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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...

The Little Amaryllis That Could



On my recent report on the three amaryllis, you may recall there was one dud - "Red Peacock". I was ready to toss it in the garbage when I noticed that there was growth emerging. Sure enough, it continued to grow and now there is a big beautiful bloom and at least three more waiting to open. Apparently, some take more time than others. Or, perhaps it was the threat of eviction? I'm a firm believer of that. There are many plants in the garden that have improved after I threatened them with a shovel prune.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Gorgeous! I guess I should hold onto 'Estella' to see if she comes through, although threatening to toss her into the green recycle bin hasn't worked so far.

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  2. It was worth waiting for. I agree with you about the threats. They sometimes work. :)

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  3. What a beauty! Worth the wait?

    Mine will be late this year because of our cooler winter, but they seem to be starting to wake up with the increasing daylight.

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