Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of Sustainable Gardening



The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of Sustainable Gardening by Thomas Christopher (Editor), Rick Darke (Contributor), Douglas W. Tallamy (Contributor), Toby Hemenway (Contributor), John Greenlee with Neil Diboll (Contributor), Eric Toensmeier (Contributor), David Wolfe (Contributor), Ed Snodgrass and Linda McIntyre (Contributor), Elaine Ingham (Contributor), Sustainable Sites Initiative (Contributor), David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth (Contributor). Gardeners are the front line of defense in our struggle to sort out the problems of worldwide warming, lack of habitat, water shortages, and shrinking biodiversity. In The New American Landscape, writer and editor Thomas Christopher brings collectively the very best thinkers on the subject gardening sustainably, and asks them to describe the future of the sustainable landscape. The discussion unfolds from there, and what outcomes is a collective vision as eloquent as it’s diverse.

  • John Greenlee and Neil Diboll on the brand new American meadow garden.
  • Rick Darke on balancing natives and exotics within the garden.
  • Doug Tallamy on landscapes that welcome wildlife.
  • Eric Toensmeier on the sustainable edible garden.
  • David Wolfe on gardening sustainable with a changing climate.
  • Elaine Ingham on managing soil health.
  • David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth on sustainable pest solutions.
  • Ed Snodgrass and Linda McIntyre on inexperienced roofs in the sustainable residential landscape.
  • Thomas Christopher on waterwise gardens.
  • Toby Hemenway on entire system backyard design.
  • The Sustainable Web site Initiative on the managing the home landscape as a sustainable site.


The New American Landscape gives designers a roadmap to a phenomenal garden that improves, not degrades the environment. It’s a provocative manifesto in regards to the essential function gardens play in making a extra sustainable future that no professional garden designer can afford to miss.

Overall, I am pleased with this book. Chapter 2, Managing the Home Landscape as a Sustainable Website, is excellent. I do have a quibble with the Tips and Efficiency Benchmark 2009, esp. the part on water. There’s a description of saving 50% and 75% of water…however the comparability is to evapotranspiration of a cool season grass. This is a significantly low bar as it may be achieved by switching to a warm season grass and under-irrigating. Moreover, it has nothing to do with actual water use. (I’ve been involved in water points since 1974). My statement is that many individuals switch to so-referred to as drought tolerant plants and preserve irrigating the same as before. Every time we add irrigated acreage, we are increasing water use; unless we change to reclaimed or use grey water at dwelling which doesn’t improve potable water use. It’s like buying at the grocery retailer and being informed you saved money. No, you simply spent money. So my concern is that this might not be sustainable in any respect here within the southwest. Nonetheless, the chapter is in any other case excellent.

There is a controversy regarding the usage of pesticides explored on this book. 

I particularly favored the chapter on gardening sustainably with a altering climate.
 
I would give it five stars except for the water issue.

The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of Sustainable Gardening
Thomas Christopher (Editor), Rick Darke (Contributor), Douglas W. Tallamy (Contributor), Toby Hemenway (Contributor), John Greenlee with Neil Diboll (Contributor), Eric Toensmeier (Contributor), David Wolfe (Contributor), Ed Snodgrass and Linda McIntyre (Contributor), Elaine Ingham (Contributor), Sustainable Sites Initiative (Contributor), David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth (Contributor)
256 pages
Timber Press; First Edition edition (April 20, 2011)

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