Product Review

Despite the Coachella Valley's near tropical climate, creating gardens in this desert can be trying. Wind, heat, sand and a dozen other factors must be considered and then solved or mitigated before plants will grow. While milder parts of California grow gardens so easily that books are hardly needed, low desert gardening is a whole new world where residents need help, and lots of it. This book blends numerous areas of interest:First is the basic how-to of desert gardening: heat, soils, water and wind. Second is the exploration of Palm Springs architecture from Spanish to Mid-century modern and how outdoor gardens are made to work with these styles. Third is a detailed presentation of the plants that will thrive here under ordinary care, and are naturally adapted to the dry climates of Australia, Mexico, Africa and South America. Rather than group plants by trees, shrubs and perennials as most books are laid out, Palm Springs Gardening organizes plants according to their botanical associations and their aesthetic ones so readers go straight to the kinds of plants they find most appealing.