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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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Plectranthus 'Guacamole'



Potted plants are not my forte although we do have more than a fair share. In previous years, our deck was a jungle. We went crazy over fuchsias after moving here but finally realized that overwintering them, quite easy, was taking up too much space in the garage and waiting for them to bloom the following year was no fun and it was easier just to buy new plants. Of course, there are some that we do overwinter but our supply of fuchsias has diminished considerably. 

There are a few other plants that I like to have in pots. Plectranthus 'Guacamole' is one that I discovered a few years ago and is an absolute favorite. No flowers (or does it?), just stunning green and gold leaves that drape ever so elegantly over the pot. Growing it is a breeze. Shade-loving, ours gets only bright light and I would bet that only a slight amount of sun would burn the leaves. Liquid fertilizer every two weeks or so is the only indulgence it gets and it would probably be okay without that.

I've never tried to overwinter it but if I had a sunroom or greenhouse, I would try that. 




Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Kris PetersonSeptember 10, 2023 at 8:09 PM

    Very attractive. I'm not sure I've seen that one before.

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  2. Lisa at GreenbowSeptember 12, 2023 at 9:49 AM

    This is a good looking plant. I don't think I have seen this around here before. I will look for it next year. I have a lot of pots on our deck too. It gets morning sun.

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  3. tz_gardenSeptember 13, 2023 at 8:57 AM

    Guacamole indeed! That's a beauty I haven't seen before.

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