Archives: Book Reviews

Madeleine Wilde was the author of a gardening column in Seattle’s “Queen Anne & Magnolia News” that ran for over 20 years.  Near the end of her life in 2018, she asked her publisher, Mike Dillon, to compile and edit those columns into a book.  “Notes from the Garden” has recently been published, a treasure to be cherished by all local gardeners.

Wilde’s husband, David Streatfield, professor emeritus in Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington, provides a forward that describes the structure and history of their shared garden.  He notes the significant trees and garden places, but also portrays the emotional space their garden provided.  It was a sanctuary.  It was also a place of remembrances, including plantings that were gifts from her parents, memorials to beloved family cats, or evoke places enjoyed on their travels together.  According to her husband, this was also where Wilde “contemplated the issues she wrote about.  These ranged from philosophical musings to seemingly mundane garden management issues.”

These mundane issues are typically very practical advice.  I learned that re-planting annual nasturtiums in the mid-summer as a way to eliminate an infestation of black aphids.  To enjoy early spring ephemerals, bring them inside, washing off bulbs, roots, and all.  This extends the life of the flowers with the added bonus the plant can be restored to the garden without harm, allowing the leaves to naturally mature.  I noted that bulbs, especially those that are spring blooming, are a frequent component of these essays, with several columns providing guidance for the heady rush of shopping for the best selections before planting in the fall.

As I read Wilde’s articles, in my head I was responding to her ideas as I would with any friend who is also a keen gardener.  Most often, this was agreement over shared experiences.  Sometimes, I felt the need to disagree, but I might do that with any friend I trusted not to take offense.  Throughout, it was a healthy dialog, very much alive and vibrant.

Spring is celebrated for its exuberance, but this is not always a good thing.  “The brilliant dandelions appear to double in numbers and showiness every hour.  The chickweed mats ooze across the terrain, while that perky pest, named shotweed, seems to be in fast-forward on its second go-round…All dedicated gardeners have their special choice of vigorous thugs to conquer.  The ridiculous absurdity is that each year we think we can control all this extravagantly beautiful spring growth.  I try to stay amused.”

 

Excerpted from the Spring 2022 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

“I am a storyteller.”

Ciscoe Morris is an expert gardener, eager to share his knowledge with those at all levels of gardening ability. But this self-assessment from the introduction of his new book is also very accurate. He grew up in a large family of storytellers and that skill came first. Later, gardening became the framework for his tales.

“Oh, La La!” is a fine collection of short essays, each no more than a few pages. You can open the book anywhere and immediately be engaged, no matter the topic. Later, you’ll realize how much you learned.

There are three main settings: his home garden, the Seattle University campus where he worked for many years, and the many locations from his travels. While the plants take center stage, the interactions of the gardener with other people and with animals – especially beloved dogs – are the memorable highlights.

I have several favorite stories. One of the longer chapters lays out the many – usually unsuccessful – ways to control moles, concluding, “if nothing else works, you can learn to live with moles.” Another lesson confirms my personal experience with the Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens var. glauca). It belongs in Colorado, safe from the spruce aphids that devastate this species in our mild, maritime climate.

Ciscoe promises this is not his last book. “I already have an idea for the next one. Oh, la la: I can’t wait to get started!” I can hardly wait to read it.

“The Northwest Garden Manifesto” by John Albers is a new book for our region. While the title may conjure up images of gardeners marching rake-to-rake for their causes, this instead is a very solid and comprehensive gardening book that keeps closely in mind the bigger ecosystem surrounding any private garden. Divided into three broad sections, the book asks you to assess what you have, then make changes that are sustainable (for your garden) and healthful (for you), and finally – for all your actions – think outside the property line.

The author is very good at presenting new approaches to regular garden chores. While these may seem mundane, they fit very well into the overarching structure and message of the book. A handy summary checklist at the end of each chapter helps you track this bigger picture. Many of the examples are from his own four-acre garden on the edge of Bremerton, well-captured by the photography of David Perry.

The selection of recommended plants includes native and non-natives as Albers emphasizes that in developed sites, many of the conditions that help natives thrive have been destroyed. Other recommendations include many food-producing plants, everything from annual vegetables to fruit trees. He also advises engineering your lawn – if you must have one – to be either a green space with low demands on resources, or a self-sustaining meadow.

This book’s primary audience is urban dwellers, but that is most of us. “With more than half of humankind living in cities, our first steps must be developing sustainably and restoring urban biodiversity.” So perhaps manifesto is an accurate description of Albers’ goals. I recommend you read his book and make your own decisions.

Excerpted from the Spring 2018 Arboretum Bulletin.

I always look forward to new books intended for Pacific Northwest gardeners. Paul Bonine and Amy Campion’s “Gardening in the Pacific Northwest” has been long anticipated, and it doesn’t disappoint. As explained in the introduction, this book is mostly from Bonine’s perspective, as he grew up here and has gardened in this region for many years. Campion did most of the excellent photography.

I found myself reading this book out of order, starting with the final chapter titled “Design: Northwest Garden Style.” Intended as an introduction to design styles, this essay is also an excellent, local history of ornamental gardening and why our gardens look the way they do.

Keeping this in mind, I returned to the introductory chapters on climate, soils, and garden culture with a better understanding. Here, I found the authors’ selection of climatic sub-regions especially interesting. As expected, Seattle is part of the Puget Sound sub-region, but Portland and its immediate suburbs have a sub-region of their very own, totally surrounded by the Willamette Valley sub-region. While I was at first surprised by this, after reading the distinguishing factors, I decided these divisions make a lot of sense, and will help gardeners make better plant selections.

The plant encyclopedia is especially good for woody plants. While most species are represented by a single cultivar, these are excellent selections. After admiring Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ at a couple of Portland gardens last summer, I appreciated learning why it is rarely seen around Seattle. Our immediate sub-region “normally doesn’t receive enough summer heat for its wood to harden off properly in preparation for winter’s cold, leaving it vulnerable to even mild freezes.” Tips like these, make this selection of plant varieties especially valuable.

Excerpted from the Spring 2018 Arboretum Bulletin.

When authors Carol and Norman Hall started gardening in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970’s they had to learn to grow their plants by trial and error, because most gardening books of the time addressed only East Coast weather conditions, such as summer rain and winter freezing.

However, perhaps it’s just as well the authors had to figure it out on their own because their depth of understanding how the Pacific Northwest climate affects plants is impressive. Although the question of where the boundaries of the Pacific Northwest lie is open to debate, the Halls define them as: the areas stretching between the ocean coast and the Cascade Range, and between latitude 51° in British Columbia and latitude 41° in northern California. The northern boundary was chosen because north of latitude 51° the “difference between high and low temperatures become smaller and light intensity starts to diminish even on clear days… gardening conditions beyond this point are not those of the Pacific Northwest, but those of coastal Alaska.” The southern border seems a bit more arbitrary, especially on the coast, but the authors note: “It’s only after negotiating the steep descent from [the Cascade Range] to the valley floor and seeing the palm trees lining the streets of Redding, California, that you know you’ve suddenly entered a whole new gardening world.” The unifying climatic conditions that defines the region are wet, mild winters and dry summers.

This large format book with 351 pages and a liberal use of color photographs is divided into 4 sections: the region, 12 month maintenance calendar, recommended plants and common problem & solutions.

Detailed descriptions of climate, soils and horticultural conditions are given about the region’s seven sub-regions, which include: the Georgia Basin/Puget Trough, the Olympic Rain Shadow, Puget Sound, Pacific Coast (northern section), Pacific Coast (southern section), the Cascade Slopes/Outflow Valleys and Willamette. The authors recommend their favorite plants that grow well in the Pacific Northwest according to plant types such as: ornamental trees, shrubs, bulbs, and others. Instructions on caring for the recommended plants always refer to specific Pacific Northwest climate considerations. For example, heaths and heathers need supplemental water during our typical regional summer droughts for the first two years, until they become established.

This is an excellent general gardening reference that focuses on the Pacific Northwest climate like no other.

Excerpted from the Winter 2009 Arboretum Bulletin.

Ann Lovejoy has updated her popular 2004 “Handbook of Northwest Gardening,” with a new appendix entitled “What’s New in Sustainable Gardening.” Here she discusses rain gardens (that capture as much of naturally occurring water as possible), dry gardens (plantings that survive and even thrive with no supplemental watering once established), and the importance of bees and their current peril — and ways that gardeners can help their cause. All good additions.

Excerpted from the Fall 2008 Arboretum Bulletin.