Wildly Successful Plants: Northern California

Not very useful.

THIS BOOK HAS BEEN CRITICIZED FOR PROMOTING THE PLANTING OF INVASIVE PLANTS. I FOUND IT NOT AT ALL MINDLESSLY GUNG HO ABOUT PLANTING WHAT SPREADS. INSTEAD I FOUND FASCINATING HISTORY ABOUT MANY OF THE PLANTS THAT I AM FAMILIAR WITH. MORE IMPORTANTLY,THE BOOK GAVE ME INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT IS INVASIVE, HOW INVASIVENESS IS RATED , WHAT MAKES PLANTS RISKY,ETC. THERE WERE SOME REAL SURPRISES. FOR INSTANCE, I LEARNED THAT PYRACANTHA, A PLANT I HAD THOUGHT OF AS ECOLOGY-FRENDLY BECAUSE IT FEEDS BIRDS AND IS DROUGHT-TOLERANT, HAS ESCAPED INTO BEAUTIFUL WILD AREAS. THE BERRIES ARE DISTRIBUTED BY BIRDS, AND THE MEDITERRANEAN-TYPE PLANTS WE ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLANT (BECAUSE THEY SAVE WATER)SOMETIMES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DISPLACE NATIVE PLANTS AND THEREFORE WILDLIFE. I GOT THIS OUT OF THE LIBRARY AND PLAN TO BUY IT AS AN EXCELLENT REGIONAL RESOURCE. BECAUSE OF ITS EXCELLENT INFORMATION, I EXPECT TO PLANT MORE NATIVE PLANTS, NOT LESS.

"Wildly Successful Plants" provides a fresh perspective on a segment of plants that are constantly demeaned in the landscape. As designers we are charged with considering all possibilities for a site and making appropriate choices. This book brings an often ignored segment of plants back into the fold for consideration. While the plants on the list are not right for every situation, many should discover new life in appropriate settings. The book provides extensive cautions about incorrect use of "wild plants" and shares the esthetic qualities that we love about plants. As a professor of Horticulture and a Landscape Architect, I suggest you ignore the diatribes of the narrow minded and read "Wildly Successful Plants", and any plant book that you can find, to widen your perspective on design.

I keep this book close at hand. Being an amateur gardener, I found much of the information in this book to be particularly useful and relevant for living in Northern California. The author covers everything from the 6 different "hardiness zones" in Northern California to proper garden maintenance, and provides a huge colorful array of plants and flowers which will thrive in your garden. Divided into 7 sections, such as "perennials", each plant has impressive descriptions-- water needs, light needs, hardiness, bloom time, height and spread, etc. The photography of each plant is wonderful, and really allows you to see each plant, and how you might be able to incorporate it into your garden or landscaping.