Dry Climate Gardening: Growing beautiful, sustainable gardens in low-water conditions

What can I say about why this is the absolute best guide on desert gardening anywhere? It is written for the gardener (like me!) who may have moved to the desert from a temperate climate and who can’t figure out why her green thumb has turned brown. It is perfectly organized with a plethora of beautiful color photographs throughout; everything from choosing the right plants to watering guides and even garden design. And it includes one of the most comprehensive lists of plant suggestions and how to care for each that I have seen in any gardening book (and I have many). In short, it is THE book to buy on desert gardening.I started working with Noelle in 2019, shortly after moving to Arizona and purchasing a home with a high maintenance yard filled with grass and various plants that I could not identify. I was shocked to learn that in Arizona to maintain a green lawn you needed to re-seed every fall with a winter seed grass - not to mention the cost of weekly mowing and constant watering in an area where water conservation is critical. We decided to convert the yard to xeriscape but colorful flowers/trees were mandatory and I didn’t know where to begin. I started searching the Internet and came across Noelle’s Desert Gardening 101 course. That was the beginning of my love affair with desert gardening.This book encapsulates everything I’ve learned from Noelle over the past nearly four years. She has a delightful way of presenting her material in an organized and fun fashion while focusing on creating a beautiful desert garden that includes native cacti and succulents along with colorful flowering plants and trees. Her focus is on easy maintenance and a natural look. She helps the reader select the right plants for a dry climate without sacrificing beauty.I was absolutely thrilled to learn that Noelle was writing this book and even more excited when I received my copy. It is without a doubt the best guide to desert gardening in my library and I’ve already used it several times in the month that I’ve had it. This is hands down the best guide out there for even experienced gardeners who - like me- find themselves struggling to figure out how to maintain a yard full of foreign plants in the land of “it’s a DRY heat”. THANK YOU, Noelle!

Noelle Johnson's book, Dry Climate Gardening, is a breath of fresh air! Gardening books tackling hot and dry climates are few and far between despite the millions living in these areas. Most in my library are about twenty years old or older. I loved Noelle's sentiment toward hot-climate gardening. She stopped seeing it as a liability and found joy in gardening in her environment. Her book covers everything a beginner needs to know to get started in a dry climate and succeed without being a fussy gardener. The art and photographs are beautiful. Noelle's writing style is easy to follow and flows from one topic to another.I liked the plant lists at the end. I get lost in my dream lists of plants from other books and then get overwhelmed. Dry Climate Gardening is a partial book of all plants that can grow there, but it does contain tried and true plants that will be successful for you. I was a little bummed when I reached the end of the plant profile section because I wanted more. To my delight, more pages of focused information on "Ten more plants for ___ gardens" followed. My only criticism is that the smaller plants could be identified in the plans section, but I wonder if that matters beyond my curiosity about plant combinations. The plan's plant list still offers suggestions and allows me to be creative in my landscape without being strict to a plan. I learned new things, and I recommend this book to anyone who wants more information on gardening in hot and dry climates.

This must have desert gardening book by Noelle Johnson is the one I wish had been available when I first relocated to the southwest a few years back, and attempted to resume my gardening passion in this challenging climate. Noelle's book ranks above any other I've been able to find on this topic. It is packed with all the practical tips and information needed to get started designing, updating and maintaining a beautiful and colorful dry climate landscape for your home. In addition to the information on plant selection, planting location, irrigation, maintenance and more, the many gorgeous photos of plant groupings and landscapes that incorporate plants that thrive in the desert are just what I need for new ideas to update my landscape. I love that plant profiles for a selection of some of the most commonly found desert trees, shrubs, perennials and succulents includes a helpful summary of growing information pertinent to our desert climate along with photos of the mature plant. I have spent hours scouring the internet for this type of information and now it is all here in one convenient resource that I know I can trust. This book will save me a lot of time selecting the right plants and avoiding mistakes by trial and error. In addition to becoming my go to gardening reference, it is an enjoyable, informative, and inspiring read from cover to cover.