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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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Happy 4th


Happy 4th of July. It is not my favorite holiday but it has been a good day and I'm thrilled it on a Saturday which gives me an extended weekend. We worked on the laurel hedge most of the day and I managed to get some photos.

It is a glorious 72 degrees here - I actually changed into sweat pants and a flannel shirt when we came in.

I also added another tree - Redbud 'Hearts of Gold'. It is in the shady border and I just hope that the leaves will maintain the golden hues.

Cercis canadensis 'Hearts of Gold'


Other beauties -

Gaura 'Belizza Dark Pink' and Lavender 'Hidcote'

This fuchsia was given to us by our neighbor's boyfriend (who she is no longer with). He worked for a landscaper and the tag on the fuchsia said "Landscape fuchsia". It is one of our favorites -




Veronica 'Marietta' and Erigeron 'Profusion' (Santa Barbara Daisy)



Goat's Beard (Aruncus dioicus)

Hydrangea 'Annabelle'

Hydrangea 'Miss Saori'

Hydrangea 'Rotdrossel'

Hydrangea 'Snowflake'

Lily 'Midnight'

Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana)



Lily 'Roselily Natalia'

Sumac 'Tiger Eyes'

Flowers along the shady path under the dogwood tree


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. ksJuly 4, 2020 at 8:40 PM

    Oh I love the color of your oil jar. I've been seeking one for at least a year and just can't seem to find the perfect size/color. The 4th was a big deal for my family when my kids were little-we went to a funky cottage resort in the redwood forest for years -swimming pool in the day, campfire at night. Those days are gone but I do like to light a smoke bomb .

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  2. Rainy Day GardenerJuly 5, 2020 at 8:18 AM

    Phillip - your gardens inspire! You have an explosion of colors in your own backyard..a perfect 4th of July celebration.

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  3. Lisa at GreenbowJuly 5, 2020 at 9:34 AM

    It was a blistering 93 here on the 4th. It is so nice to see your lovely moist floriferous garden. I love that fuchsia. I ripped out my Tiger Eye Sumac. I don't have to worry about not having one since I have since seen a couple of pop up. ha...

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  4. Endah MurniyatiJuly 5, 2020 at 11:14 PM

    beautiful flowers!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hoover BooJuly 6, 2020 at 2:47 PM

    Ohmygoshsogorgeous! The photos even look like it was 72F, close to 90F as it was here.

    The Aruncus flowers look like little fireworks--very appropriate.

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  6. chavlinessJuly 8, 2020 at 7:09 AM

    Hydrangea 'Miss Saori' is so lovely! Quick internet search shows it with dark foliage. Dose your plant has dark foliage? Its hard to tell from the photo.

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