Gardeners can use the new book written by Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden, Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens: 200 Drought-tolerant Choices for All Climates, to create their own xeriscapes. The Ogdens are most notable for their plant-driven attitude when designing gardens.
They have dedicated an entire page to each of the 200 individual plants. Their book includes more than 100 additional waterwise suggestions in the columns labeled Design Ideas and Related Low-water selections, found on each page.
Guide with Selection Pages Filled with Plant Information
The plant guide focuses on southwestern, high desert and Mediterranean climates covering humid and arid environments from zones 4 – 10 in the United States. On each plant page, the regions are differentiated by suggestions for hot summers, humid heat or West Coast areas and narrowing specific ranges of zone hardiness for each plant.
The Ogdens go the extra mile by offering alternative plant choices for design challenges in xeriscaping. Blue barrel cactus is an example expected to be in a collection of waterwise plants and, therefore, among a section of “Succulents and Cacti.” But the “Palms and Cycads” section may surprise, even delight, readers.
The selection page for the cactus, Ferocactus glaucescens, details symbols indicating attraction to bees, the best zones 8b - 10, complementary plants such as desert bluebell and verbena and related Cacti such as Echinocactus texensis that has big pinkish orange flowers and edible red fruits.
Xeriscaping Gardens with Low-water Ornamentals
Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens is all about growing low-water ornamentals, flowers and foliage. Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden chose beautiful plants that have adapted well to regional gardens, demonstrate less aggressive or non-invasive characteristics, require little fertilizer or back-breaking care and provide support to the surrounding wildlife.
The Ogdens have used this information to create a list of varied companion plants able to be used to build up interesting garden settings. While all plant lovers, even those beyond the southwest, have faced increasing limitations on water use, the principles of xeriscaping a plant bed will allow gardeners to continue growing ornamentals in any climate.
Garden Designers Author Collection of Plant-driven Choices
Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden emphasize plant diversity and ecological attitudes with their choice of plants, typifying the plant-driven philosophy of these garden designers. They live and garden together in northern Texas and northern Colorado and have studied plants in the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Europe and South Africa.
The Ogdens have written books together and separately. Their book, Plant-Driven Design, won the American Horticultural Society Award, Lauren Springer Ogden wrote Passionate Gardening and Scott Ogden wrote Garden Bulbs for the South.
Guide Book for Picking Plants to Conserve Water and Other Resources
Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens: 200 Drought Tolerant Choices for All Climates is a guide for gardeners. The authors focused on plants, which live in zones 4 – 10 in southwestern United States that will reliably conserve water and other resources. From tall trees to subshrubs and ornamental grasses, to annuals, rhizomes and the predictable fiber plants, gardeners will find this book a thorough resource.
Garden books cover a range of topics; purely about the plants, to explore a garden, tell a grower’s story or a combination of these muses. Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens targets plants for a xeriscape style of gardening. Words and photos are by Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden, the plant book was published by Timber Press, August 2011, containing 247 pages. ISBN 978-1-60469169-6 will help gardeners locate this guide. The back-of-the-book index may be searched using botanical or common plant names.
Readers will find a variety of garden books by Timber Press; horticulturist on climbing plants, growing perennials and grasses by a long-established garden family and plants befitting planters, pots and containers are a few.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
Chris Eirschele - Chris writes on plants grown and gardens explored; she is a member of the Garden Writers Association.
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