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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...

Is Winter Over?

 
Iris reticulata 'Harmony'


It is not even February yet but you would not guess that by the weather and the flowers that are blooming. Yesterday, the dwarf iris started blooming. These were planted last fall.

Hellebore 'Merlin' has been blooming for weeks. I added another last year and it has a fat bud on it. I believe it is 'Berry Swirl'.


Hellebore 'Merlin' 


Hellebore 'Berry Swirl'

More winter interest -


Heather (Calluna vulgaris 'Firefly')

Heather (Calluna vulgaris 'Multicolor')


Winterberry
(Gaultheria procumbens 'Berry Cascade')


Mahonia 'Charity'

What is blooming in your garden?


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Hahahahaaha... Winter is still here. I do have a Galanthus nivalis blooming and buds on some of my hellebores but no other blooms. It is 40F here today. Crazy for January. Your blooms give me hope for the near future.

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  2. It seems like the smaller the iris, the earlier it blooms. Those baby blue ones are lovely. Hellebore is blooming in my garden too, getting me excited for the upcoming gardening season, and the low growing heather that is practically Glowing this time of year (mine is called blazeaway)!

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