Desert Landscaping: How to Start and Maintain a Healthy Landscape in the Southwest

George Brookbank has distilled nearly twenty years' experience—as an extension agent in urban horticulture with the University of Arizona—into a practical book that tells how to avoid problems with desert landscaping before they occur and how to correct those that do. In the first part, "How to Start and Maintain a Desert Landscape," he provides 28 easy-to-use chapters that address concerns ranging from how to start a wildflower garden to how to cope with Texas root rot. In Part Two, "A Month-By-Month Maintenance Guide," he offers a handy almanac that tells what to do and what to watch out for each month of the year, with cross-references to the chapters in Part One. Homeowners who maintain their own landscape will find in this book ways to make the work more satisfying and productive, while those who hire landscape contractors can make sure the work is done effectively and economically. "You'll find all kinds of books on desert landscape design and materials, irrigation system and design, and landscape installation," says Brookbank. "So far as I know, however, this is the only book that tells you what to do with what you've got and how to keep it growing."



CONTENTS



Part 1 - How to Start and Maintain a Desert Landscape

1. Desert Conditions: How They Are "Different"

2. Plants Are Like People: They're Not Alike

3. Use Arid-Land Plants to Save Water

4. How to Irrigate in the Desert

5. How to Design and Install a Drip Irrigation System

6. Soils and Their Improvement I: How to Plant in the Desert

7. Soils and Their Improvement II: How to Use Fertilizers

8. What to Do When Things Go Wrong: A Troubleshooter's Guide

9. How to Avoid—and Repair—Frost Damage

10. How to Control "Weeds"

11. Palo Verde Borer Beetle: What to Do

12. How to Avoid Texas Root Rot

13. When You Move Into an Empty House

14. What to Do About Roots in Drains

15. How to Dig Up Plants and Move Them

16. How to Have Flower Bed Color All Year

17. Landscape Gardening with Containers

18. Starting Wildflowers

19. Starting a Lawn

20. Making and Keeping a Good Hedge

21. Pruning Trees and Shrubs

22. Palm Tree Care

23. Caring for Saguaros, Ocotillos, Avages, and Prickly Pears

24. Roses in the Desert: Hard Work and Some Disappointments

25. Landscaping with Citrus

26. Swimming Pools: Plants, Play, and Water-Saving

27. Landscape Maintenance While You're Away

28. Condominiums: Common Grounds, Common Problems



Part 2 - A Month-by-Month Maintenance Guide