Silver on Gray
Many plants for summer-dry climates have silver foliage. Gray leaves are a defense against hot sun and waxy succulents help store water and prevent evapotranspiration. [...]
Water for Gardens
Will no one speak up for California gardeners ? Will the on-going drought guilt-trip us to live in concrete, asphalt, rock, and dead earth urban wastelands [...]
Our Long Spring
Native Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) makes way for daffodils in my garden Despite another year with very little winter rain, spring arrived on schedule, and [...]
The Beauty of Natives
I am regularly asked by garden publishers why native plant gardens are a mess, and I must say, too often they are right – but [...]
Photos of Summer-Dry Gardens
Daffodils and Ribes - perfect partners for summer-dry gardens. Recent rains here in Northern California provide the perfect opportunity to talk about summer-dry gardens. [...]
Joshua Trees – Big Succulents
My friend Nora is helping me on The Summer-Dry Project, an effort to expand the photo database at summer-dry.com. We want to enlarge the efforts [...]
The Summer-Dry Garden
I live in sunny California. I can plan a camping trip in summer and never worry about rain. I don’t worry about the roses getting beat [...]
Water in a Summer Dry Climate
Summers are dry here in California. It’s a summer-dry or Mediterranean climate with wet winters and rainless summers. Gardeners learn to adapt and use plants that [...]
Backlight Magic
Garden photographers don’t get much done when the light is strong. We like soft light, very early or late in the day. We delight in [...]
Arctostaphylos manzanita ‘Monica’ Extraction
So, so many reasons to celebrate this manzanita on this rainy day. Mostly the rain itself. We have had so little this winter that every [...]