Native Plants in the Coastal Garden: A Guide for Gardeners in the Pacific Northwest

Rating:
Summary: Packed with fine material
Review: Gardeners in the Pacific Northwest have a fine revised, updated edition of April Pettinger and Brenda Costanzo's Native Plants In The Coastal Garden to enjoy: when first published in 1996, its focus on native plants was revolutionary and filled a need for basic information: this new edition includes updated facts. From using native plants in new ways to locating nurseries and designing a native garden, this is packed with fine material.

Rating:
Summary: Thorough and throughtflu
Review: This is a revised and updated version of a classic book about gardening with native plants in B.C and the Pacific Northwest. The writers, one with a strong belief in the role of native plants in ecological restoration, the other a botanist who spent 12 years as Assistant Curator in the Herbarium at the University of Victoria, have together produced the most useful book about the topic.

Written with the gardener in mind (and a gardener who might not initially be knowledgeable about, or committed to, gardening with native plants) this book is both readable and packed with precisely focussed information.

The book is in three parts. The first part, "Working with Native Plants" covers topics such as designing the garden, what to do about lawns, propagation and gardening for wildlife. I particularly liked the ideas for hedges - eliminating rows of pyramidal cedars and planting native deciduous shrubs. Even, dare I say it, a hedgerow of mixed native shrubs, which would make a more useful wildlife corridor.

The second section, "Plants and their Habitats" picks up the theme of plant communities and their cultural requirements, describing in detail forest, shoreline, mountain habitats, etc., and native plants that would grow well there and be valuable to wildlife. The third section is a regional source guide, suggesting sources for plants, further information and education in both Canada and the US. Throughout the book each chapter has plants lists and a generous reading list.

The writers, while offering a vast amount of information, are aware that many gardeners will want to move towards this kind of gardening gradually, and the book is full of suggestions for doing this. There are so many reasons for using native plants - for starters they maintain and restore our heritage of local plants and help sustain wildlife. But for those who wish their gardens to be avant garde the writers point out that native plant gardening is the leading edge of gardening today and that the focus is moving away from colour (bright beds of annuals) and towards more emphasis on form and texture. This book will help all Pacific Northwest gardeners have more trouble-free, ecologically responsible and leading edge gardens.