It may be the Golden State, but your garden can be any color you want it to be. California is already famous as one of the world's leading fruit and vegetable producers--but a glance at a valley oak or California buckwheat is just a small glimpse of the native plants the state has to offer the home gardener. Written by Alameda resident and longtime gardening journalist Claire Splan, California Month-by-Month Gardening is the sister manual to our California Getting Started Garden Guide. Inside, Splan dedicates a thoroughly detailed chapter to each month of the year, telling you what species you should consider planting, precisely when you should plant them, and how to care for them for maximum health. Within each month are recommendations for annuals, bulbs, lawns (and lawn alternatives), natives, perennials, roses, shrubs, trees, vines, and groundcovers. An introductory overview of California's microclimates and soil types, along with a primer on general gardening techniques and a color-coded USDA zone map, prepares you to make your best effort as a gardener in California. Splan's instructions go much further than just the basics, as you learn how to plan, plant, care for, water, fertilize, and troubleshoot your diverse garden spaces during every single month of the year. Fully illustrated with beautiful color photography of the "how to" steps and plants, California Month-by-Month Gardening keeps your garden prosperous through all types of California weather and terrain. For our full introduction to gardening in California, we also recommend companion books California Getting Started Garden Guide and California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening.

With its lush photographs and authoritative text this definitive history captures the exuberant past and dynamic present of the California garden. Ranging from the pragmatic plantings of the Spanish missions through Victorian fantasies and Hollywood extravagances and culminating in up-to-the-minute drought-tolerant gardens, California Gardens: Creating a New Eden provides a thought-provoking, eye-dazzling chronicle of the state's diverse garden traditions. Offering ideas and examples that will inspire all gardeners and garden lovers, David C. Streatfield recounts how amateurs, architects, landscape designers, and nurserymen have created the gardens of their dreams. His ground-breaking text - in preparation for over twenty years - illuminates how California's ecology, economy, and the importation of exotic plants and styles have shaped its gardens and ultimately influenced garden design around the world. The various ways that landscape architecture and architecture have intertwined in the last two centuries are explored with particular insightfulness. Some of the finest architects and landscape architects of this century - Charles and Henry Greene, Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Thomas Church, Lockwood de Forest, Garrett Eckbo, and Florence Yoch - have shaped the landscape of California in distinctive ways. Contemporary and historical color photographs by some of the country's best garden photographers are complemented by rare black-and-white archival illustrations and detailed plans. Two invaluable appendices provide biographies of the major designers and information about visiting the public gardens cited in the book.

A must-have for every gardener in California looking for a new way to garden in a changing climate In recent years California has been facing extreme drought, and in 2015 they passed state-wide water restrictions that affect home owners. Unfortunately the drought is only going to get worse, and gardeners who aren’t willing to abandon their beloved pastime entirely are going to have to learn how to garden with the absolute minimum of water. The Drought-Defying California Garden highlights the best 230 plants to grow, shares advice on how to get them established, and offers tips on how to maintain them with the minimum amount of water. All of the plants are native to California—making them uniquely adept at managing the harsh climate—and include perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, and succulents.

A fantastic garden journey that only California can provide In The California Garden Tour, veteran travel writer Donald Olson highlights 50 outstanding public gardens and provides all the information you need to make the most of your visit. From San Francisco and the East Bay to Palm Springs and San Diego, Olson includes iconic gardens like the Getty Center, new favorites like Alcatraz, and uniquely Californian destinations like Lotusland and Sunnylands. The easy-to-use format includes visitor information, an evocative description, and full color photography for each garden.

"California Native Plants for the Garden" is a comprehensive resource that features more than 500 of the best California native plants for gardening in the Mediterranean-climate areas of the world. Authored by three of the state's leading native-plant horticulturalists and illustrated with 450 color photos, this reference book also includes chapters on landscape design, installation, and maintenance. Detailed lists of recommended native plants for a variety of situations are also provided.

This easy-to-follow guide features planting, care, and harvesting information for more than 60 edibles; popular vegetable selections from artichokes to turnips; a variety of common and unusual fruits, nuts, and herbs; and advice on garden planning, creating the perfect soil, watering, and more.