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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...

Autumn lovelies


amsonia-geranium-rozanne-2
Blue Star (Amsonia hubrechtii) and Geranium 'Rozanne'


Salvia 'Amistad' and Pinus mugo 'Aurea'
Salvia 'Amistad' and Mugo Pine 'Aurea'

Lagerstoemia (Crape Myrtle 'Catawba')
Crape Myrtle (Lagerstoemia 'Catawba')

eupatorium-rugosum-chocolate-snakeroot
Snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum)

Dogwood (Cornus florida) Fall foliage
Dogwood (Cornus florida)

aster-monte-cassino
Aster 'Monte Cassino'

cuphea-stribling-sunset
Cuphea 'Strying Sunset'


panicum-virgatum-shenandoah

Panicum 'Shenandoah'


 Candy Lily (Iris norrisii)

 Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)

 Lettuce 'Multi-leaf Salanova'

 Sourwood (Oxydendrum)

Salvia 'Hot Lips'

 Snowbell (Styrax japonicus)

Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans)

Sunflower




Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Good grief, even your lettuce is beautiful!

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    1. First time I have grown that variety and I just picked it out of the blue off the table at the nursery. It is very pretty! I have not eaten any yet.

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  2. You still have lots of rich color in your garden. I like the combos in the first few photos.

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  3. Great vignettes!

    PS - Quick question -- When do you sow your lettuce?

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    1. Aaron, seeds are sown here in February or March and in August for fall crops. I have become so frustrated with keeping up with seeds that I have come to the conclusion that buying plants is better for me. I planted these latest lettuce starts in late September.

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  4. I'm not normally a fan of the Aster, but your photo of the Aster 'Monte Cassino' is just gorgeous!

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  5. Very nice color all around but the first two shots of purple blooms with gold foliage are glorious in their richness!

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  6. Your autumn photos took me breath away, just stunning!

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  7. Great autumn colors! The purple and gold images are gorgeous, and I really like the Candy Lily, which I was not familiar with. Happy fall!

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  8. I am FINALLY figuring out how to follow blogs better (slowly, gradually). Your photography is wonderful!

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  9. That lettuce is as pretty as any flower. I just discovered that there are golden Mugo pines so it's exciting to see one.

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  10. Just gorgeous! That salvia + mugo pine combo especially sings to me.

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  11. All beautiful, but those first couple of photos with blue and gold really do set the stage.

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  12. Rozanne and Amsonia make a beautiful combination!

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