first time ever in The Western Garden Book.
"Gardening From Start to Finish" is a new visual guide that leads readers through all steps of making a garden, from soil prep through planting, growing and care, with special sections on natives, veggies, grasses and more.
The New Western Garden Book features include:
A photo gallery shows the West's most innovative gardens, from all-edibles front yards to stylish water-wise and fire-wise gardens to living walls and green roofs-all with ideas you can use.
Climate Zone Maps and growing-season graphs for all regions of the West including Alaska and Hawaii.
A new "Plant Finder" section helps you choose plants for their garden's problem areas or for special effects.
"A to Z Plant Encyclopedia" lists some 8,000 plants that thrive in the West, including more than 500 new ones. Gorgeous color photographs illustrate all plant entries-for the first time ever in The Western Garden Book.
"Gardening From Start to Finish" is a new visual guide that leads readers through all steps of making a garden, from soil prep through planting, growing and care, with special sections on natives, veggies, grasses and more.
768 pages, Hardcover
First published February 7, 2012
21 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 11, 2016
Non-Fiction
This indispensable A-Z guide to flowers, plants, shrubs, trees is a treasure trove for any gardener. It also includes precise information on strategic planting of trees and shrubs to shade your home, how to use terrace planting for pleasing appearance, as well as the most efficient water use.
A pictorial guide of good and bad garden pests or insects, and the best way to attract the good and defeat the bad. A pictorial guide of flower, shrub and tree diseases presents pictures of diseased leaves, identifies the disease, and provides information on how to treat each one.
The reader can follow step-by-step instructions on how to aerate the soil for flowers, plants, and trees to enrich the soil, loosen the soil to provide air, and allow water to reach the roots.
For advanced gardeners, there are design ideas for English gardens, desert gardens, decorative grass use, and so much more.
Every spring I check out one of our many library copies, and keep it close for reference several times every week until late summer or Fall.
This indispensable A-Z guide to flowers, plants, shrubs, trees is a treasure trove for any gardener. It also includes precise information on strategic planting of trees and shrubs to shade your home, how to use terrace planting for pleasing appearance, as well as the most efficient water use.
A pictorial guide of good and bad garden pests or insects, and the best way to attract the good and defeat the bad. A pictorial guide of flower, shrub and tree diseases presents pictures of diseased leaves, identifies the disease, and provides information on how to treat each one.
The reader can follow step-by-step instructions on how to aerate the soil for flowers, plants, and trees to enrich the soil, loosen the soil to provide air, and allow water to reach the roots.
For advanced gardeners, there are design ideas for English gardens, desert gardens, decorative grass use, and so much more.
Every spring I check out one of our many library copies, and keep it close for reference several times every week until late summer or Fall.
June 25, 2012
I think I will always be "currently reading" this book. This book and my previous edition of Western Gardening are close companions of mine. I love the photos in this one but I don't feel like it is as comprehensive as the one I have (from 20+ years ago). It can also be a challenge to navigate since it references plants by their scientific names instead of their common names. Fortunately, the index does include the common names but still, sometimes even then it can seem hard to find what you're looking for. Overall though, an excellent reference book!
June 10, 2020
I bought my first copy more than 40 years ago and always have a copy available as my go-to reference. I have purchased several copies as gifts for my children and friends. This has the answers to questions about what will grow right here in my location, in this climate and with his soil.
April 24, 2018
I use this all the time to identify plants in college and I am happy I bought it.
April 5, 2021
Excellent guide to regional plants
June 19, 2015
This is an must-have for anyone in the West looking to start or maintain a garden. I was thoroughly impressed that this book was easy for me to understand given that I have zero gardening experience. I've also been told that quite a few nurseries in the area use this as an encyclopedia for identifying plants.
My parent's own a 1979 version of this book and use it to this day. I found it inspiring, user-friendly and full of useful information. Find out what zone you are in, which plants will grow in your zone, when to plant them and how to take care of them. Build a water-wise garden, a vegetable garden or a wildlife garden. From correcting your soil to harvesting your own food, from lots of land to a few containers on a balcony, this is the book for you.
My parent's own a 1979 version of this book and use it to this day. I found it inspiring, user-friendly and full of useful information. Find out what zone you are in, which plants will grow in your zone, when to plant them and how to take care of them. Build a water-wise garden, a vegetable garden or a wildlife garden. From correcting your soil to harvesting your own food, from lots of land to a few containers on a balcony, this is the book for you.
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May 12, 2012The New Sunset Western Garden Book is the ultimate flower (and vegetable) growing guide for this area. Published this year, it features climate zones so you can determine which flowers work best in your growing zone. It is also very picture-heavy, so you can visualize any type of flower in your garden. While it doesn’t read like a novel, it is a great gardening manual for beginner and more advanced gardeners alike.
September 30, 2012
This should be called "The Ultimate Flower Gardening Guide," given its inexcusably lacking amount of information on vegetable gardening. I picked this up at Costco after hearing rave reviews about the Sunset gardening books and was sorely disappointed. Great if you want details on thousands of flowers, some of which might be quite obscure. Terrible if you want even basic information on growing common vegetables. I hope that future editions have more of a holistic focus.
October 30, 2016
I'm from the east and am still learning my western plants. This is super helpful for learning what is available in nurseries and works in the west.
I had a version from the late 1990s -- the new version differs from old versions in having color photos rather than line drawings, and is worth it for that alone.
I had a version from the late 1990s -- the new version differs from old versions in having color photos rather than line drawings, and is worth it for that alone.
October 12, 2008
This book is always on my coffee table, no matter how many times I put it away. I read it and reference it constantly, and my dad often calls me to tell me to look up specific plant in it. At this rate I have I suspect I'll be reading this book for the rest of my life...
April 15, 2012
I enjoyed the colored photos, and the variety of plants they included. However, there are other books that are more helpful with planting guidelines, etc. I now have a whole lot more plants that I want to grow!
August 31, 2020
Sunset perfects its flagship guide! With full pictures (and not just drawings) and an updated and expanded plants for specific situations in the front, this is a wonderful gift or addition to the library of any gardener, especially those of us in the West.
February 4, 2013
Every serious or casual gardener or botanist would be well-served to pick up a new edition of this tome every couple of years (when i lived in San Diego there were always new plants -especially australian and new zealand natives- getting added each year). This is botanical porn.
February 11, 2012
New climate zone maps. The plant encyclopedia (most of the book) has climate zone, water and light exposure listings. The Sunset people have been busy.
September 1, 2016
yeah color pix!
May 23, 2012
It really is the "ultimate". Maybe 1 of 3 books you'll ever need to get your garden in tip top shape.
November 23, 2012
A very good reference book for the western gardener.
April 14, 2013
excellent reference book, useful color photos
November 10, 2013
Unparalleled in its range and usefulness. The gardener's classic.
December 3, 2015
A wonderful resource I will be reading for years to come.
October 8, 2015
The categories used to organize the type of plants one is looking for is incredibly useful !
Planning for our walking garden was a breeze.
Planning for our walking garden was a breeze.
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February 12, 2016635.9 S958s 2012
February 19, 2019
Good reference book, helps keep your plantings from getting repetitive/stale.
February 1, 2020
Good reference book.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews