A friend recently started gardening and asked if I had any books to recommend. The absolute workhorse in our house is the Sunset Western Garden Book
. It covers vegetable gardening, native and non-native plants. I also consistently refer to the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Care & Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardens
which is printed in Spanish and English.But the best gardening education is to do it. Stick it in the ground, give it water and see what happens.
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Sunset also publishes a stand alone on kitchen gardens: The Edible Garden. I also find Ed Smith's The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, quite useful, though not specific to our region. I'm eagerly awaiting Angeleno Marta Teegan's book, which should be out next year. She's Master Gardener behind HomegrownLosAngeles.com.
ReplyDeleteFor Natives: I think California Native Plants for the Garden is essential. It has more more color photos. It's a good companion to the book you mention. If you really love natives, check out M. Nevin Smith's Native Treasures.