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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...

Roses beginning to bloom

"Aloha"


"Clair Matin"

"Fortune's Double Yellow"

"La Marne"


"Madame Plantier"


"Marchessa Boccella"



"Marie Daly"


"Mrs. B. R. Cant"


"Mrs. Dudley Cross"


"Nearly Wild"


"Pink Knockout"


"Pink Knockout"


"Pink Knockout"



"Prosperity"



"Russell's Cottage Rose"



"Souvenir de la Malmaison"



"Windchimes"


"Buff Beauty"
"Climbing American Beauty"


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Marvelous, Phillip!

    I like the simple roses best.

    Have you seen any bees on your roses this year? I know that roses aren't the best bee attractors, but the Rosa rugosa at my parents' house always used to attract loads of bees when I was growing up.

    I haven't seen too many here this year - not even on the redbud when it was in bloom or on the sage now that it's blooming. Just a bit concerned about bee populations and wondering if you'd seen many/any down in Alabama?

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  2. Phillip - these are beautiful photos as was your garden today. Thanks so much for letting Limestone Co MG take another look. Everyone that had not been before was amazed and those of us who had been there were also amazed! Your roses are gorgeous and smell so wonderful!

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  3. Edith it was a pleasure! Thank you so much. I am looking forward to seeing your garden.

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  4. Beautiful. 'Windchimes' is my favourite - great name too.

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  5. Oh, I'm sitting here swooning over your gorgeous roses! The harsh winter knocked mine for a loop, and I'll be lucky to see any blooms this year. I've already replaced five of them, and the verdict is still out on one more. It's been heartbreaking!

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