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Waterwise Gardening - a book review

Waterwise Gardening: Everything You Need To Know About Efficient Watering to Grow a Healthy Yard by Richard Restuccia Published by Rizzoli, 2025 I would guess that watering is the major issue that most gardeners grapple with, especially novice gardeners. I know from working at the nursery that the majority of questions and issues we get stem from either watering too much or not watering enough.  Many people in our area have sprinkler systems and I'm sure that can be a good thing if used properly but I feel that they primarily keep the lawns green but fall short for landscape plants. Especially when it comes to trees and larger plants, the timing and amounts are not satisfactory for many plants. I often hear people say that their sprinklers are set to come on every day - yikes! And there are those who did not water because it "rained" when it actually drizzled.  The best thing to do in this situation is to have a xeric garden but that would mean sacrificing favorite plant...
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A perfect Fall day

Before I bombard everyone with vacation photos, I thought I would share some that I took today in the garden. It was great to be back at home and, either I was re-energized from vacation or perhaps it was the time change, but I got a ton of chores done. I bought groceries, mowed, cleared the leaves (and was amazed at how many had fallen since we left one week ago), restocked the bird feeders, cleaned the urn fountain, and spent an hour taking photos.

When we left last Saturday, the leaves had just begun to change color. The colors really popped during the last week. 


The first thing I noticed as we approached the house was how pretty the
Sweet Gum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) is this year.

Acer rubrum "October Glory" is just as colorful - you just have to look up to see it.


Witch Hazel "Diane" (Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane') is a dud of a shrub
but the fall foliage almost makes me want to forgive it.
Lespedeza is always a vibrant yellow in fall. We have both the purple and white
flowered varieties but aside from flower color, they look the same.
Sweet Shrub (Calycanthus floridus) is a great old-fashioned shrub.
Japanese Maple "Sango Kaku" (Acer palmatum) is one of my favorites.
The bark will turn red in the winter.
Another Japanese Maple that I would not want to live without is "Crimson Queen", a threadleaf variety that spreads wide but stays low. Ours is over fifteen years old and is not over 4 feet tall.
 
Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Gardener on Sherlock StreetNovember 6, 2011 at 5:31 PM

    I love pretty fall days. Thanks for sharing yours!

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  2. AnonymousNovember 6, 2011 at 5:47 PM

    Phillip how wide is your Crimson Queen maple? I planted one along the driveway and I'm worried that it might mug folks as it gets older. I have 3 or the coral bark maples and planted a Red Emperor Japanese Maple today that I found for half off. I have several re-blooming iris starting a re-bloom. Hope the heavy freeze holds off until they open. Mary

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  3. aquablueroseNovember 6, 2011 at 6:25 PM

    Beautiful fall and photography, dear Phillip!

    I enjoyed these so much!!

    My favorite season is fall even though I am a lover of Roses..

    gerri XXX

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  4. LarryNovember 6, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    Wow Philip... your Sango kaku looks great! I put one in a month ago and am hoping it's going to make it here despite being rated zone 6 (we're 5). Great post! Larry

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  5. GabiNovember 7, 2011 at 2:24 AM

    Urocze jesienne widoki...pozdrawiam.

    ReplyDelete
  6. sweetbayNovember 7, 2011 at 6:07 AM

    One of those perfect golden fall days indeed! It is magical the way the light filters through the fall colors and your photos capture that magic perfectly.

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  7. The Graceful GardenerNovember 7, 2011 at 8:33 AM

    Beautiful fall photo's! The colors are so vibrant. Love the photo's of your Jap.Maples too. ~Brenda

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  8. debsgardenNovember 7, 2011 at 2:04 PM

    Welcome back! Nothing like a good vacation to energize you.

    I planted a sweet shrub this year, not expecting much from it. Wow! Now I want to plant two more. Today the fall foliage here is so spectacular, I can hardly pull my eyes away.

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  9. Peggy HillNovember 7, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    What a beautiful Japanese maple! It has been so dry, I'm a bit surprised the fall color is so good this year. I was expecting everything to just turn brown and die.

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  10. scottweberpdxNovember 7, 2011 at 4:21 PM

    Absolutely beautiful...isn't it amazing just how much things can seem to change when we are gone for a few days...especially at this time of year!

    ReplyDelete
  11. NicNovember 7, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    Beautiful pictures - Love the Japanese maples!

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