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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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August blooms

nicotiana-fragrant-cloud


I missed the August Bloom Day because I was in Alabama. The garden looks decent despite the terrible weather. Portland broke the record for the number of days over 90 degrees - 29! Blah! That plus the fact that there has been little rain since June. Michael has been great at keeping everything watered. There would be lots of dead plants if not for him.

 We are now back to 70-ish temperatures and even had a light sprinkle last night. Still, no significant rain in the forecast.
artichoke
Artichoke blooms are finishing up.
 I think these would make interesting dried flowers. Anyone tried that?
allium-millineum
Just brought one of these home from work.
This is Allium 'Millinium', the Perennial of the Year for 2018. 

blanket-flower-lavender
Lavender and Blanket Flower
aster-kickin-purple
The asters are starting to bloom again. This one is 'Kickin' Purple'.
achillea-terra-cotta
Achillea (Yarrow) 'Terra Cotta'
candy-lily-2
Candy Lily (Iris x noorsii)
clematis-multi-blue
Clematis 'Multi-Blue'


clematis-multi-blue-2
The spent flowers are as pretty as the full ones.
clematis-proteus
Clematis 'Proteus' and Joe Pye Weed
fuchsia-cardinal
Fuchsia 'Cardinal'
hebe
An unidentified Hebe, Euphorbia myrsinites and Potentilla 'Fireball'
heliotrope
The first year I grew Heliotrope, the plants were robust. This year, they are rather puny but blooming well. I am not sure why. 
hydrangea-pistachio
Hydrangea 'Pistachio'

kniphofia-poco-sunset
Another new Kniphofia, this one called 'Poco Sunset'


pineapple-lily
Pineapple Lily (Eucomis), my first time growing these. 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Lisa at GreenbowAugust 27, 2018 at 4:14 PM

    Yea for Michael! He sure kept things going while you were gone. I thought it had been awfully quiet out your way. I was hoping you weren't embroiled with the fires that seem to be everywhere out West. I see that you are growing some of those NW special flowers now. They always amaze me. My clematis 'Multi Blue' is rising from the dead. I need a Michael that waters. ;)

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  2. outlawgardenerAugust 27, 2018 at 7:37 PM

    Beautiful blooms! Did you visit your former garden while you were in Alabama?

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  3. RobinLAugust 27, 2018 at 7:59 PM

    I always enjoy seeing what unique plants you’ll be highlighting here, and as us, I wasn’t disappointed. That hydrangea has such interesting coloring! I’ve always wanted to grow an artichoke just for those flowers. And what’s a hebe? Never heard of it!

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverAugust 27, 2018 at 10:11 PM

      Robin, they are small shrubs (perennials?) that are evergreen and have small flowers. There are a lot of different types and some look different from others. They are a bit tender here and are tricky to grow.

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  4. UnknownMarch 17, 2019 at 12:25 PM

    Hi, Phil Iannarelli here. I see you got an ancient garden god sculpture to protect your garden. Hello again.

    ReplyDelete

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