The Dry Gardening Handbook

Making a garden that can withstand summer drought without irrigation is the dream of many who wish to garden in harmony with the environment. In this classic work on gardening in dry climates, first published in 2008, Olivier Filippi offers practical advice to achieve this goal based on his, and his wife Clara's, experience of working with Mediterranean-region plants for more than 30 years. The first part of the book examines the behavior of plants that face drought in their natural habitat. What is drought and how do plants manage to survive when little water is available? The second part is concerned with gardening techniques in a dry climate. How do you prepare the soil, when do you plant, and how do you maintain a dry garden? The third and longest part describes in detail no less than 500 rewarding plants that are well-adapted to dry gardens, each classified by a unique dry resistance code. The Dry Gardening Handbook is essential reading for gardeners who live in one of the world's Mediterranean climate zones and will also be of interest to gardeners in areas where drought is becoming a recurring problem.

"Could there be a more timely title for the gardener in the West?" —Pacific Horticulture

"The detailed entries—over 400 of them, with illustrations—make this intriguing book a valuable handbook and resource." —Green Daily

"Superb . . . [includes] arguably the most comprehensive A-Z of drought-tolerant plants ever assembled." —Gardens Illustrated

"Excellent . . . almost completely focused on plants." —Independent on Sunday

Olivier Filippi is the author of Planting Design for Dry Gardens. He and his wife Clara run a nursery in the South of France that specializes in exceptional Mediterranean plants.