The Colorful Dry Garden

Get expert guidance on cultivating a vibrant dry garden with this garden design book profiling over 100 drought-tolerant plants and flowers perfect for California and other dry regions in the Western US.

“Compact and easy-to-read, with practical tips for “going dry” . . . along with loads of color photos.” —The Los Angeles Times

If readers must reluctantly remove water-guzzling favorites from the garden, they need equally beautiful substitutes! This book is a visual treat that supports the transition to dry gardening by proving that gardeners can have all the gorgeous color and flowers they had in the past using just a fraction of the water.

Maureen Gilmer provides chapters on design categories of plants—flowering shrubs, the ground plain, eye-catching accents, ephemeral flowers, perennials for color, animated plants and fine textures, canopy, and edibles—with profiles for each plant plus background info and top picks lists.

The Colorful Dry Garden is unique because it features only bold plants that are also heavy bloomers despite heat and limited water. It also features more than just Western native plants by including varieties from the world's driest climates.