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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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More Open Gardens: Amato, DeNoyer & Lewis

Three more gardens that we toured on the HPSO Open Gardens a few weeks ago -

 Ann Amato is a plant collector with many unique plants packed into her small garden near Mt. Taybor. She has a fabulous courtyard area in back where she relaxes and entertains. A canopy made from four willow trees rises around the table and creates a wonderful sanctuary. I can just imagine this space at night when the lights in the trees are illuminating the area. Enchanting!






After visiting the Babbit garden and Ann's garden, we headed to a group of three neighbors who all have lovely gardens next to each other. By the time we arrived, it was raining steadily and as we approached the garden of Mary DeNoyer, it was coming a downpour. Despite that, and the fact that Michael was becoming grumpier by the minute, I trudged onward. This was a beautifully designed garden and I was unhappy that I could not spend more time there.

Along the front walk leading up to the house. The borders were filled with spectacular plants.

A rose covered archway leads to the back garden.

Stepping through the archway - a pathway with a large container planted with Cornus controversa 'Variegata' (aka The Wedding Cake Dogwood).


The pathway leads around to a patio area. There were many people at the garden so it was difficult to get photos. 


Across the street is an equally impressive garden, the Lewis garden. The rain was coming down heavier so I had to rush through. I did get a chance to talk with the very nice owner. I would love to get back and see these gardens again, on a dryer day!

I loved the hardscaping in this garden, particularly the stone pathways and steps. 





More gardens on the way! If you haven't visited any of the gardens on the HPSO Open Gardens Tour, I encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful opportunity to see what creative gardeners in the area have accomplished.

 Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Barbara H.June 20, 2018 at 10:05 AM

    Beautiful gardens, Phillip, thanks for taking us along. Like you, I want to see more.

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  2. GRACE PETERSONJune 20, 2018 at 2:38 PM

    Beautiful gardens. The rain was nice but it could have waited until night when we were sleeping. Sheesh! :)

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  3. Lisa at GreenbowJune 20, 2018 at 5:20 PM

    The yellow foliage sure shows up during a downpour. All of these gardens have spectacular plants. I am having climbing rose envy right now. Lovely. I can't wait to see more. Tell Michael he is a good soldier. Hang in there.

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  4. AaronJune 22, 2018 at 6:14 AM

    Open garden days are awesome. We went to a couple when we first moved to Nashville, but sadly the events seem to have ceased in the past ~ 5 years...

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  5. chavlinessJune 25, 2018 at 10:50 AM

    I loved the succulent collection on the shelf of the first garden, and the shady plant area by the stone steps of the second. Garden visits this time of year are so inspiring !

    ReplyDelete
  6. outlawgardenerJune 26, 2018 at 7:05 AM

    More fabulous gardens! I'm hoping that once school is out for the summer, I'll have a bit more time to visit open gardens in our area.

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